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30 of Our Best Thanksgiving Salad Recipes

Don’t worry, the heroes of Thanksgiving haven’t been dethroned yet. We still enjoy plates piled high with smoked turkey, our favorite Thanksgiving sides and plenty of dessert. But Thanksgiving salad recipes, whether built around leafy greens or root vegetables, deserve a spot on the holiday table, too. From classic to creative, the salads in this collection bring a welcome (and tasty) moment of lightness to the holiday table.

These salad recipes for Thanksgiving include simple lettuce and veggie tosses that you could make year-round, as well as some that highlight seasonal produce, like winter squash, apples and pomegranate. With toasted nuts, sprinkles of cheese and pops of red from cranberries and dried cherries, these salads look almost too pretty to eat.

There are warm salads with grains hearty enough to double as a side dish and cool, crisp ones packed with shredded Brussels sprouts, baby spinach or different lettuce varieties. Look for pre-cut squash or trimmed green beans at the store to save on prep time. You could even use your favorite bottled dressing, though we prefer homemade salad dressing recipes that you can adjust to your own taste. If you always pass on salad at Thanksgiving, take this as your sign to reconsider.

Taste of Home

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Carrot Ribbon Salad

It’s incredible how simply tweaking the preparation or presentation of an ingredient can cause a recipe to take over the internet. Bake a block of feta and it becomes a viral baked feta pasta, or whip a bit of instant coffee with cream and say hello to the infamous Dalgona coffee. So what happens when you shave carrots into long, thin tendrils? You get a stunning carrot ribbon salad that, quite frankly, we cannot get enough of.

This healthy salad is the latest recipe to take social media by storm. What makes it special is how the carrots are sliced into strands (similar to lemony zucchini ribbons). Not only does this create a unique and attractive presentation that’s super fun to eat, but it also creates more surface area for the sweet and vibrant citrus vinaigrette to cling to.

While many carrot ribbon salads tend to favor dressings made with soy, ginger and chili crisp for an Asian-inspired take, our version transports your taste buds to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, featuring spices such as coriander and cayenne, along with cilantro, orange, lemon and balsamic vinegar. The mashup of fresh, tangy and spicy flavors balances the sweet taste of the veggies in this carrot recipe.

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20 Easy Pasta Salads Prepped in 20 Minutes or Less

A creamy, easy pasta salad perfectly complements a plate piled with grilled meats and barbecue sides. You may think pasta salads are all the same, but this summer classic has so many variations. Maybe you’ve made a mayonnaise dressing for your pasta salad, but what about ranch? Have you ever changed up your pasta shapes? And don’t forget adding a protein like chicken.

The next time you’re looking for an easy summer recipe, start with one of these pasta salad recipes. We chose these recipes as quick-to-make odes to the classic pasta salads you’re already used to, with fresh new twists.

Taste of Home

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Muffuletta Pasta Salad

The muffuletta is an iconic sandwich that originated in the French Quarter of New Orleans. If you don’t already know, the classic muffuletta features olive salad and several meats and cheeses sandwiched between two hearty slices of fresh Italian bread. Luckily, the combination of ingredients that makes the sandwich recipe a winner also translates nicely to pasta salad—and that’s just what we created with our muffuletta pasta salad recipe.

This hearty side is sure to be a crowd-pleasing Mardi Gras recipe at your celebrations. Muffuletta pasta salad can also be served alongside favorite picnic recipes at a summertime potluck or backyard barbecue.

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