When the autumn leaves fall, it’s best not to let those other leaves – the salad kind – disappear from your diet. In between those warming soups, curries and slow-cooked dishes, brighten your menu with these autumn salads. They celebrate the best of the autumn bounty, with plenty of beetroot, fennel and cauliflower salads coming your way.
Autumn salad recipes embrace the rich, earthy flavours of the season with a mix of crisp greens, roasted vegetables, nuts, and fruits. They often feature a balance of sweet and savoury elements, combining fresh, seasonal produce like apples, pears, or cranberries with hearty ingredients such as chickpeas, beetroot, or sweet potatoes to create the perfect hearty dinner. Nuts and seeds add crunch, while cheeses like feta or blue cheese provide creaminess and depth, while a classic autumn salad incorporates warm grains or legumes for extra texture.
Whether served as a side or a main dish, autumn salads celebrate the harvest season with vibrant colours and bold, satisfying tastes.
Here are our best autumn salads.
Grilled eggplant salad with freekeh, artichoke, tomato and labne
This Mediterranean-inspired eggplant salad is as nourishing as it is delicious.
Alla Wolf-Tasker’s heirloom tomato and house-made ricotta salad
The best way to celebrate tomato season.
Brussels sprout salad
Fried and charred, Brussels sprouts take on a sweet, nutty flavour all their own.
Harissa-roasted cauliflower with preserved-lemon dressing
A warm vegetarian salad that punches above its weight in the flavour stakes.
Carrots with garlic, ginger, spring onion and smoked chilli butter
Carrots, but with a spicy upgrade.
Roasted cauliflower salad with chickpeas and dates
The nuttiness of roasted cauliflower, the creaminess of labne, the sweetness of dates. This salad hits all the right notes.
Sunda’s crisp rice salad (nam khao)
It’s the Melbourne restaurant’s simplified version of the Lao-style salad, with crisp and crunch from the deep-fried jasmine rice.
Farro, broccoli and smoked trout salad
Remember when you promised to eat more whole grains?
Giovanni Pilu’s potato salad with chickpeas, fennel, radicchio and anchovy dressing
A hearty salad that holds its own.
Cloud-ear salad with tofu and soy beans
An easy comfort dish to eat with rice or as part of a shared banquet with family and friends.
Celeriac and mushroom salad with parmesan
A quick salad of crunchy celeriac and raw mushrooms that suits the change of season perfectly.
Roasted vegetables with preserved-lemon dressing
A bright, well-balanced dressing can take a roast dinner in new directions.
Farro and fennel salad
This wintry salad holds up on its own, but is equally good with grilled fish.
Shaved Brussels sprouts, walnuts and Gorgonzola cremificato salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for shaved Brussels sprouts, walnuts and Gorgonzola cremificato salad.
Mushroom, lentil and pickled onion salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for mushroom, lentil and pickled onion salad.
Quinoa salad with pomegranate, pumpkin and ashed goat’s cheese
One of our most popular recipes for good reason.
Beetroot salad with feta and lentils
We all know someone who thinks salads are boring. Consider them converted with this flavour-packed number.
Spelt, cashew and broccoli bowl with yoghurt dressing
This nicely textured spelt, cashew and broccoli salad transports well, making it ideal for picnics or to take to barbecues. The broccoli can be kept raw and shaved on a mandolin, too.
Pinbone’s witlof, grapefruit and pecorino salad
A salad with plenty of bite that’s ideal alongside rich dishes.
Automata’s radicchio salad with blistered grapes, shallot and za’atar
Upgrade your autumn salad with this winning recipe from Sydney restaurant Automata.
Chickpea salad with tahini dressing
Creamy tahini dressing plus crunchy radishes, chickpeas and herbs add up to one very satisfying bowl.
Freekeh and shaved cauliflower salad with herb dressing
While we love cauliflower roasted, using it raw and shaved whisper-thin adds a lovely textural element to salads.
Turkish cracked wheat salad
This salad is supremely versatile: serve it with roasted lamb shoulder or grilled vegetables, or perhaps with flatbread alongside our Hwayej-spiced chicken.
Roast radish and potato salad
This warm potato salad gets a boost from the flavourful lemon-butter dressing.
Beetroot salad with barley and hazelnut
Using a mix of raw and roasted vegetables in salads is a simple way to add different textures and flavours to a dish. Beetroot works particularly well.
Roast cauliflower with almonds, Israeli couscous and za’atar
Sydney restaurant Momofuku Seiobo kindly shared a home-cook-friendly version of their roast cauliflower side dish.
Middle Eastern-inspired beetroot and moghrabieh salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Middle Eastern-inspired beetroot and moghrabieh salad
Warm cauliflower, chickpea and beetroot salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for warm cauliflower, chickpea and beetroot salad by Sydney restaurant Cru 54.
Cauliflower, pomegranate and quinoa salad
A salad that’s all crunch and freshness.
Duck, orange and beetroot salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for duck, orange and beetroot salad.
Finger fennel with farro and curry dressing
Finger fennel, a thinner variety with a less prominent bulb, is available from select greengrocers.
Potato, bacon and pickled fennel salad
Pickled fennel works wonderfully in this potato, bacon and pickled fennel salad. Goat’s curd makes a lovely addition here, too.
Wild rice pilaf with cauliflower, burnt butter and almonds
An excellent meal on its own, this pilaf also makes a great accompaniment to spiced roast chook or lamb.
Roasted beets and onions with yoghurt, quinoa and walnuts
Recipe for roasted beets and onions with yoghurt, quinoa and walnuts.
Persian-style chickpea salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Persian-style chickpea salad.
Quail egg, beetroot and bacon salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller entree recipe for quail egg, beetroot and bacon salad
Roast beetroot and blood orange salad
Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for roast beetroot and blood orange salad.
Warm autumn salad of artichoke, pomegranate and radicchio
Autumn leaves, grilled artichokes and the crunch of pomegranate. This could be the perfect cold-weather salad.
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