This roasted butternut squash salad is the ultimate fall harvest salad. With oven roasted butternut squash, sliced apples, creamy blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, tart pomegranate seeds, and a homemade honey dijon vinaigrette. This butternut squash harvest salad comes together easily and will be a favorite throughout fall.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is my favorite winter squash. It is so versatile, like in my butternut squash soup, but my favorite way to enjoy it is roasted. For this recipe I used a smaller butternut squash since I am only using two cups of diced squash.
How-to-dice butternut squash
- Cut squash in half with sharp chefs knife. Tip: utilize a dish towel to secure the butternut squash when cutting. It can be slippery both when unpeeled and peeled.
- Slice the stem off the top and bottom, then using a vegetable peeler, peel both sections of squash.
- Cut bulb down the middle exposing interior of squash. Using a spoon, remove all the seeds and pulp from the butternut squash and discard.
- Cut squash into uniform strips, then proceed to dice. Repeat with remaining butternut squash.
Toss the diced butternut squash with olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the diced butternut squash on a sheet pan, make sure the squash are spaced out so they can roast evenly. Roast the butternut squash in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 400F degrees, flipping halfway through with a spatula until they are golden brown.
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
I wanted to keep the salad dressing simple since there are so many flavors in this salad. I was thinking in terms of a meat and cheese board, I love having apples and cheese paired with honey. I drew inspiration from my lemon dijon vinaigrette, which is my favorite salad dressing to make.
For the vinegar component of this vinaigrette, I used apple cider vinegar. I still wanted some more acid, so I added fresh lemon juice. Dijon mustard is a great addition to a salad dressing as a creamy component. The honey rounds out the vinaigrette with a subtle sweetness that pairs so well with the salad ingredients.
Assembling the harvest salad
As I mentioned before, this roasted butternut squash salad was inspired by my grazing of MANY cheese boards. I thought, what are some of my favorite pairings?
- Cheese: For this recipe I used blue cheese. The creaminess and slight funk gives the salad so much flavor and pairs well with the squash and apples. Not a fan of blue cheese? I would sub goat cheese if you need.
- Apple: I used honey crisp apples sliced thin. You can substitute your favorite type of apple.
- Nuts: Originally this salad was made with regular pecans. Then I tried candied pecans and walnuts and found both to be amazing. You can use either type of nut.
- Pomegranate seeds: great texture and tartness for the salad. I used store bought seeds that were already taken out of the fruit.
When serving the salad you can dress the greens or serve on the side. If you are making ahead of time, wait to dress the salad or else the leaves will wilt. I would also advise cutting the apples right before serving, so they do not brown.
I hope you enjoy this roasted butternut squash salad with homemade honey dijon vinaigrette. This salad is perfect for your fall dinners and especially as a starter to your Thanksgiving meal.
Other Fall Recipes:
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Stuffed Acorn Squash
- Slow Cooker Short Ribs with Polenta
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
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Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Ingredients
Honey Dijon Vinaigrette
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salad
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Pinch Kosher salt
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 5 ounces mixed greens
- 1 large honeycrisp apple stems/seeds removed, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
- ¼ cup candied pecans or walnuts roughly chopped (see note)
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds one pomegranate fruit, or you can purchase already deseeded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees. In a small bowl toss together the diced butternut squash, 2 tbsp olive oil, and pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. On a baking sheet, evenly spread the diced butternut squash. Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until they are golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While the butternut squash is roasting, in a small bowl add all of the vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until fully combined. Taste and adjust if needed, if too acidic, add more honey. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve, whisk again prior to serving.
- In a large serving bowl, add in the mixed greens, followed by the roasted butternut squash, sliced apples, blue cheese crumbles, pecans, pomegranate seeds. When ready to serve, drizzle with the honey dijon vinaigrette.
Notes
Ingredients:
- Cheese: For this recipe I used blue cheese. The creaminess and slight funk gives the salad so much flavor and pairs well with the squash and apples. Not a fan of blue cheese? I would sub goat cheese if you need.
- Apple: I used honey crisp apples sliced thin. You can substitute your favorite type of apple.
- Nuts: Originally this salad was made with regular pecans. Then I tried candied pecans and walnuts and found both to be amazing. You can use either type of nut.
- Pomegranate seeds: great texture and tartness for the salad. I used store bought seeds that were already taken out of the fruit.
Making ahead:
- When serving the salad you can dress the greens or serve on the side. If you are making ahead of time, wait to dress the salad or else the leaves will wilt. I would also advise cutting the apples right before serving, so they do not brown.
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