14 Fabulous Fall Salads

These Salads Showcase the Best Flavors of Fall

By
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
A freelance journalist and avid home cook, Cathy Jacobs has more than 10 years of food writing experience, with a focus on curating approachable menus and recipe collections.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 12/13/19
Beet Salad With Spinach and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

The Spruce

The best of fall produce make wonderful salad ingredients, from fresh fruits like figs, apples, and pears to all the hearty autumn squashes. Tossed with wholesome greens, nutty grains, and tangy cheeses, they form wonderfully healthy and delicious salads that you can serve at holiday parties or enjoy for a lighter lunch or dinner this fall.

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  • 01 of 14

    Colorful Autumn Salad

    Colorful autumn salad

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

    Here's an essential colorful autumn salad that makes a healthy weeknight addition wonderful Thanksgiving side dish. Dried fruit is a pretty and flavorful way to make a green salad extra special—for this one, chopped dried apricots and cherries add a burst of tart sweetness, beautiful color, and lovely chewy texture. Did we mention that it's topped with crumbled cooked bacon and goat cheese?

  • 02 of 14

    Pear Salad With Walnuts and Gorgonzola

    Pear Salad With Walnuts and Gorgonzola

    Thomas Barwick / Photodisc / Getty Images

    You'll never go wrong adding this pear salad with walnuts and gorgonzola to your fall dinner menu. With fresh fruit slices, chewy raisins, crunchy walnuts, and creamy nuggets of Gorgonzola cheese tossed in a simple lemon and rice vinegar dressing, it's a tasty salad to enjoy as a special first course or served in larger portions for a lighter lunch or dinner.

  • 03 of 14

    Kale and Golden Beet Salad With Tahini-Lemon Dressing

    Kale salad with herbs, pomegranate, persimmon

    The Picture Pantry / Alanna Taylor Tobin / Getty Images

    For a kale salad chock full of stunning fall ingredients, look no further than this kale and golden beet salad with tahini-lemon dressing recipe. Roasted golden beets and golden raisins add a touch of sweetness and chewiness, while the bright tahini-lemon dressing helps tenderize the leafy greens.

  • 04 of 14

    Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Pomegranate

    Roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranate

    The Spruce / Laurel Randolph

    Roasting cauliflower adds a nice nutty flavor and welcome crispiness to the autumn vegetable. This robust roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranate combines florets with pomegranate seeds, red onion, pistachios, lemon juice, and fresh parsley for a wonderful mix of color, texture, and flavor.

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  • 05 of 14

    Fig and Kale Salad

    Fig and kale salad

    The Spruce / Emily Hawkes

    Fall is the main season for figs, meaning these delicious fruits are available again for adding pizzazz to our greens. Make the most of fresh figs in this fig and kale salad, which combines the fruit with carrots, zucchini, avocado, and flax seeds.

  • 06 of 14

    Quinoa Salad With Fresh Mint and Parsley

    Quinoa salad with fresh mint and parsley

    The Spruce / Jolinda Hackett

    Nutty, protein-rich quinoa is seasoned with fresh mint, parsley, lemon juice, and green onions in a nutritious quinoa salad with fresh mint and parsley that will also appeal to vegetarians and vegans. Pecans are used in the recipe, but almonds or pine nuts would taste great, too.

  • 07 of 14

    Beet Salad With Spinach and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

    Beet salad with spinach and honey balsamic vinaigrette

    The Spruce

    Cooked beets are the colorful base of this tasty beet salad with spinach and honey balsamic vinaigrette also featuring crispy diced bacon, fresh spinach leaves, and crunchy pecans or walnuts. Add a soft, mild cheese, such as feta or goat cheese, to form a heartier meal.

  • 08 of 14

    Steak Salad

    Steak salad

    Katie Workman / themom100.com

    Here's a satisfying steak salad that feels like a treat to eat and you can make in just 15 minutes. It's also a surprisingly budget-friendly way to stretch one eight-ounce steak into a full meal for two people this fall. The salty-sweet tang of the pickles adds an interesting twist to the dressing in a bowl that's sure to become a family favorite.

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  • 09 of 14

    Fall Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad

    Fresh fall fruit salad

    The Spruce / kennejima

    Fall fruits add delicious flavor and texture to this sophisticated fall apple, walnut and blue cheese salad. Fresh chopped apples and pears are combined with dried cranberries, blue cheese, walnuts, red onion, and mixed greens. A simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing ties everything together.

  • 10 of 14

    Couscous Salad

    Couscous salad

    Brian MacDonald / Photodisc / Getty Images

    A couscous salad is a versatile, healthy choice that can be easily customized with your favorite chopped fall vegetables. Enjoy it as a side dish for grilled meat, roasted chicken and fried fish—or as a nutritious take-to-work lunch, bulked up with some added greens.

  • 11 of 14

    Lemony Lentil Salad

    Lemony lentil salad

    The Spruce / Molly Watson

    Simple, tasty, and healthy—that's this lemony lentil salad. It's a great starting base for dressing up with whatever seasonal fall vegetables strike your fancy at the market.

  • 12 of 14

    Quinoa With Arugula and Butternut Squash

    Quinoa with arugula and butternut squash

    The Spruce / Miri Rotkovitz

    Butternut squash and arugula are fall favorites that combine beautifully with grains and other ingredients. Pomegranate seeds and honey add something special to this quinoa with arugula and butternut squash, which also works as an accompaniment to meat, poultry, or fish.

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  • 13 of 14

    Spinach Salad With Warm Bacon Dressing

    Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

    The Spruce / Diana Rattray

    Whether you want to impress dinner guests or just indulge this autumn, our recipe for classic spinach salad with warm bacon dressing is a fantastic choice. The warm dressing is made with bacon drippings, vinegar, and sugar and wilts the spinach leaves into a warm salad. Crumbled bacon bits and hard-boiled eggs add extra heft.

  • 14 of 14

    Apple Pecan Chicken Salad

    Apple chicken salad

     

    "Kirchherr, Jo" / Getty Images

    Chicken salad isn't just for summer picnics. The combination of tender chicken, crisp pecans, tart apples, and a creamy honey mustard dressing in this apple pecan chicken salad is absolutely fantastic. (Using a rotisserie chicken also makes it a snap to assemble.) Just add some dinner rolls on the side and you'll have a fabulous meal with absolutely no cooking at all.