This gorgeous and incredibly delicious butternut squash salad features roasted butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, crumbled goat cheese, and toasted pecans. It’s delicious enough to be worthy of the Thanksgiving table, yet hearty enough to work as a dinner salad. Let’s go!
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What’s in This Roasted Squash Salad?
This roasted squash salad comes together with a combination of fall flavors, yet it’s so good, we love it year round. Here’s what to collect:
- The squash: Gets tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper before getting roasted in the oven. I prefer fresh butternut squash rather than frozen for its texture (save frozen for soups + sauces). Bonus points if you can purchase peeled and cubed squash, if not, check out my guide to cutting and peeling this tricky squash here.
- The nuts: We’ll toss pecans in a bit of honey and toast to caramelize.
- The salad comes together with baby spinach, pomegranate seeds, and crumbled goat cheese.
- The dressing is a combination of dijon, sherry, honey, and olive oil. Simple and delicious.
Variations
We love this butternut squash salad recipe as is, but I get it. Sometimes you’re craving something a little different. Here’s how to switch things up:
- Make it a meal by adding shredded chicken. Pork is another great companion, I like serving leftover sous vide pork tenderloin on top.
- Cut some carbs: This isn’t the lowest carb salad on my site, but you can cut a few carbs by removing the honey (or using Swerve or Lakanto to keep things sweet) and skipping the pom seeds.
- Paleo version: Skip the crumbled goat cheese.
- More veggies please: This is a great way to sneak in other roasted vegetables, like roasted acorn squash, roasted bell peppers, or roasted eggplant. You can also swap the base of this salad–arugula salad would be a delicious choice.
How to Make Butternut Squash Salad
Once you’re done roasting, all this butternut squash salad requires is for you to toss everything together! Be sure to dress your salad just before you plan to serve it–baby spinach wilts quickly.
- Toast your pecans.
- Roast your butternut squash.
- Let them cool completely.
- Mix the dressing.
- Toss everything together.
See how to make this Butternut Squash Salad on TikTok.
Make Ahead Tips
This roasted squash salad is easy to prep ahead of time. Simply mix your dressing, toast your pecans, and roast your butternut. Stash everything in separate containers, and toss everything together just before you plan to serve!
More Salad Recipes
- Green Bean Salad
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Beet Salad
- Fennel Salad
- Kale Salad
Butternut Squash Salad
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Salad:
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup pecans roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds butternut peeled, deseeded and cubed (about 1 medium squash)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 4 ounces goat cheese crumbled
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread chopped pecans onto a bacon sheet and drizzle with honey. Toss until well coated, then sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Bake in preheated oven until the honey starts to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from oven and set aside, once completely cool, break in to small pieces.
- Turn the oven temp up to 425 F.
- Meanwhile toss butternut squash in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the second baking sheet and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread in an even layer, and bake in preheated oven until soft and lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Allow nuts and squash to cool completely before making the salad.
- Place baby spinach in a large bowl and toss with 1/2-2/3 of the salad dressing. Place on a serving plate, and top with butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, crumbled goat cheese, and pecans. Drizzle remaining dressing on top, and enjoy!
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