Thanksgiving Salad is a salad that compliments turkey perfectly! So of course, we also need Appetizers and Side dishes to make our table complete! Why not also try our Christmas Wreath Pavlova so we can eat it twice this festive season!
Let's start our thanksgiving menu with our Caprese Bites, our Baked Brie with Garlic and our Spinach Cob Loaf!
Do you serve salad on Thanksgiving?
Yes, you do and this recipe is perfect for that!
Occasions like this are so fond in my heart because you get to spend a lot of time with family and friends, relaxing and enjoying each other's company.
The food is a big deal on these occasions. There always seems to be A LOT more of it than any other time of year and there are left overs for days on end!!
In developing the recipe for this salad, I wanted to really create a salad that was the epitome of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Salad questions answered
About the recipe:
- Roasted Pumpkin with lots of spices says to me 'warm and heartening'
- The colours of the pumpkin, kale and sun-dried tomatoes say to me 'Thanksgiving' and 'Christmas'
- The crispy bacon, because I wanted to add the 'yum' to the dish
- The sweet peach drizzle, as ain't no Thanksgiving Salad complete without that!!
What are the ingredients for a salad?
We use some cumin, chilli flakes, rosemary, salt and pepper mixed with a little olive oil to make our seasoning mix. Which we then coat our peeled and chopped pumpkin pieces in.
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This goes into the oven to roast away and the house begins to smell like Thanksgiving!!!
Our Sweet Peach drizzle is prepared by boiling some peaches in a bit of their own juice with a tiny touch of sugar. You can even use the drizzle for the turkey if you like!
This healthy Thanksgiving Salad is large enough to feed a crowd!
We need this to be sweet because the kale is very bitter. I know you could use spinach or other greens here, but trust me, it is well worth it if you are game enough to give it a go.
Thanksgiving salad recipe ideas
I always love to try and show you guys exactly what goes into my salads, so you can recreate it at home in easy steps.
If you haven't already had a look at some of my other salads, I am a fan of using quinoa and here are 2 of my favourites:
So when all is said and done, we want to pour our sweet peach drizzle over the salad. All over baby, we want LOTS of that sweetness to cut through the bitterness of the kale.
When you dress and toss the salad, you should notice that the bowl has transformed into its very own thanksgiving apparition! Fall salads have the potential to make your Thanksgiving Menu soar!
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Now all that will be left is to roast the turkey, pour some whiskey in the glasses and toast to family and friends.
If you make this recipe and want to upload a photo (I would love to see) you can do that via the pin on my recipes board >> Sweet Caramel Sunday Recipes board >> Pinterest
Thanksgiving Salad
Ingredients
Thanksgiving Salad
- 1 butternut pumpkin peeled and diced, seeds removed
- 200 grams streaky bacon
- 400 g chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 280 g sun-dried tomatoes drained, not rinsed
- 1 bunch kale top ¾, rinsed and shredded
- 1 tbsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cracked pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 cups tri-colour quinoa dried
- 4 cups water
Sweet Peach Drizzle
- 825g peach slices in syrup
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
Thanksgiving Salad
- Preheat the oven to 180 to 190 C (350–375 F). Line one baking tray with grease-proof paper. Line another with grease-proof paper and a wire rack
- Place bacon on wire rack and cook for 20 minutes or until crispy. When cool, cut with kitchen scissors.
- Cut pumpkin in half. Remove seeds using a spoon. Peel, then chop into small cubes
- In a small mixing bowl, combine olive oil, chilli flakes, cumin, rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Use a pastry brush to coat pumpkin pieces. Cook for 20 minutes on top rack of oven. Use a skewer or fork to test that the pieces are thoroughly cooked. If the skewer doesn't go straight through, cook for another 5 minutes and test again.
- Add dried quinoa and water to a medium sized saucepan, bring to the boil. Stir occasionally. The water will fully absorb into the grain.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas
- Drain oil from sun-dried tomatoes. Chop into small pieces
- Use the top ¾ of the bunch of kale. Cut this into smaller pieces, then use a food processor to shred. Add 3 tablespoons of the peach syrup to the kale and stir to combine
- Dress and toss salad with Sweet Peach Drizzle
Sweet Peach Drizzle
- Open can and pour contents (minus 3 tablespoons syrup needed for kale) into a medium sized saucepan
- Add brown sugar and bring to boil, stir to combine
- Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes
- When cool use a handheld blender to blitz peaches into smooth liquid
Notes
- This makes a HUGE salad folks, I am not kidding, it is HUGGGGEEE!!
