4 Gorgeous Winter Salad Recipes (2024)

Grilled Romaine Salad

• 2 large beets roasted, peeled, and cut into wedges
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 cup goat cheese
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds toasted
• ¼ cup smoked onions sliced

Burnt Orange Vinaigrette

• 3 oranges
• 1 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• 1 shallot finely chopped

Grilled Romaine Salad

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and roast beets until tender, approximately 45 minutes. While the beets are roasting, light the grill and make your vinaigrette (see recipe below).

• Cut the romaine lettuce in half and lightly oil each piece. Then, season each piece with salt and pepper.

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• Place the lettuce on the grill with the cut side down, leaving it on the grill for two minutes or until charred.

• To plate your dish, place the romaine lettuce grilled side up on your plate. Then, drizzle it with your vinaigrette and add your chopped beets, pumpkin seeds, smoked onions, and goat cheese. Enjoy!

Burnt Orange Vinaigrette

• Zest the three oranges and cut them in half. Then, grill them until they are burnt. Juice the oranges and reserve the liquid.

• In a small bowl, add the vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, garlic, orange zest, orange juice, and shallot. Then, slowly whisk in the oil until it is emulsified.

Winter Crunch Salad

• 5 cups kale roughly chopped and ribs discarded
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• Punch of kosher or sea salt
• 6 large Brussels sprouts shaved
• 1 apple thinly sliced (Dana uses honey crisp or gala)
• 2 cups ribboned/julienned radicchio
• 2 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp pomegranate arils optional
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 1 small shallot (or one lobe of a large shallot) diced
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 2 tsp stone ground mustard or Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp real maple syrup
• ½ tsp kosher or sea salt
• ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Winter Crunch Salad

• Remove any tough ribs from your kale and roughly chop leaves; rinse under cool water and pat dry with a paper towel or shake well in the strainer. Place the kale into a large serving bowl.

• Drizzle 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil over the kale; add a pinch of salt. Gently massage the oil and salt into the leaves of the kale for about 2-3 minutes or until the kale seems tender. This is an important step, otherwise, the kale will have a rough mouthfeel and not taste great.

• Once the kale is tender, add the shaved Brussels sprouts, apple slices, julienned radicchio, toasted sunflower seeds, pomegranate arils, and dried cranberries to the bowl. Give the salad a toss to distribute the ingredients throughout.

• Serve the salad with a side of the apple cider vinegar for drizzling. Don't drizzle the vinaigrette over the entire salad if you think you might have leftovers. The leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days without getting soggy, as long as they aren't dressed with the vinaigrette.

Optional Cheese Additions

• If you want to add cheese, crumble some feta or goat over your salad. These cheeses go great with these flavors.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• Place all of the ingredients except the olive oil into the blender. Start to blend the ingredients. While blending, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture bit by bit. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed (though it should be fine as is).

Winter Quinoa Salad

• ¾ cup quinoa rinsed well
• 1 tsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
• Salt
• 1¼ cups water
• 2 cups butternut squash cut into small dice
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• 1 apple sliced into thin matchsticks
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese omit for a vegan option
• ¼ cup fresh mint finely chopped

Dressing

• 1 small shallot thinly sliced
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tbsp fresh-squeezed orange juice from about ½ an orange
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 5 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

• In a medium saucepot, heat the teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Add in the rinsed quinoa and stir until the excess water evaporates. Season with a few pinches of salt and pour in the water. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. Cook the quinoa for around 10 minutes or until the majority of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to a bowl to cool completely.

• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the butternut squash with a few drizzles of olive oil on a baking sheet and season well with salt and pepper. Roast the squash for about 12 minutes or until it begins to brown around the edges and is tender. Toss the pine nuts onto the baking sheet with the butternut squash and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the pine nuts are toasted. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

• In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the shallot, orange zest, orange juice, vinegar, maple syrup, curry, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Shake well to combine.

• In the bowl with the cooled quinoa, toss in the butternut squash, pine nuts, apple, feta, and mint. Pour in the dressing, mix well, and allow the salad to sit for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Salad is best at room temperature but will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. (Keri allows her leftovers to come to room temperature or heats them for about 20 seconds in the microwave to take the chill off before enjoying!)