12 Hearty, Healthy & Colorful Salads to Brighten Your Winter Lunch

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSenior Vice President of Content at AT Media
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and former Editor-in-Chief of The Kitchn. She is the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning, The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
updated May 2, 2019
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This is the part of winter where I begin to crave some sunshine — not to mention something fresh and vibrant to eat. Spring is just around the corner, and while the delicious foods of springtime are still a ways off, we can welcome the softening weather by enjoying the vegetables we’ve had with us all winter long. Here are a dozen recipes that speak to the craving for spring, and the wish for brighter, crunchier, lighter dishes.

There are fresh grain salads that are marvelous for lunchtime, a raw kale slaw with tangy peanut dressing, and a wintery mix of cauliflower, fennel and white beans. These salads are both light and nourishing, fresh and filling. Have a salad and look forward to spring!

GRAIN & LEGUME SALADS
• 1 Winter Wheat Berry Salad with Figs and Red Onion – My favorite grain salad — this is a mix of crunchy red onion, toothsome wheat berries, and sweet dried figs.
• 2 Couscous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries – This salad is sweet and savory, hearty and filling.
• 3 Napa Cabbage and Tofu Salad – A fresh, crunchy mix of hearty ingredients.
• 4 Whole Wheat Couscous with Cherries and Arugula – Dried cherries and the sharp, pungent flavor of our favorite cold weather green, arugula, make this taste summery and fresh.
• 5 Wheat Berry Salad with Blood Oranges, Feta, and Red Onion Vinaigrette – The most savory citrus of winter — blood oranges — together with feta cheese and red onion make this a delicious winter lunch.
• 6 Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs – The bell peppers in this salad are out of season; substitute sun-dried tomatoes and celery instead.

CITRUS & WINTER VEGETABLE SALADS
• 7 Cauliflower, Fennel, and White Bean Winter Salad – An unusual (and very filling) mix of cauliflower and white beans. Also very good when lightly sauteed.
• 8 Fennel and Radicchio Winter Salad with Pecans – A mix of bitter and vibrant winter vegetables.
• 9 Avocado and Grapefruit Salad – A taste of California!
• 10 Quick Celery Root Salad with Capers and Lemon – A vegetable many of us are unfamiliar with. This quick slaw is perky and tangy.
• 11 Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing – Kale is hearty and ubiquitous year-round. I love this slaw and make it with all sorts of mix-ins — it’s good just with the kale and the dressing alone, too.
• 12 Broccoli Salad with Carrots and Currants – A healthier take on the classic broccoli slaw.

What’s your favorite winter salad?

(Images: See linked recipes for full image credits)

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