Why would you care about healthy food at Disney World? I get it. You’re on vacation, and calories don’t count. But in between all the Mickey pretzels, ice cream bars, and churros, a light and refreshing salad really hits the spot, and these salads do not disappoint!
I say this all the time, but Disney World food keeps getting better. Thirty years ago, you would have never seen a spinach salad with beets and fennel or a Niçoise-style salad with fresh tuna on the menu. If you think salads are boring, it’s because you’re eating boring salads, and these salads are unique, flavorful, and delicious!
If you’re planning a Disney trip and looking for more deliciousness to add to your itinerary, I recently shared some of my favorite sandwiches, as well as the best quick-service options at Disney if you’re on a budget.
As promised, we’re back with another round of our favorite salads at Disney World! If you missed our last post, we shared our favorites from 2024, including an excellent shrimp and cabbage salad at the Polynesian Resort. Finding healthy food at Disney World is surprisingly easy. Most menus clearly list options for common allergens—such as eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat—as well as gluten-free choices. Eating well doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor, and Disney does an excellent job accommodating dietary needs. You’ll find plenty of salads on menus throughout the parks and resorts—and they’re anything but boring.
Healthy Food At Disney World
The first—and most obvious—question is: why bother eating healthy at Disney World? For some people, it’s a necessity due to dietary restrictions. For others, like us, it’s all about balance. Eating well simply helps us feel our best. If I splurge all day, every day, I end up feeling pretty awful—and that’s not how I want to feel on vacation. I genuinely crave fresh, nourishing food, and with salads like these, I never feel like I’m missing out!
Spinach with Beets @ Terralina Crafted $17.00
I’m starting with our favorite salad of the trip. We loved it so much that we went back for it twice. Terralina Crafted is located in The Landing at Disney Springs. It’s often overlooked and highly underrated. People walk right past this outdoor bar without noticing it, but it’s one of our favorite spots to grab a drink and a bite to eat. They have a fantastic happy hour at both the indoor and outdoor bars. You can read more about Disney Springs’ happy hours here.
The base of the salad is fresh spinach, and a generous amount of it! It’s tossed in a honey balsamic vinaigrette that is perfectly balanced and not too sweet. The shaved fennel is crunchy and fresh, and adds amazing texture. If you’ve never had fennel before, it has a subtle licorice flavor. The Gorgonzola adds an earthy creaminess that is the perfect finishing touch. This salad is truly SO delicious and a fantastic combination of flavors. It was an 11 out of 10 for us, and I’m already excited about having it again on our next trip.
Caesar Salad With Chicken @ The Artist’s Palette $11.99
On our last trip, we did a split stay. Our kids joined us for the first half of the trip, so we got a two-bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs. I have a full review coming soon, but in the meantime, I can’t recommend this resort enough, especially if you’ve ever been interested in staying in a villa. We loved having so much space, a kitchen to cook in, and the huge soaking tub after walking 20,000 steps!
However, Saratoga could benefit from additional dining options, especially given its large size and spread-out layout. We found a few gems, including the Caesar salad at The Artist’s Palette. It’s simple, with just romaine, chicken, Parmesan cheese, croutons, and packaged dressing. I love a Caesar salad, and if it’s on the menu, I’ll order it. Caesar salads are supposed to be simple. In fact, if you add other ingredients, it’s no longer a Caesar salad. That said, I appreciated the simplicity and enjoyed this salad both times I had it!
Enjoying healthy food at Disney World in between all the splurges helps you stay on track with any nutrition goals you may have. For us, that’s protein and fiber, so my favorite thing about it was the generous amount of chicken. It’s easily enough for two people, and I would estimate that there’s at least 8 ounces of chicken, which is approximately 75 grams of protein!
Niçoise-style Salad + Seared Tuna @ Connections Eatery $11.19
The Niçoise-style Salad with Seared Tuna at Connections Eatery impressed us as much as the General Tso’s Chicken Salad we enjoyed last year. Wow, wow, wow! It’s not difficult to enjoy healthy food at Disney World, especially with a salad like this. I don’t know what I expected, but this tuna was perfectly cooked, and you could taste the quality and freshness. If you’ve never had a Niçoise Salad, it’s a classic French dish that typically includes tuna, olives, and anchovies. Adding a bunch of other ingredients to a Niçoise salad makes it an entirely different dish, so I appreciated that Disney stayed as close to the authentic version as possible.
The salad comes with mixed greens, romaine, potato wedges, tomatoes, green beans, olives, white beans, and a Dijon vinaigrette. You can order it with or without the tuna. Without the tuna, this is an excellent, healthy plant-based food option at Disney World. We opted to add it, and we’re so happy we did. The added protein helped us feel full and satisfied. The vinaigrette was incredibly flavorful. We asked for extra on the side, and the cast member happily obliged. My only note is that I would have liked more green beans and white beans. I think we counted two green beans and had to go looking for the white beans.
Garden Salad @ Dockside Bar (at The Boathouse) $9.00
The garden salad at The Boathouse is simple and basic, but in the best way. When you’re craving something light and refreshing, a simple salad hits the spot. The base is iceberg lettuce, and it’s topped with carrots, grape tomatoes, and cucumbers. It’s usually served with an herb vinaigrette, but we asked for blue cheese dressing and added blue cheese crumbles. Disney is great about accommodating you, so don’t hesitate to ask if you see something you want to omit or add. This salad and the clam strips behind it are my go-to meal at the boathouse!
Pro tip. When it comes to finding healthy food at Disney World, don’t be afraid to make a request. You’ll notice I made changes to most of these salads. More often than not, the cast member is more than happy to accommodate your request!
Combination Bowl @ The Mara $15.79
Lastly, the Combination Bowl at The Mara inside Animal Kingdom Lodge was a total flavor bomb! Chermoula-spiced shrimp and oak-grilled chicken with pilau rice, kale slaw, cucumber-tomato salad, and chermoula sour cream. We requested more kale slaw than rice, which is why it’s on the list. It was fresh and crisp and felt like we were eating a salad. They make this right in front of you, so as I said above, don’t hesitate to make a request. The line moves quickly, so I suggest asking politely and quickly.
Pilau rice is a fragrant and flavorful rice dish typically cooked with a blend of Indian and African spices. One thing to note about the food at Animal Kingdom Lodge is that it is not lacking in flavor. The Chermoula-spiced shrimp and chicken are cooked perfectly with warm, earthy spices. The kale salad and cucumber salad are bright and zippy, and the chermoula sour cream was cool and creamy. This was hearty, flavorful, filling, and so delicious! For $15.99, this is an excellent value and easily shareable between two people.
I hope you enjoyed this roundup of healthy food at Disney World – 2025 salad edition. If you missed our 2024 edition, you can find it here. If you have any favorites you’d like to share, please comment below, and we will add them to our list to try on our next trip!
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