Healthy Recipes Healthy Seasonal Recipes Healthy Fall Recipes Healthy Fall Salad Recipes 22 Fall Salads You'll Want to Make for Dinner Tonight By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on October 30, 2024 Close Photo: Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood, Food Stylist: Sally McKay If you're craving a salad for dinner tonight, we've got you covered. These salad recipes use seasonal ingredients like apples, cranberries, Brussels sprouts, squash and more and combine them with satisfying protein like chicken and quinoa for the ultimate fall meal. Recipes like our Roasted Butternut Squash Salad and Crunchy Chickpea & Cabbage Chopped Salad are so delicious, you'll want salad for dinner every night of the week. 01 of 22 Roasted Butternut Squash Salad Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood, Food Stylist: Sally McKay This roasted butternut squash salad, with its caramelized butternut squash, tender kale and a zingy dressing, makes the perfect dish. Whether paired with roasted chicken or seared steak or enjoyed on its own, it brings a balance of sweet and savory to the table, making it a crowd-pleaser at any gathering. Feel free to swap out the lacinato kale for curly kale or try another winter squash like honeynut or delicata in place of the butternut. View Recipe 02 of 22 Make-Ahead Cabbage Salad Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood, Food Stylist: Sally McKay This make-ahead cabbage salad is the perfect dish that only gets better with time. As it sits, the flavors meld together, with the crisp cabbage and tender, nutty farro soaking up the tangy dressing. It’s an ideal choice for meal prep or entertaining, as it not only holds up well but also improves with time, making your life easier and delivering a delicious meal. View Recipe 03 of 22 Roasted Squash & Lentil Kale Salad Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This squash lentil salad packs 14 grams of fiber and features plenty of kale, a powerful prebiotic that helps set the stage for a healthy gut. This salad is assembled in a Mason jar so you can prep it the night before for a healthy, grab-and-go lunch the next day. View Recipe 04 of 22 Anti-Inflammatory Sweet Potato Salad Photographer: Stacy k. Allen, Props: Christina Brockman, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling This sweet potato salad is packed with anti-inflammatory foods like cherries, kale, avocado and, of course, sweet potatoes, which are packed with antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals to help keep inflammation at bay. Don’t skip the step of massaging the dressing into the kale! It helps soften it and also helps the greens absorb more of the flavor from the sweet-tart dressing. View Recipe 05 of 22 Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate This gorgeous warm salad with nutty roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds and creamy goat cheese is perfect for any meal. View Recipe 06 of 22 Crunchy Chickpea & Cabbage Chopped Salad Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Christina Brockman This chickpea cabbage salad features carrots and cucumbers, making it a quartet of ingredients that all begin with the letter “C”! This chopped salad is loaded with fiber and prebiotic chickpeas, promoting a healthy gut. Green cabbage keeps the color vibrant and fresh, though red cabbage works just as well. View Recipe 07 of 22 Roasted Cabbage Salad with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette Ali Redmond This roasted cabbage is dressed with a bright and flavorful lemon-garlic vinaigrette. It goes with everything, from chicken and steak to tofu and grain bowls. View Recipe 08 of 22 Chickpea, Beet & Feta Salad with Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Addelyn Evans This chickpea, beet & feta salad is a vibrant blend of flavors and textures, marrying the earthy sweetness of beets with the creamy richness of feta cheese, all tied together with a zesty lemon-garlic dressing. View Recipe 09 of 22 Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Almonds, Olives & Feta Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Stylist: Annie Probst, Prop Stylist: Joseph Wanek The combination of roasted cauliflower with crunchy toasted almonds, briny olives and tangy feta creates a well-balanced salad that’s perfect as a side dish or a light main course mixed with cooked farro or spelt. View Recipe 10 of 22 Carolina Gelen's Shaved Cauliflower Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette & Parmesan Photographed by Nico