A big, filling Winter Salad featuring shredded chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, fresh blueberries, avocado, parmesan cheese, dried cranberries, and more! Loaded with flavor and texture for a belly pleasing meal.
Positively packed with nourishing goodies, this is the ultimate winter salad!
With a large variety of fresh ingredients and the tastiest homemade salad dressing, this Flavorfest is simple to prepare and just so satisfying.
Ginormous filling salad recipes like this are my go-to when I’m feeling very hungry but want to keep my food intake clean and full of variety.
Chicken brings satiating protein, we have healthy fats from three sources, and dietary fiber from multiple sources as well.
Plus, each ingredient has its own unique micronutrient profile, giving us a huge boost of antioxidants for some anti-inflammatory properties.
All characteristics considered, we are getting all of our essential macronutrients as well as a great deal of ancillary health benefits.
If you love winter salad recipes like this, also try my Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash.
It uses brussels sprouts instead of a green salad and includes pomegranate arils (pomegranate seeds) and makes an amazing side dish during the holiday season.
While this perfect winter salad can easily fit into the holiday menu, I enjoy it as a weekday meal. Feel free to remove the chicken and add it to your holiday meal for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas Eve, or Christmas dinner!
For me, there is a very basic formula to make any epic winter salad spectacular. Here is my formula for amazing salads during the winter months.
Formula For a Great Winter Salad:
- Greens – pick your favorite from baby spinach to kale to napa cabbage.
- Fresh Fruit – use any seasonal fruit you enjoy.
- Nuts and Seeds – any combination of raw or roasted nuts and seeds.
- Cheese – from feta cheese to blue cheese, you can use it all.
- Fresh Vegetables – pick your favorite raw vegetables for salads and toss them in!
- Tangy Dressing – from a lemon dressing to balsamic vinaigrette, anything works!
All of these elements combined create the best way of making a detoxifying beautiful winter salad.
The goal is to take in a variety of nutrients while also celebrating flavor and texture. For me, that makes nuts, avocado, and some form of cheese absolutely mandatory in every salad I eat.
Let’s discuss the healthy ingredients for winter salad! You can find the full list of ingredients at any grocery store.
Winter Salad Ingredients:
Mixed Greens or Spinach: Pick your favorite greens! I like using Spring greens or a combination of Spring mix and spinach. Kale works too here!
Red Cabbage: In addition to fresh greens, I enjoy adding some thinly sliced cabbage for further micronutrients. Purple cabbage is a great source of antioxidants, which can help the body detoxify.
Shredded Chicken: Use any kind of pre-cooked chicken that you love. I recommend using store-bought rotisserie chicken because it has great flavor and texture and is easy to use on the spot. Plus, it saves well!
Sweet Potato: In order to add some complex carbs to the salad, we add roasted sweet potato. This also adds volume, soft texture, and creamy sweet flavor. I just adore what roasted sweet potatoes bring to a healthy salad!
Fresh Blueberries: A big infusion of antioxidants and delightful tangy sweet berry flavor comes from using fresh berries.
Avocado: A ripe avocado adds healthy fats, creaminess and richness to the salad.
Dried Cranberries: Bringing a big burst of tangy flavor and some sweetness, dried cranberries also add a fun textural element to make any salad pop.
Parmesan Cheese: While I typically use feta cheese in salads, parmesan cheese adds lovely umami flavor and that lovely infusion of flavor we all just adore. It pairs nicely with all of the other ingredients.
Pumpkin Seeds: Raw pumpkin seeds bring a nutty crunch! If you’re a woman and you’re into seed cycling, salad recipes like this are a great way of getting your seeds in.
Red Onion: Some fresh red onions brings a large pop of flavor to the salad. You can skip it if you aren’t into onion or add extra.
Ingredients for Winter Salad Dressing:
Olive Oil: Every great salad dressing starts with a quality fat! Extra virgin olive oil is customary, although I often use avocado oil too. Both are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which can help lower cholesterol.
Fresh Lemon Juice: The acidic portion of the salad dressing. Lemon juice brings citrus flavor and tanginess to offset the rich flavor of the healthy fats. You can also use apple cider vinegar here.
Garlic Clove: Fresh garlic brings a big boost of flavor to salad dressings. I love it but you can also skip it if you aren’t into garlic.
Fresh Parsley: The main ingredient in this healthy salad dressing recipe! Fresh parsley is full of antioxidants and is known to aid in the body’s natural detoxification process.
Honey: Used to sweeten the dressing slightly, I like adding a little honey. Pure maple syrup works too, or you can skip it altogether.
Flaky Sea Salt and Black Pepper: Season the dressing with salt and pepper to your personal taste.
Dijon Mustard (Optional): I like adding a little dijon mustard to my salad dressings for an added flavor. Skip it if you don’t have any on hand.
Recipe Customizations:
- Use cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar in the dressing instead of lemon juice.
- Swap out the dressing recipe here for your favorite homemade balsamic vinaigrette. You can also make my Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette or my Mayo-Free Green Goddess Dressing.
- Make roasted butternut squash or beets instead of roasted sweet potatoes.
- Substitute a fresh chopped apple, pear, clementines or navel orange for the blueberries.
- Use feta cheese or goat cheese instead of parmesan cheese.
