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 the Thanksgiving Dip or super cheesy Baked Brie with Garlic. If you have lots of eaters, try the 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.
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.
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!
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!
Adrianne
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 tablespoon chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 cups tri-colour quinoa dried
- 4 cups water
Sweet Peach Drizzle
- 825g peach slices in syrup
- 1 tablespoon 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
Paula Montenegro says
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!
Adrianne says
That is great to hear, thanks for your feedback Paula!!
Angela says
I could eat this salad every day and not get bored of it! It's completely perfection. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Adrianne says
No worries Angela, it is great to hear your thoughts on it, cheers!
Leslie says
Mmmm. I love kale. And adding pumpkin and quinoa sounds amazing.
Adrianne says
Me too Leslie!! Love your positive thoughts. Cheers