Schinco/Courtesy of Clarkson Potter Publishers In her new cookbook, Carolina Gelen writes: “Some children grew up with fruit plates as a snack; I grew up with crisp, salted cauliflower to nibble on. My mom would always buy a bigger cauliflower than needed for a recipe since we’d munch on pretty much half of it before cooking. Heavily inspired by my mother’s cauliflower snacking plates, this simple shaved cauliflower tossed in a lemon vinaigrette was born.” View Recipe 11 of 22 Roasted Vegetable Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette Photographer: Hannah Hufham, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser This roasted vegetable salad is a vibrant and hearty dish that showcases the best cool-weather root veggies and greens: sweet potato, celery root, beets and kale. The simple vinaigrette brings everything together, with goat cheese adding a creamy finish. Feel free to swap out any of the root vegetables for another of your choice. Butternut squash, turnips or carrots would all work well. View Recipe 12 of 22 Cabbage Salad with Apple, Walnuts & Gorgonzola Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser This crisp and fresh cabbage-apple salad features carrots, walnuts and creamy Gorgonzola cheese. Allowing the cabbage to sit before serving helps develop the flavor and soften the cabbage. While any type of cabbage will work well, tender cabbage like napa will need less time to soften, while a sturdier cabbage like red or green cabbage will take a bit longer. View Recipe 13 of 22 Spinach Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, White Beans & Basil Roasted sweet potatoes are paired with spinach, cabbage and white beans and tossed together with a bright basil dressing in this healthy main dish salad. View Recipe 14 of 22 Fig & Goat Cheese Salad The sweet-and-savory combination of the figs and earthy goat cheese will surely satisfy the palate. If you can't find dried figs, try swapping in dried apricots. View Recipe 15 of 22 Roasted Cranberry, Squash & Cauliflower Salad Serve this healthy salad as a main course or as a starter for a special meal. To speed up prep, look for precut butternut squash in the refrigerated area of the produce section at your grocery store. View Recipe 16 of 22 Mixed Greens with Lentils & Sliced Apple This salad with lentils, feta and apple is a satisfying vegetarian entree to whip together for lunch. To save time, swap in drained canned lentils—just make sure to look for low-sodium and give them a rinse before adding them to the salad. View Recipe 17 of 22 Apple-Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese The tangy-sweet dressing in this spinach salad beautifully amplifies the apples and cranberries—and the creamy goat cheese transforms it into the perfect salad. Tasters raved about this easy fall salad. If you can't find Pink Lady apples, any sweet, crisp apple is a worthy substitute. Want to make this salad a main meal? Top with some rotisserie chicken, chickpeas or tofu. View Recipe 18 of 22 Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Burrata This beautiful butternut squash salad with creamy burrata cheese and peppery arugula is perfect for fall entertaining. If you can find pomegranates, the arils add a bright pop of color and flavor to this healthy salad, but it's just as good—and almost as impressive-looking—without them. View Recipe 19 of 22 Lentil & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Green Goddess Dressing Goddess dressing typically gets its umami-ness from anchovies, but we use miso in this super green salad recipe to keep it vegetarian. Substitute 2 chopped anchovies for the miso if you like. Or add baked tofu, poached salmon or grilled chicken for a boost of protein. View Recipe 20 of 22 Apple, Fig & Brussels Sprouts Salad Salad dressing made from sweet and mellow white balsamic vinegar balances out the assertive greens and Brussels sprouts in this healthy winter salad. If you have one handy, a small mandoline makes it easy to slice the Brussels and apple. To make it a dinner salad, top with shrimp or chicken. View Recipe 21 of 22 Arugula Salad with Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Pears & Blue Cheese Toasted walnuts and roasted pork tenderloin make this elegant salad worthy of company, yet it's easy enough to prepare on a weeknight! View Recipe 22 of 22 Chopped Salad with Shrimp, Apples & Pecans Sweet and crunchy apples and celery combine with savory shrimp and nutty pecans in this easy, colorful dinner salad. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit