18 Warm Winter Salads to Toss Together for Lunch This Week

Heather Sage
Dec 08, 2014

When the temps plummet, we still crave salads. And for a lot of us, uncovering our barbecues to get a little grilled salad action going is almost always out of the question. These 18 warm salads are just the ticket. Enjoy this collection of cool-weather salads perfect for a starter, side or main course. As an added bonus, each packs a nutrient punch to give you an edge all holiday and cold season long.

1. Warm Cranberry-Honey Dressing and Winter Salad: Your favorite mix of greens dresses up ever so nicely with a drizzle of warm, sweet-sour dressing and a beautiful selection of produce. (via Boulder Locavore)

2. Warm Buckwheat Salad With Roasted Kabocha: You’ll fall hard for this nutritional powerhouse. Featuring nutty buckwheat, kabocha squash and beans, it is a healthy meal that will surely satisfy. (via Petit World Citizen)

3. Warm Roasted Sweet Potato Salad: Featuring pecans, cranberries, blue cheese, bacon and a warm herb vinaigrette, this isn’t your usual summer potato salad. (via The Cozy Apron)

4. Warm Sauteed Spinach With Feijoa in a Balsamic Beurre Blanc: Serve this up as an unexpected alternative to creamed spinach at your next holiday feast. The mouthwatering combo of buttery and sweet is sure to wow your guests. (via Inspired Edibles)

5. Warm Winter Lentil Salad: Make this salad an even heartier meal by topping it with a nice piece of salmon or a poached egg. (via Brazilian Flair in the USA)

6. Warm Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Quinoa Salad (Vegan): You’ll love the trifecta of flavors and textures in this salad. Between the creamy tahini dressing and smokey bacon, it’s hard to believe there’s no dairy or meat to be found. (via Keepin’ It Kind)

7. Warm Cauliflower Salad With Radishes and Olives: Brace your taste buds for a unique experience. Peppery radish, mellow cauliflower and briny olives make up this warm salad that you won’t soon forget. (via Mango Tomato)

8. Warm Israeli Couscous Salad With Roasted Vegetables: Guess what? This salad is a great do-ahead side for your next potluck or holiday dinner. Simply reheat and serve. (via The Wanderlust Kitchen)

9. Cozy Fall Power Bowl: Add this fall-themed rice bowl to your rotation — the tomato jam alone will make you glad you did. (via Blissful Basil)

10. Warm French Potato Salad With Tempeh: Take potato salad from summer potlucks to cold-weather celebrations with this warm, protein-packed rendition. (via Peaceful Dumpling)

11. Warm Salad With Kale, Brussels Sprouts and Spaghetti Squash: As much a treat for your eyes as it is for your mouth, this salad features a host of bright colors and winter flavors. (via Lazy Sunday Cooking)

12. Beluga Lentils With Greek Yogurt and Pomegranate: Ruby pomegranate arils stand out against a backdrop of black and white to create one sexy salad. (via Foodmonger)

13. Warm Fig Salad: Edamame, mushrooms, hazelnuts and blue cheese mingle together beautifully with figs in this protein-rich salad. Prepare yourself for an umami overload. (via Army Wife to Suburban Life)

14. Kale and Mushroom Salad With Sweet Potato Fries: Get your cruciferous veggie fix with this vibrant kale salad. The side of crispy, baked fries transform it into a meal that feels like much more of an indulgence than it actually is. (via Eva Kristina Kupper)

15. Warm Salmon Salad with Dill and Caper Mayonnaise: They’re hard to spot, but chunks of creamy avocado add an extra touch of luxury to this already fancy salad. (via Fish Fingers for Tea)

16. Warm Kale-Quinoa Salad With Roasted Balsamic Beets: Whole roasted baby beets will elicit oohs and ahhs from everyone around the dinner table. Ideal served alongside a lovely roast, this salad combines veggies and starch into one gorgeous side. (via The First Mess)

17. Russian Carrot and Parsnip Salad: Go back to your roots with this sweet, spicy side featuring both carrots and parsnips. (via The Cook Who Knew Nothing)

18. Warm Pear Stuffed with Blue Cheese, Baby Spinach and Walnut Salad: A bed of baby spinach is the best base for a baked pear stuffed with blue cheese, chopped walnuts and a honey-balsamic vinaigrette to rest upon. Talk about an elegant first course. (via My Cape Cod Kitchen)

What tricks do you have up your sleeve for making salads winter-ready? Let us know below!