- Make my Easy Candied Pecans https://www.theroastedroot.net/easy-candied-pecans/ for an incredible flavor and texture infusion!
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the dressing for some added warm spice.
- Toss some cooked and cooled brown rice into this gorgeous salad for added complex carbs.
- Use kale if you prefer kale salads. Kale is in season during the winter months!
Now that we have discussed the basic ingredients for this filling salad recipe, let’s make it!
How to Make a Winter Salad:
Make the Winter Salad Dressing:
Add all of the salad dressing ingredients to a small blender and blend until combined. You can also whisk the ingredients in a small bowl if you don’t own a small blender.
Set aside until ready to use or refrigerate in an airtight jar for up to 5 days ahead of time.
Roast the Sweet Potato:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the sweet potato under cool water and chop it into bite-sized chunks then transfer them to a large baking sheet.
Drizzle with avocado oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and use your hands to toss the sweet potatoes so that all the sweet potato chunks are covered with oil and salt.
Spread them into an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking the tray once halfway through.
Once the sweet potatoes have finished roasting, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature.
You can also transfer the roasted sweet potato to an airtight container and refrigerate until completely chilled.
Prepare the Salad:
Place the greens on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to chop them into smaller pieces. I like performing this step because smaller pieces of greens make salad easier to eat.
Transfer the chopped greens to a large bowl. Add the sliced cabbage, diced avocado, shredded chicken, blueberries, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and red onion (the rest of the salad ingredients) to the bowl with the greens.
Transfer the cooled cooked sweet potato to the mixing bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients.
Pour all of the dressing over the salad (or your desired amount of dressing). Use two large wooden spoons or salad tongs to toss the salad until everything is well coated in dressing.
Serve and enjoy!
If you have leftover salad, you can transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 12 hours. I always recommend serving salad recipes like this fresh and making just enough for what you need so that there won’t be leftovers.
Greens tend to become mushy after sitting in dressing, so I recommend eating the salad right away.
The next time you find yourself craving a huge salad, whip up this healthy winter salad recipe!
Meal Prep Options:
The dressing can be made ahead of time, and the sweet potatoes can be roasted ahead of time, making it a great meal prep recipe.
If you’re making baked chicken from scratch, you can also make it 3-4 days ahead of time and store it in an airtight container or meal prep containers.
If you take salads to work, add all of the salad ingredients to a large mason jar in the morning and bring salad dressing with you to toss everything together come lunchtime.
I love the idea of creating your favorite winter salad recipes to enjoy for a healthy lunch to stay energized and alert during work.
Just be sure to toss the salad ingredients together just before eating for the best results!
Use this as a canvas for all your salad adventures. You can pick from the fresh produce below to add bonus points to your salad!
Winter Produce:
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Brussel Sprouts
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Celery
- Clementines
- Endives
- Garlic
- Kale
- Onions
- Peas
- Pomegranates
- Potatoes
- Winter Squash
- Sweet Potatoes
- Pears
While I do find this to be the perfect winter salad, it can still be prepared regardless of the time of year! In fact, the random salads I toss together are often very similar even in the summer time.
I love eating my salads out of a ginormous bowl (typically the bowl I use to prepare it). The same went for this delicious winter salad!
If you’re into entree salad recipes, also try these reader favorites!
More Filling Salad Recipes:
- Fall Harvest Salad with Roast Chicken Sweet Potato and Pecans
- Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Spinach Salad
- Crunchy Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Southwest Chicken Chopped Salad
- Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Enjoy this nutritious clean eating recipe!
Winter Salad
Equipment
- Small Blender or small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato chopped into bite-sized chunks
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- Sea salt to taste
- 5 ounces spring greens or spinach
- 2 cups red cabbage thinly sliced
- 2 cups shredded chicken I recommend rotisserie chicken
- 1 large avocado peeled and diced
- 1 pint blueberries
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 3 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup red onion thinly sliced
Lemon-Parsley Dressing
- 5 Tbsp avocado oil
- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard optional
- 2 tsp honey
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley loosely packed
- 1 small clove garlic optional
- Pinch sea salt to taste
Instructions
Make the Winter Salad Dressing:
- Add all of the salad dressing ingredients to a small blender and blend until combined. You can also whisk the ingredients in a small bowl if you don’t own a small blender. Set aside until ready to use or refrigerate in an airtight jar for up to 5 days ahead of time.
Roast the Sweet Potato:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the sweet potato under cool water and chop it into bite-sized chunks then transfer them to a large baking sheet.
- Drizzle with avocado oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and use your hands to toss the sweet potatoes so that all the sweet potato chunks are covered with oil and salt. Spread them into an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, shaking the tray once halfway through.
- Once the sweet potatoes have finished roasting, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. You can also transfer the roasted sweet potato to an airtight container and refrigerate until completely chilled.
Prepare the Salad:
- Place the greens on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to chop them into smaller pieces. I like performing this step because smaller pieces of greens make salad easier to eat.
- Transfer the chopped greens to a large bowl. Add the sliced cabbage, diced avocado, shredded chicken, blueberries, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and red onion (the rest of the salad ingredients) to the bowl with the greens.
- Transfer the cooled cooked sweet potato to the mixing bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients.
- Pour all of the dressing over the salad (or your desired amount of dressing). Use two large wooden spoons or salad tongs to toss the salad until everything is well coated in dressing. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutrition
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