- If you really really can't handle the thought of the kale, stick with green and use spinach leaves instead. (But you will be happy if you give the kale a try....trust me)
- Use kitchen scissors to chop your sun dried tomatoes and bacon
- When dressing the salad, pour the Sweet Peach Drizzle directly onto the kale and then mix it all in
- A salad like this is easy to toss using 2 spoons and moving your hands around at the same time to mix it all in together
- The chilli flakes won't make the pumpkin TOO spicy. But if you really don't like chilli or know a guest who won't, use thyme instead
- The wire rack method for cooking the bacon will ensure that the fat drips off onto the lower part of the tray, so the bacon doesn't sit in it.
- You CAN use a microwave rice cooker to make your quinoa (whoop whoop hooray isn't that the BEST thing EVER, hello more time to dance around the kitchen!)
- I used a jar of sun-dried tomatoes hence the oil, you can also get them from the grocery deli section fresh, not in oil
- Don't discard the peach syrup, we use some for flavouring the kale to take away the bitterness and some for cooking the peaches
- It is best to wait till the peaches are COOL before blitzing them. This is especially true if using a blender. If you are in a hurry, you can place the saucepan into the fridge for a bit which will cool the contents
Nutrition
Please note this recipe was published on 14th October 2018 and updated on 24th November 2019
What is a good Thanksgiving Menu?
A good thanksgiving menu one is one that has a lot of variety! From our Spinach Cob Loaf to our Grazing Platter, there is a recipe here for every thanksgiving menu!
It has been POURING in Brisvegas this weekend. I chose to enact my wet weather plan.....stay in, stay warm, stay dry, pump some tunes, chop some stuff up, throw some stuff together and enjoy the rain! I am glad I did as it gave me the opportunity to share my Thanksgiving Salad with you and I know you are going to LOVE it.
Adrianne
P.S Try the kale, TRUST ME, it WON"T kill you!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING MY FRIENDS XXX
If you would like further recipe inspiration for the fall season, these recipes bring the festive spirit:
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This is my kind of salad! I love that it's packed full of fall favorites! Adding this to my weekly menu!
Cheers Kim. Hope you love it!!
What a delicious looking salad and so colourful too! Perfect for Thanksgiving, it is making my mouth water!
Thanks Bintu! Nice to see you here again.
I love everything in this salad and would be happy to serve this for my Thanksgiving day table .. Its so pretty too for fall!
Thanks Claudia! Yes, great idea.
What a beautiful salad, this looks like the perfect thing for a celebration!
Cheers Amy 🙂 yes, that is exactly what I was thinking!
This looks great. I love the addition of the sweet peaches to offset the bitter kale. Nice and healthy for a holiday that is often too much - too much food, calories, and fattening food!
Thanks Debi! I know. It is not fun to have your close fit tighter after a few days of eating at this time of year! Need more veggiies, I say!
I would gobble up that salad!
I think you would love it Jeff!
So delightful, yum?
Happy weekend ?
Thanks, you too!
This looks so delicious! What a great idea for Thanksgiving!
Thanks Danielle!! No doubt you have a full feast prepared!! Cheers
A Thanksgiving salad is a great way to mix up tasty ingredients and is something different from the usual Thanksgiving dishes. The flavours sound like a perfect mix together, and a great dish for sharing with family and friends.
Cheers Helen!! You are so right. Have a great Thanksgiving!!
I really love to have salad alternatives for the holidays, and this looks like one of the best options! Healthy yet delicious, it will make an appearance on my table!
That is great to hear, thanks for your feedback Paula!!
I could eat this salad every day and not get bored of it! It's completely perfection. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
No worries Angela, it is great to hear your thoughts on it, cheers!
Mmmm. I love kale. And adding pumpkin and quinoa sounds amazing.
Me too Leslie!! Love your positive thoughts. Cheers