16 Hot Cocktails To Cozy Up With This Winter

Hot, boozy drinks are one of our favorite things when the colder months of the year roll around, so we've found a whole winter's worth of drinks to warm you up throughout all the dinner parties, outdoor excursions, and the quiet nights at home watching your favorite fall TV show. Take this time to invest in some good glassware, too, because these hot cocktails are a must-try!

Brit + Co

5-Ingredient Mulled Wine

This warm winter cocktail only uses five ingredients and is the ideal beverage for parties, winter weddings, or just for a cozy night in. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Spiked Lattes

While we don’t suggest spiking your morningcoffee on the way to work, this warm cocktail just might rid you of your hangover on a lazy Sunday. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Mulled Cider with Cloved Oranges

Though this cold weather drink isn’t normally spiked, a nice splash of bourbon, rum, or brandy in this cider will do the trick. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Hot Buttered Rum

If you’ve ever wondered what the Harry Potter butterbeer tastes like, we imagine it’s something like this. You don’t have to be a wizard to make this hot alcoholic beverage, though. Just remember to keep it hot in a Crock-Pot for your guests. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Chai Hot Toddy

Hot chocolate and traditional toddies get a lot of play during the holidays, but don’t sleep on chai. It’s spicy, sweet, and can really liven up a party. This is a great warm cocktail for fall and winter alike. (via Brit + Co)

StableDiffusion

Easy Irish Coffee

Only 4 ingredients are required to craft this warming coffee cocktail. Just prep your favorite brew, throw some Irish whiskey and brown sugar in the mix, then top it all off with some whipped cream for added delight! (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Easy Hot Toddy

This light and bright warm beverage is just the right thing to fix you up if you’re feeling sniffly. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Slow-Cooker Mulled Reisling

A pot of mulled wine in the slow cooker will make your house smell like a dreamy cinnamon-orange candle. Plus, this hot cocktail recipe just tastes uh-maze-ing. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Coffee Stout

Beer and coffee are pretty much our two favorite things, and they join forces in this warm cocktail to create something totally sippable. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Vegan Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa

Goodness gracious! The gold touch on the rim and the coconut cream mound on top make this the perfect hot drink to sip on this season. Throw your favorite liqueur into this hot chocolate, and you’ll be hooked. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Mulled Wine Hot Chocolate

Chocolate and wine? Our two favorite things put together into one big hot winter cocktail – what could be better? (via Brit + Co)

Saveur

Warm Mulled Wine

This cinnamon-y hot drink with alcohol comes together in your slow cooker and can easily be served out of the same vessel, too. (via Saveur)

Barley & Sage

Apple Pie Moonshine Hot Toddy

This honey- and lemon-infused cocktail is the perfect solution to warm up a very cold evening. (via Barley & Sage)

Chef Bai

Irish Coffee with Cocoa Whipped Cream

This super sweet Irish coffee recipe is also dairy-free, for all to enjoy! (via Chef Bai)

A Spicy Perspective

Hot Apple Cider Wassail

The robust, sweet flavors of this hot apple cider simmer together perfectly in a slow cooker. (via A Spicy Perspective)

Half Baked Harvest

Naughty and Nice Cinnamon Toddy

Bourbon pairs nicely with cinnamon and honey to create a hot drink that lives up to its name! (via Half Baked Harvest)

What are your fave hot cocktails to stay toasty on those chilly nights? Follow us on Pinterest or join our newsletter for more seasonal drink ideas!

Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.

This post has been updated with additional reporting by Meredith Holser.

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Shawn Mendes Finally Opens Up About His Sexuality: "I'm Trying To Be Really Brave"

Shawn Mendes — and his ever-complicated love life — has been all over the news lately (hello, VMAs love triangle 👀). From Camila Cabello to Sabrina Carpenter to those rumors that he may not even be interested in women at all, there's no shortage of topics to address. And finally, Shawn decided to put the rumors to rest...sort of. Here's what the singer had to say at his Colorado concert this week!

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Shawn finally addressing his sexuality! #shawnmendes #friendsandfamily #redrock

Shawn entered the spotlight as a teenager, quickly becoming a heartthrob — and a controversial topic of conversation. For years, people speculated that he was actually gay, leading him to a lot of frustration, according to his conversation with Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast. But now, he's finally addressing the rumors head on.

During his show at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Shawn addressed the crowd pretty directly. The musician shared, "Since I was really young, there's been this thing about my sexuality, and people have been talking about it for so long." He continued, nothing that he thinks "it's kind of silly" in general that people were so focused on it because he thinks "sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes."

