This Ultimate Winter Salad Is Chock-full of Hearty, Seasonal Veggies (2024)

The prepped vegetable trend I’ve been seeing more and more of is exciting to me. Now you can buy all kinds of vegetables chopped, shredded, cubed, and even spiralized. It’s making it so much easier to up the amount of veggies in our diet!

I started this salad with some pre-shredded kale.

Have you ever had a massaged kale salad? Rubbing citrus and oil into kale makes the leaves softer and less bitter. I massage some lemon juice and oil into kale every time I plan on eating it raw. (Unless I’m throwing a handful into a smoothie.)

I like to use extra-virgin olive oil for this. And you only need a small drizzle.

Use your hands to work the lemon juice and olive oil into the greens. You’ll want to massage it for at least a full minute.

Maybe ask it how its day is going, too.

See the difference now? The kale should be wilted ever so slightly and deep green in color.

For this step, you can add whatever prepped or shredded vegetables you like. I added some shredded Brussels sprouts, carrots, and some cabbage slaw mix.

One of the things I like about this salad is that all of the greens are hearty, so after I dress the salad, it won't turn to slime overnight. Salads like this are great for meal prep!

I added a couple of chopped apples and made some candied pecans.

Candied nuts are easy to find at the grocery store. Or try this simple recipe!

Speaking of dressing, this one's easy, too—a simple maple-mustard vinaigrette. Just a few ingredients: red wine vinegar, whole grain or dijon mustard, maple syrup, and some extra-virgin olive oil. Easy, right?

Shake it up really good. You can make this ahead of time, but if you chill it, the oil will solidify a bit. Just leave it out on the counter for an hour before you plan to use it or hold the jar under warm running water to loosen it up.

Pour it all over the salad!

Stir it up really well.

At this point, you've got a solid salad. You could stop here if you like.

If you want to bump this up to ultimate level, add a few more things. These are totally optional, but I really loved the combination.

I found some cranberry-coated goat cheese left over from the holidays so I crumbled it up and tossed it on top.

Totally smart move, by the way. Goat cheese was the perfect tangy addition to this salad. You can even use regular goat cheese.

I also had some leftover butternut squash cubes! (My favorite of the prepped vegetables. Dismantling a butternut is not for the faint of heart.)

So I roasted them and put those in there, too.

And for the finale: pomegranate arils. These are going out of season soon, if not already, so grab some if you see them! I love how jewel-like they are. Gosh, they're pretty.

What hearty, cozy things do you like to eat in the winter?