Halloween Salad is spooky, creepy and incredibly delicious. This fun Halloween side dish is perfect for adding some healthy options into a scary day.
Do you love Halloween but wish you had some ideas for healthy options to include in the spooky fun?
Freaky Halloween Salad is the perfect Halloween side dish.
With bizarre shapes, fun colors and a delicious green Buttermilk Green Goddess salad dressing (served in syringes), this Halloween recipe hits it out of the park every time.
A great addition to a Halloween party line up along with Halloween Fruit Platter, Halloween Veggie Tray and of course Halloween treats.
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Freaky Halloween Salad
This is the perfect time of year to combine cold weather vegetables into an alien looking Halloween side dish.
Spiralized vegetables add a whimsical touch to what normally might not feel exciting (salad).
Halloween Salad Ingredients
This Halloween side dish includes normal and unusual vegetables.
Different colors of regular vegetables are a great choice.
- Purple and/or Orange Cauliflower
- White Cauliflower
- Romensco
- Edamame
- Spiralized Carrots
Time Saving Tip
Many stores sell prepared vegetables in the produce department. Spiralized vegetables too.
If you are pressed for time, check in the produce department of your favorite grocery store.
You may be able to buy the vegetables you need and just toss them together.
Spiralizing Carrots
Create a ‘nest’ of carrot noodles using a Spiralizer.
Use different color carrots for an unexpected effect. Regular orange, light yellow, or purple Dragon Carrots with a bright yellow center are all great choices.
TIME SAVING TIP: Many stores sell spiralized vegetables too. Check in the produce department of your favorite grocery store.
Spiralizer Alternative
Use a julienne peeler or even a regular vegetable peeler will produce long, thin shavings of carrots.
Cauliflower and Romensco
Don’t you think cauliflower florets look like little brains?
White, orange and purple are usually available which makes for a fun visual.
One of my favorite vegetables is Romensco.
It’s in the cauliflower/broccoli family. Instead of rounded florets it has prismatic shapes that are outer worldly.
Both of these vegetables are delicious eaten raw, and kids love them too.
Edamame
To add some protein to this Halloween salad, bright green edamame (soy beans) out of the shell are sprinkled on the salad.
They are available in the frozen section of most grocery stores already shelled.
Buttermilk Green Goddess Dressing
The salad is served with a ‘if-Ranch-Dressing-and-Green-Goddess-dressing-had-a-baby-what-would-it-taste-like’ dressing.
The best of both worlds offers a ghoulishly green dressing with tangy flavors without the anchovies thinking of little Halloween munchers.
Buttermilk Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients
The dressing is creamy and full of flavor from delicious herbs.
- Mayonnaise
- Buttermilk
- Sour Cream
- Garlic
- Italian Parsley
- Chives
- Tarragon Vinegar
- Tabasco Sauce
- Salt and Pepper
Serving the dressing plate-side in cocktail shot syringes adds the finishing touch!
All in all it’s a Freaky {Healthy} Halloween Salad that will stand up to the luscious, sinful treats you serve and at the same time, cleans up well for a fun non-Halloween option too:
How to Make Halloween Salad – Step by Step
The great news is this recipe is very easy to make! The salad preparation involves preparing the vegetables and tossing them together.
The dressing takes a few minutes to make and it’s totally worth it! You’ll be making it the rest of the year too.
STEP 1: Layer spiralized carrots on a serving platter or individual plates.
STEP 2: Add the cauliflower and Romanesco florets, followed by the edamame.
STEP 3: Add dressing to the salad or on the side.
That’s it!
Where to Buy
These are some online links for supplies used in making the Halloween salad.
- Spiralizer
- Julienne slicer
- Cocktail Sryinges. This style is most similar to the syringes used in the photos.