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV

The star elaborated, "It always felt like such an intrusion on something very personal to me, something that I was figuring out in myself, something that I had yet to discover, and still have yet to discover." Throughout the speech, Shawn played his guitar, eventually noting that writing "The Mountain" — a song that calls out the rumors about his romantic life — "felt very important" to him because he "could address it [the rumors]" in a way that made sense to him.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV

Finally, Shawn opened up. He said, "The real truth about my life and my sexuality is that, man, I’m just figuring it out like everyone. I don't really know sometimes, and I know other times. And it feels really scary because we live in a society that has a lot to say about that."

Closing the whole speech out, Shawn finished with, "I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things. And that’s all I really want to say about that for now."

We're so happy for Shawn, and hope he feels a little more free to live his truth – whatever that may be!

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13 Easy Fall Salads Packed With Feel-Good Ingredients

As good as soup season is, those hearty-and-hot meals can become entirely too repetitive. If you're growing tired of slow cooker stews and labor-intensive pot roasts, it's time to embrace seasonal flavors another way: fall salads. You can easily fall-ify any salad by including ingredients like butternut squash, pumpkin, apple, pomegranate, or pecans. These 13 easy fall salads celebrate the cozy, comforting essence of the season, all while keeping things very light and refreshing. Get ready to fall in love with these salads!

Brit + Co

Arugula + Pomegranate Salad

Arugula is an absolute classic when it comes to fall salads. Pair it with pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, pecans, and a tasty homemade balsamic dressing, and you've got the tastiest fall salad around. (via Brit + Co)

Live Eat Learn

Chickpea Salad

For a boost of protein that you might not get from a traditional leafy salad, opt for chickpea salad. With this recipe, you'll still pack in some good veg, but feel fuller after the fact. (via Live Eat Learn for Brit + Co)

StableDiffusion

Mediterranean Salad

Eating Mediterranean-style will always provide you with amazing nourishment. This easy chop-and-throw-together salad is all veggies, plus you can season it your way with fresh dill, salt, and pepper. (via Brit + Co)

Brit + Co

Fall Quinoa Salad

This hearty salad is filled with healthy grains, thanks to the addition of quinoa. Cooking it in the Instant Pot is a total time-saving hack! (via Brit + Co)

The Girl on Bloor

Taco Salad

Taco salad will never not be welcome at the dinner table. This one boasts a beautiful balance between fresh veg and filling meat for a dish you'll wanna eat every day. (via The Girl on Bloor for Brit + Co)

Two Peas & Their Pod

Fall Panzanella Salad

This bready salad may include more carbs than a traditional salad, but each bread bite is balanced with lots of lighter ingredients, like butternut squash, brussels sprouts, apple, dried cranberries, pepitas, goat cheese, and kale. (via Two Peas & Their Pod)

Crowded Kitchen

Fall Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Kale is also a choice ingredient when it comes to the fall season setting in. All this easy fall salad requires is a good chop, mix, and eat! (via Crowded Kitchen)

The Real Food Dietitians

Harvest Chicken Salad

Don't shy away from protein on your salad – it'll keep you nice and full for hours at a time, plus, you can make it taste reallygood. In this recipe, juicy grilled chicken sits atop a hearty bed of mixed greens, sweet potato, and even more fall nourishment. (via The Real Food Dietitians)

Half Baked Harvest

Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad

This fall salad is bulked up with big pieces of butternut squash and earns a ton of fun texture from pepitas and pomegranate seeds, which provide the vitamins you need to feel your best this fall. (via Half Baked Harvest)

Earthly Provisions

Quick, Creamy Ranch Chickpea Salad

This chickpea salad can be enjoyed on its own, slapped on a sammie, or smeared across a wrap. No matter how you serve it, it's gonna satiate your appetite without weighing you down, since it's packed with veg. (via Earthly Provisions)

The Original Dish

Roasted Apple Bulgur Salad with Halloumi & Date Vinaigrette

For an impressive side dish for guests or a unique, healthy meal to enjoy on your own, try your hand at this roasted apple and halloumi salad. It's salty, sweet, and savory, so you really can hit three cravings in one dish! (via The Original Dish)

Averie Cooks

Simple Apple Cranberry Salad

Speaking of sweet, this easy fall salad piles on the dried cranberries and chopped apples, which are then pleasantly contrasted by sharp feta cheese and a bold apple cider dressing. (via Averie Cooks)

Most Hungry

Sesame Cabbage Salad

Cabbage works wonderfully along notes of sesame in this easy fall salad. Because it's topped with chicken, it's totally worthy of being the main course during your next weeknight dinner. (via Most Hungry)

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Dunkin’s Official Holiday Menu Has Something Starbucks Doesn’t

The holidays are slowly approaching, and thank goodness, because it means all of the yummy fast food holiday menus are on their way. If you can’t get enough of a seasonal drink (perhaps a little peppermint action), listen up: Dunkin’s holiday menu for 2024 was just officially announced!

