The Midwestern Mystery of Snickers Salad at Thanksgiving

It may sound strange, but don’t snicker at the idea of a candy bar salad on your Thanksgiving table. That's right: a candy bar salad.

Snickers Salad is a Midwest delicacy that you can make for an everyday treat, a potluck, or special occasions like Thanksgiving, giving your table some extra sweetness for the tasty holiday.

It might sound a little unusual, but it could be a unique option for your table that is sure to make your guests gab about what you're serving for Thanksgiving.

What is Snickers Salad?

Snickers Salad recipes usually consist of five ingredients, making it an easy recipe to whip up for any meal.

Start out with milk and vanilla pudding mix that you whisk together before adding a carton of whipped topping. Then the obviously most important ingredient is Snickers bars, and you’ll want to cut them up into bite-sized pieces. You’ll also want to chop up some Granny Smith apples, with around four apples going into the Snickers Salad mix. And that’s it!

The ingredients for Snickers Salad aren’t set in stone and can be as soft as a carton of whipped dessert topping, so feel free to experiment with different options. You can substitute the Granny Smith apples with red ones or change out the vanilla pudding for cheesecake-flavored pudding, butterscotch pudding, or a white chocolate version.

Your Snickers Salad doesn’t even have to use Snickers. If you prefer, try it with Milky Ways, Twix, or Kit Kat bars to give some caramel, extra crunch, or take the peanuts out altogether.

Is it a Dinner or a Dessert?

Sure, candy bars, apples, and whipped cream in a bowl is probably stretching the definition of “salad,” and there can be some debate about whether it should be served during your Thanksgiving dinner or as a dessert treat along with your pumpkin pie.

Yes, Snickers Salad probably does fall into the category of a dessert treat, even with the apples. That doesn’t mean that you can only serve it after dinner, so feel free to mix up your Thanksgiving sides by adding this to your table next to your stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

Other Midwest “Salads”

Snickers Salad isn’t the only Midwest salad that isn’t really a salad, so try different options if you want to taste test something extra sweet for Thanksgiving dinner or dessert. Try making a few of these simple salads to pass around.

Ambrosia Salad: A popular fruit salad that can also be a dessert. Combine different fruits, including cherries, Mandarin oranges, and pineapple along with some whipped topping and coconut. Finish it off with some fruit-flavored marshmallows for a bright and sweet treat.

Watergate Salad: Mix your whipped topping with pistachio-flavored pudding mix, marshmallows, and pineapple, along with some chopped pecans to give it an extra crunch.

Jell-O Salad: “Salad” is used very loosely to describe these layered Jell-O treats that are great as a side dish or dessert. Try the Strawberry Pretzel Salad, which features layers of strawberry Jell-O and whipped topping on a pretzel crust, or even a Thanksgiving Jell-O Salad featuring cranberries to stay on theme for the festive feast.