More Halloween Recipes You’ll Love
- Creepy Shirley Temple Drink
- Turkey Meatballs Eyeballs & Black Bean Pasta
- Graveyard Halloween Cupcakes
- Candy Corn Vodka Martini with Pop Rocks rim
- Fast Easy Popcorn Balls for Halloween
- Halloween Jello Shots
- Mexican Cheese Ball
Recipe
Freaky {Healthy} Halloween Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients for Buttermilk-Green Goddess Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise (regular or low fat)
- 1/2 cup Buttermilk
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 2 large cloves Garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian Parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh Chives
- 2 teaspoons Tarragon Vinegar
- 6 drops Tabasco Sauce
- Kosher Salt and ground Black Pepper to taste
Ingredients for Freaky {Healthy} Halloween Salad:
- 5 cups Spiralized Carrots , different colors if available (using 1/8-inch 3mm noodle blade)
- 2 cups Orange or Purple Cauliflower florets (or a mix)
- 2 cups White Cauliflower florets
- 2 cups Romaneso florets (may substitute broccoli if Romanesco is unavailable)
- 1 cup Edamame (shelled)
Instructions
Instructions for Buttermilk-Green Goddess Dressing:
- Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until pureed.
Instructions for assembling the Freaky {Healthy} Halloween Salad:
- Either on a platter or individual plates, layer with the Spiralized carrots as a bed for the other ingredients. Add the cauliflower and Romanesco, followed by the edamame. Add dressing or provide dressing on the side.
Nutrition
Originally published: October 30, 2014
Nina says
This is so crazy looking! What a great healthy option.
rebecca says
gorgeous cauliflower
Toni Dash says
I agree Rebecca! I love all the crazy cauliflower that is available these days. Goes far to keep the intrigue up for getting my kids to eat it too!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
simply fantastic, in every way!
Toni Dash says
Thank you Dorothy!
Diane {Created by Diane} says
That is one amazingly CREATIVE salad! I just love it.
Toni Dash says
Thank you Diane! I appreciate it. Happy Halloween to you and your brood!
Colleen says
Hmmm, maybe that’s the explanation for recent mental lapses – perhaps my brains have been actually replaced by cauliflower florets? Seemingly the little veggies could do no worse than my over-stressed cranium! Maybe munching a few of them will restore the bio-balance. I love these colors, will be serving this salad in my new black-and-white-and-desperate-for-color home next month.
Toni Dash says
I’d give it a go! It’s such a fun salad visually and I’m always happier eating food I love to look at! I love these flavors and textures too. Certainly my cranium could use some pumping up too at this time of October!
Rebecca says
your recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of tarragon dressing in the dressing. Is that a typo meaning tarragon only, or is this an actual ingredient that I need to make? Thanks, looks delicious!
Toni Dash says
Hi Rebecca! So sorry for the confusion. It is tarragon ‘vinegar’ and also note it’s 2 ‘teaspoons’ not tablespoons. Though the tablespoons would work, it would be much more watery and ‘tarragon-y’!
Rebecca says
thanks for the clarification!
Toni Dash says
Absolutely! Sorry for the ‘dressing’ type-o. Appreciate you asking about it!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
I couldn’t possibly love this salad any more!
Toni Dash says
Awe Lauren, you are so kind! I too love this salad. I love the kooky look of it and the flavors are great too.
Anne-Marie @ This Mama Cooks! On a Diet says
So gorgeous! Do you know that Calvin and Hobbes comic when the mom is making dinner and Calvin asks what she’s making and she says, “Monkey brains?” That’s what I always think when I’m making cauliflower. Here kids, have some mashed monkey brains, mmmmmm.
Toni Dash says
LOL! I have never heard that but glad I’m not the only one seeing the cranial similarities in this vegetable!
Christie - Food Done Light says
This is an absolutely gorgeous and fun salad. I love all the colors you combined.
Toni Dash says
I’m so glad you like it Christie! I too love the look of it along with the flavor. Nice to have something healthy at this time of October!
Amy @ A Healthy Life For Me says
So darn cute and beautiful photography as always!
Toni Dash says
Thank you Amy!