After rumors about the Dunkin’holiday menu for 2024 had been swirling around online, the Dunkin' Instagram account just confirmed a lot of the drink and snack predictions for the lineup, and they look extra good.

Plus, one of Dunkin's menu items is filling the void in my heart from a missing drink on the Starbucks rumored holiday menu. Hint: it involves toasted white mocha!

The Dunkin’ holiday menu for 2024 is speculated to drop on November 1, six days before Starbucks’ rumored holiday menu will hit. Scroll on to see everything joining the Dunkin’ menu!

When will the Dunkin' holiday menu for 2024 drop?

Meredith Holser

According to some menu leaks and rumors surrounding the Dunkin' holiday menu, a new lineup of drinks and snacks will become available starting November 1, 2024.

The famed foodie account, @markie_devo, broke the news about the Dunkin' holiday menu leak first.

Drinks On The Dunkin' Holiday Menu 2024

Dunkin'

NEW! Holiday Cookie Signature Latte

This festive new latte is made with brown sugar cookie and toasted almond syrups and topped off with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and a scoop of cookie butter crumbles. Sounds like a totally sippable dessert to me!

Dunkin'

NEW! Brown Sugar Cookie Oat Iced Chai Latte

Allegedly only available to order through the Dunkin' app, the Brown Sugar Cookie Oat Iced Chai Latte sounds like it'll combine brown sugar cookie syrup with oat milk and chai to usher in the holiday season. Based on previous menu offerings, you should be able to get this drink iced or hot.

Dunkin'

Peppermint Mocha Latte

The Peppermint Mocha Latte is a classic when it comes to the Dunkin' holiday menu, so I'm not surprised it's returning this year. This bev features peppermint and mocha syrups, espresso, and milk, topped with a hefty serving of whipped cream, mocha drizzle, and hot chocolate powder. Bring it on!

Dunkin'

Toasted White Chocolate Latte

No shade to Starbucks, but their rumored holiday menu for 2024 kind of broke my heart when I saw the Toasted White Mocha from years past wasn't coming back. Luckily, Dunkin' is filling the void with their Toasted White Chocolate Latte: a sweet, white chocolate-filled sip topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and cinnamon sugar topping!

Dunkin'

White Hazelnut Bark Coffee

Available hot or iced, this coffee is prepped with a Dunkin' toasted white chocolate swirl, hazelnut flavoring, and cream. Any seasonal drink that has nutty notes wins in my book!

Dunkin'

Spiced Cookie Coffee

Another reported "in-app only" drink joining the Dunkin' holiday menu, the Spiced Cookie Coffee will likely also be available to order hot or iced. I expect this bev to taste just like a snickerdoodle cookie!

Dunkin'

Cookie Butter Cold Brew

I am so excited about this cold brew drink coming back for the holidays at Dunkin'. The Cookie Butter Cold Brew is made with brown sugar cookie syrup and topped with cookie butter cold foam and a scoop of cookie butter crumbles for extra crunch. Stay tuned, because there's a sweet snack joining the menu to match!

Dunkin'

Toasted White Chocolate Coconut Cold Brew

This rumored app-exclusive cold brew will include notes of white chocolate and coconut – I need it now.

Dunkin'

Peppermint Mocha Hot Chocolate

This anticipated app-only sip nixes the expected espresso for a very chocolatey (and peppermint-y!) effect.

Snacks + Food On The Dunkin' Holiday Menu 2024

Dunkin'

NEW! Hash Brown Brisket Scramble

Dunkin' has tested a number of breakfast Scrambles over the years, which is why I'm not totally shook by this food item coming to the holiday menu for 2024. This iteration will feature hash browns, scrambled eggs, shredded brisket, smoked cheddar cheese, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, and of course, a rich Texas queso.

Dunkin'

NEW! Almond Croissant

The holiday menu will also bring the Almond Croissant to Dunkin's breakfast lineup. It's a butter croissant filled with chopped almonds!

Dunkin'

Cookie Butter Donut

Yep – I need this in my belly ASAP. The Cookie Butter Donut is packed with a cookie butter filling, slathered with maple-flavored icing, then dipped in a delish speculoos cookie topping (tastes just like Biscoff cookies)! Sweet treat, anyone?

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on the official Dunkin' holiday menu once it drops!

