Our collection of refreshing salad recipes includes choices that work as first-course appetizers or as Thanksgiving sides. In addition to lettuce-based green salads, you'll find dishes centered around green beans, wild rice, and root vegetables. This warm, light, and healthy salad is a great addition to a Thanksgiving feast.

This seasonal, colorful salad adds contrast to the typically bird-dominated Thanksgiving dinner.

Fruit, nuts, and bitter lettuce are a fresh, flavorful combination. And don’t forget the homemade dressing.

The slight bitterness of frisee and endive pairs well with sweet-tart dried cranberries. This salad is a perfect interlude in a Thanksgiving menu full of rich dishes.

Farro, a type of wheat popular in Italy, is the chewy, nutty base of this salad. Rosemary and roasted Concord and red grapes add fragrance and sweetness.

This recipe, from "Martha Stewart's Cooking School," features sweet roasted root vegetables, including acorn squash, beets, brussels sprouts, baby carrots, fingerling potatoes, and parsnips, tossed with baby kale and a shallot vinaigrette. This colorful fall salad makes a beautiful presentation for the Thanksgiving table.

Thin slices of crisp, fragrant fennel and sweet navel orange mingle in this refreshing salad dressed with a simple white-wine vinaigrette. This easy salad can be prepared the day before Thanksgiving.

Steamed, quartered brussels sprouts are tossed in a tangy mustard vinaigrette. The sprouts and dressing can be prepared separately the day before Thanksgiving, and then tossed together before serving. Serve this flavorful salad at room temperature.

This wild rice salad includes apple, dried currants, and a pinch of ground cloves for a holiday touch. Dress the salad the day before Thanksgiving; cover and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature and garnish with almonds before serving.

This salad of mixed greens includes lots of sweet roasted shallots. Toss with the Dijon mustard vinaigrette and sprinkle with hazelnuts and blue cheese just before serving to Thanksgiving guests.

A combination of thinly sliced oyster and chanterelle mushrooms, celery, shaved Parmesan cheese, and baby lettuces is delicately dressed with lemon juice. This light salad makes an elegant start to Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving guests will love this green salad for its balance of flavors, between the mellow sweetness of roasted pears and shallots glazed with honey and sherry vinegar, and the bitter crunch of frisee and Belgian endive. The salad is tossed with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette and sprinkled with toasted walnuts before serving.

Here's a fresh take on the typical Thanksgiving green bean side dish. Crisp-tender green beans are tossed in a ginger-garlic vinaigrette and garnished with tamari-glazed almonds and fresh cilantro leaves.

Slices of red onion and Gala apples add color and sweetness to this slaw of wilted cabbage and shredded brussels sprouts. The zesty dressing of orange juice, lemon juice, fresh dill, grainy mustard, and poppy seeds makes this fall salad a refreshing addition to the Thanksgiving menu. The salad can be made up to two days in advance.

A peppery arugula salad whets the appetite before a big Thanksgiving dinner. This one is tossed with a creamy, tangy buttermilk and chive dressing and garnished with Buttermilk Onion Rings.

The entire beet gets used in this colorful salad. Baby red beets and golden beets are roasted to tender sweetness while their greens are sauteed with garlic. Combine beets and greens with toasted pecans and blue cheese for a festive Thanksgiving salad.

Blood oranges, dried cranberries, sliced scallions, and fresh parsley lend bright color and bold flavor to this wild rice salad. If blood oranges are not available, you can use navel oranges in their place. This salad is a great addition to any Thanksgiving buffet; the flavor develops as it stands at room temperature.

Rosemary-glazed roasted pear halves top this elegant Thanksgiving salad of endive, watercress, and frisee. The greens are tossed together in a rich, tangy bacon and sherry vinaigrette and garnished with shaved Manchego cheese.

In this refreshing Thanksgiving salad, blanched cauliflower is tossed with capers, parsley, and a Dijon vinaigrette. The salad can be made a day before Thanksgiving and served cold or at room temperature.

Add a twist to green bean salad with thin shavings of sweet fennel bulb. Throw in some toasted pecans for a Thanksgiving touch and toss with lemon-Dijon vinaigrette. All the components of this salad can be prepared separately and then combined just before dinner.

Shaved carrots and dried cranberries are tossed with mixed greens and a Dijon vinaigrette to make an easy, colorful Thanksgiving salad. The topping of honey and cayenne-glazed almonds can be made several days in advance.