Fall | Gluten Free | Salads | Vegan | Winter
Fall Harvest Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette
Fall harvest salad has roasted butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, and a tangy cranberry vinaigrette. This colorful salad is a beautiful side dish to add to any holiday table.
Looking for more autumn-inspired recipes? Try my sweetgreen-inspired harvest bowl, harissa roasted cauliflower with fresh herbs, or crispy butternut squash fritters.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this harvest fall salad:
- Butternut squash – thinly sliced and roasted until fork tender, but still retaining their shape.
- Pepitas – also called pumpkin seeds. These add a crunchy, salty component to the salad.
- Pomegranate seeds – add a nice pop of color, texture, and a little sweetness.
- Spring mix – the base of the salad. Feel free to use any kind of fresh greens such as hearty kale or bitter greens such as arugula, etc.
- Cranberry vinaigrette – a combination of extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried cranberries, dijon mustard, maple syrup, kosher salt, and black pepper.
How To Make Fall Harvest Salad: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Roast squash. Peel the butternut squash and cut it just above the ‘butt’ end that houses the seeds. Then cut the neck of the squash in half and cut each half in half before slicing it into roughly ¼-inch slices. Toss with olive oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook until fork-tender but still holding their shape, about 20-25 minutes.
- Roast the pumpkin seeds. Add the pumpkin seeds/pepitas to a bare baking sheet and toss with 1 teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 7 minutes (you can do this while the squash roasts). Remove and let cool before adding them to your salad. You likely won’t use all the roasted pepitas, but you’ll be happy to have some extras.
- Make the vinaigrette. Add the dried cranberries to the vinegar in a small bowl and let soak for 10-15 minutes. Add the soaked cranberries and vinegar to a blender with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Season to taste with more kosher salt as needed.
- Combine. Toss the mixed greens with about 3-4 tablespoons of the cranberry vinaigrette, add the roasted squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pomegranate. Add a couple more tablespoons of the dressing as needed (or serve on the side). Enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Cutting a vegetable differently is an easy way to switch things up from how you’d usually do it. If you’re not feeling the thin slices, cut the squash into cubes or whatever shape you want. Just know that the cubes will require more cooking time.
- Only toss the salad with the dressing right before serving, otherwise, the greens get soggy.
Quick Tip: Roast all the squash, even though you’ll only need two cups. This helps reduce unnecessary food waste. Eat the extra roasted squash as a side for another meal or add it to a dragon bowl, vegan butternut squash risotto, or butternut squash pizza with caramelized onions.
Storage
Store the salad and dressing in a separate airtight container. The salad can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days and the dressing for up to 1 week. Toss with the dressing just before serving to preserve its freshness.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this fall harvest salad recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No butternut squash? – you can use another variety such as honey nut, acorn, kabocha, etc. or if you can only find orange sweet potatoes, I think those would also work.
- No pumpkin seeds? – use another nut or seed such as hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- No pomegranate arils/seeds? – use dried cranberries or cherries.
- No red wine vinegar? – you can also use white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
- No dried cranberries? – use dried cherries, black currants, or goji berries.
- No maple syrup? – use raw honey instead.
- Add-ins – thinly sliced Honeycrisp apples, red onion, dairy-free feta cheese (or regular), crispy bacon, oven baked crispy prosciutto, or sliced chicken breast to turn it into a main course, wild rice, candied nuts, etc.
- Use a different dressing – such as balsamic vinaigrette,orange vinaigrette, or honey ginger dressing.
Serving Ideas
There are many ways to enjoy this salad. Serve it as a colorful side dish on Thanksgiving, with leftover turkey the following day, or a side dish to protein such as lemon butter fish, chicken, bbq salmon bites, etc.
More Fall Salad Recipes
I hope you love this Fall Harvest Salad! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Fall Harvest Salad With Cranberry Vinaigrette
Fall harvest salad has roasted butternut squash, pomegranate seeds, and a tangy cranberry vinaigrette. This colorful salad is a beautiful side dish to add to any holiday table.
Ingredients
Salad
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and sliced thin
- salt & pepper
- ⅓ cup roasted pepitas
- ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
- 5 cups spring greens
Cranberry Vinaigrette
- 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt plus more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
- Roast squash. Peel the butternut squash and cut it just above the ‘butt’ end that houses the seeds. Then cut the neck of the squash in half and cut each half in half before slicing it into roughly ¼-inch slices. Toss with olive oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook until fork-tender but still holding their shape, about 20-25 minutes.
- Roast pumpkin seeds. Add the pumpkin seeds/pepitas to a bare baking sheet and toss with 1 teaspoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 7 minutes (you can do this while the squash roasts). Remove and let cool before adding them to your salad. You likely won’t use all the roasted pepitas, but you’ll be happy to have some extras.
- Make the vinaigrette. Add the dried cranberries to the vinegar in a small bowl and let soak for 10-15 minutes. Add the soaked cranberries and vinegar to a blender with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Season to taste with more kosher salt as needed.
- Combine. Toss the mixed greens with about 3-4 tablespoons of the cranberry vinaigrette, add the roasted squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pomegranate. Add a couple more tablespoons of the dressing as needed (or serve on the side). Enjoy!
Notes
Not serving the salad right away? Assemble the salad, but don’t dress it. Only toss with the dressing right before serving, otherwise, the greens get soggy.
See the blog post for more helpful tips, storage, and serving ideas.
All of my family is gathered for Thanksgiving at my daughter’s home. We are cooking together after selecting recipes and gathering ingredients for them.
Many of your dairy free and gluten free recipes are among our favorites. This Thanksgiving we are adding the “Fall Harvest Salad” to our menu. It promises to be a blue ribbon winner.
With gratitude for your wonderful “Nourishing Plate” inspirations.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Evie
Aww thank you for the kind words, Evie, as always! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!