7 Delicious Winter Salad Recipes Packed With Vitamins

If sprouts have never appealed to you, you probably haven’t had them this way. When thinly sliced, they’re easier to chew, have a delectable crunch, and work as a leafy green base. You can use a mandoline, a food processor, or buy them already shredded at the grocery store. Brussel sprouts are rich in vitamin C, which can keep your immune system strong all winter long.

Radicchio, a leafy winter vegetable that looks similar to cabbage, is common in Italian cuisine, according to WebMD. It has just 9 calories per cup, and along with kale, provides an excellent source of bone supporting vitamin K, per the USDA. Radicchio’s bitterness is well-balanced by sweet apple and tart cranberries.

Not all salads need to be savory. This one, loaded with sweet winter fruit, makes a great breakfast or afternoon treat. Persimmons have a mildly sweet, almost melon-like flavor and a pudding-like consistency. They also provide an excellent source of dietary fiber, 6 g per fruit, and beta-carotene, according to the USDA.

Fennel adds a lovely subtle licorice flavor, and past research indicates that it has been used medicinally to treat digestive issues. You can eat all the parts of the fennel plant, including the fronds, which look like dill. Its bitterness is balanced by blood oranges, which get their namesake hue from plant pigments called anthocyanins, which have been shown to support heart and brain health, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

This lettuce-free sheet pan salad features roasted cauliflower, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The creamy dressing uses tahini, a sesame-seed paste, and Greek yogurt, which adds protein that most mayo-based dressings lack. Turn this salad into an entrée by stuffing it with mixed greens into a whole-wheat pita pocket or serving it on top of a bowl of whole-wheat couscous.

This bulbous vegetable, an excellent source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, per the USDA, is entirely edible, but its herbaceous green fronds are used quite differently from its crunchy white base and have a slightly more delicate flavor as well. That flavor, like mild black licorice, is fennel’s calling card, whether raw or cooked. Here, it pairs nicely with kumquats, another unique seasonal ingredient that adds a citrus zing to this slice-and-serve salad. You may be able to find kumquats in your grocery store or in a specialty store, but if not, peeled clementine sections will stand in for them.

If you haven’t tried roasted beets, you're in for a treat. Roasting beets brings out their sweet flavor and also removes any bitter, earthy taste. Roasting beets also helps retain their nutrients, while boiling or oversteaming them can result in vitamin losses, according to The Ohio State University. This dish is also an excellent source of vitamin C, thanks to the oranges. According to the USDA, 1 orange contains 82.7 mg of vitamin C, which just about meets your daily vitamin C needs.