Hearty Fall Salads That Look Beyond Lettuce

I’ve never been able to convince myself that a bowl of leaves could keep me sustained until my next meal. Don’t get me wrong—I’m no salad slanderer, but you won’t catch me throwing some lettuce in a bowl and calling it a day.

Maybe it’s time I change my mentality. Because what better moment than the early inkling of fall to prove to myself that a salad can be ample, that a salad can tide me over, and that there’s more to the meal than just lettuce and oil?

So to get started, I dove into the Food52 recipes, hungry for salads that wouldn’t leave me looking for a 3 pm snack. The key, I learned, is to pump the salad with protein, garnish it with grains, and generously add ingredients unexpected ingredients like squash or persimmon. So, this fall, I vow to think beyond the leaf with the help of these recipes. I encourage you to join me and do the same.