The usual holiday-salad carbs never make it into the bowl.

A typical Thanksgiving salad carries its carbs in two places: candied or honey-roasted nuts, and a sweetened dressing. This version leaves both out. The cranberries are fresh and tart rather than dried and sugared, and the macadamias are toasted plain rather than candied. The dressing is a straightforward olive oil and red wine vinaigrette with no sugar in it at all, just a smashed garlic clove marinated in for flavor before it gets discarded.

Keto-Friendly Thanksgiving Salad

Field greens with cherry tomatoes, feta, olives, cranberries and toasted macadamias.

Field greens with cherry tomatoes, macadamias, tart cranberries and cheese crumbles, dressed and ready to serve

Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 large tub of field greens, washed and spun dry
  • 1 package sweet cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ½ package feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 jar kalamata olives
  • 2 small cucumbers, peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 2 cups macadamia nuts, lightly toasted

Vinaigrette

  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 1½ cups olive oil
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar

Instructions

Make the Vinaigrette

  1. 1

    Whisk the salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar together, or shake them in a lidded jar or dressing bottle.

  2. 2

    Let the garlic marinate in the dressing for at least 30 minutes, then discard the clove. Shake well before using.

Build the Salad

  1. 3

    Add the field greens to a large bowl. Wash and slice the cucumbers, and halve the cherry tomatoes.

  2. 4

    Toss the greens and vegetables with the vinaigrette.

  3. 5

    Crumble the feta over the top, then scatter with the olives, cranberries and toasted macadamias.

  4. 6

    Chill before serving.

Servings and nutrition. The original recipe doesn't give a yield or nutrition figures, so neither is shown here rather than guessed. It's written to fill a large holiday salad bowl; scale the tub of greens up or down for your table.

Garlic and oil safety. Keep the finished vinaigrette refrigerated and use it within a few days. Garlic held in oil at room temperature for longer than that is a known food-safety risk, not just a flavor one.

Cheese swap. Goat cheese works in place of feta for a milder flavor, with no change to the method.

Nut swap. Toasted pecans or walnuts work if macadamias aren't on hand, though the carb count will differ.

Dress it close to serving. Field greens wilt if they sit dressed too long, so toss just before the meal rather than ahead of time.

Ania, founder of Low-Carb Diet Solutions

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