This post has been updated.

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Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt's Kids Only Want One Thing After A Lifetime In The Spotlight

After news broke of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's daughter, Shiloh, changing her last name from "Shiloh Jolie-Pitt" to "Shiloh Jolie," the whole world is wondering just what happened between this superstar family. Almost 10 years after Jolie and Pitt's divorce, it seems like the pair's children continue to draw a clear line in the sand, choosing to only remain close to their mother, and distance themselves even further from their dad.

Obviously, there's a lot of history to uncover from Jolie and Pitt's whirlwind (and controversial) romance, short-lived marriage, and abrupt breakup. Here's everything we know about what exactly is going on, and why this drama is unfolding between this high-profile Hollywood family.

How long were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together?

Francois Durand/Getty Images

The couple was only married from 2014-2016 when Jolie filed for divorce. Although they were only married for a short while, their relationship lasted much longer than that, having been together and starting a family long before their legal nuptials.

The iconic couple met in 2004 on the set of the famous movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith — and despite Pitt being married to the Jennifer Anniston at the time, Jolie and Pitt fell in love. After this, the pair had a whirlwind romance over the years, filled with many movies and many kids. They decided to get married in Miraval in 2014, only to file for divorce about a year and a half later in 2016.

How many kids do Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have?

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney

The couple shares six kids together! Their names are: Shiloh, Pax, Vivienne, Knox, Zahara, and Maddox. Zahara and Maddox were their first kids that they had (and actually were adopted!), then Shiloh was their first biological child, after that Pax was adopted, and lastly Angelina gave birth to the twins Vivienne and Knox!

Why did Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt separate?

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

After Jolie abruptly filed for divorce from her husband, news started circulating that an incident might've happened on a plane between Jolie and Pitt in front of her children. In an FBI report given to CNN, Jolie accused Pitt of "injuring her and verbally abusing their children during a heated encounter aboard a private jet in 2016." This report has since been heavily redacted, but states that Pitt had been "drinking heavily" at the time of the incident, when he verbally attacked one of their children, and when Jolie confronted him, he “grabbed her by her head,” “grabbed her by the shoulders,” shook her, and was yelling very aggressive statements to her in front of their family. Angelina suffered many injuries from the abuse, even giving the FBI documentation of the bruises. Right after this, the FBI investigated Pitt's actions, but ultimately there were no charges were filed against Pitt.

Immediately following the investigation, Jolie requested full custody of their six children.

Have any of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's kids chosen a side?

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

While Jolie requested full custody, Pitt came back and requested joint, which he was then granted in 2021. While he may have visitation rights and custody, most children are completely estranged from Brad and choose not to see him. Pax is also very publicly protective over his mother, so although we don't know if he's chosen a side, per say, we know he loves and protects his mom. The youngest ones, Knox and Vivienne, are still required to visit Brad for the time being, due to the joint custody agreement.

Have any of their children changed their name?

Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images for Marvel

Their daughter, Zahara, has publicly declared her new name while at a ceremony for her sorority at Superman College. In the viral video, she announces herself to be "Zahara Marley Jolie" effectively removing "Pitt" from her name completely — though the change has not legally been made yet.

In regards to their other children, People recently announced that Shiloh was removing the "Pitt" as well, simply going by "Shiloh Jolie" legally. The rest of the kids' names remain the same for now.

How is Brad Pitt handling the estrangement?

Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

Pitt has dropped sources and quotes over the last few years hinting at how he feels isolated from his children, and their decision to remain estranged. People recently reported that a source very close to Brad says, “He’s aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name." The source continued, "The reminders that he’s lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It’s very sad."

While Pitt may be upset, it's clear the kids are very frustrated over something that occurred in the family — plane incident, or otherwise — so it's ultimately up to the children, and how they want to proceed with (or without) a relationship with their father!

We know this must be hard on the whole family, but we hope their all able to find peace and happiness in the future!

Why are their children staying away from the spotlight?

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for FLC

On October 27, Angelina spoke with E! News at the premiere of her new project Maria. Though she was there to celebrate the film's debut, she didn't shy away from answering questions about the future of her and Brad's kids. Though their parents are famous, Angelina knows her kids aren't drawn to that lifestyle. "No, I think they're especially shy, very private people," she said. "...they want to be private."

An anonymous source told People how hard Angelina's worked to make sure the kids have a sense of love and normalcy these days. "In the past few years, she's been able to create a life for herself and the kids that make them all happy. It was a struggle for a while, but Angie is proud about how resilient and strong the kids are."

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Header image via Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney

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