Roasted Butternut Squash Salad (Make Forward)- Slender Kitchen

In case you’re on the lookout for the final word fall salad, this Butternut Squash Salad is the one. This crave-worthy salad is a shocking mixture of wealthy, tangy, zesty, and nutty flavors.

In relation to meals, there’s one thing to get enthusiastic about in each season. Within the fall, it’s butternut squash. This scrumptious fall vegetable is one in every of my favourite meals to cook dinner up throughout the fall and winter seasons.

From Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Butternut Squash to Butternut Squash Tacos to Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes, I’ve tried (and beloved) extra wholesome butternut squash recipes than I can depend.

The opposite beauty of this roasted squash salad is that in the event you roast your butternut squash forward of time, it solely takes 10 minutes to throw collectively. This makes it an ideal make-ahead salad for vacation meals.

I like to recommend serving this dish with a protein-heavy entrée or a heat bowl of soup. It doesn’t matter in the event you’re serving a desk filled with meat lovers or a bunch of herbivores. This scrumptious butternut squash salad will convert anybody right into a salad lover. Belief me.

Key Elements

To make this scrumptious squash salad, you will have the next key components:

• Butternut squash: The star of this flavorful fall salad! For correct roasting, chop the squash into bite-sized cubes and sprinkle them with kosher salt and black pepper. Any winter squash works on this salad if you do not have butternut squash readily available.
• Arugula: I really like the peppery taste of arugula on this salad, however you may additionally attempt spinach, kale, or perhaps a combo of all three.
• Feta cheese: This tangy cheese is the proper complement to the squash’s delicate sweetness. Don’t have any? Be at liberty to swap it out for one more tangy cheese like goat cheese.
• Almonds: Each good salad wants a little bit of a crunch! Roasted almonds are a scrumptious approach of including a ton of taste (and protein) to this wholesome fall salad. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or candied pecans are all scrumptious as properly.
• Orange French dressing: Comprised of a drool-worthy mixture of contemporary orange juice, crimson wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper, this dressing actually is the cherry on prime of a beautiful dish. Swap in apple cider vinegar or white balsamic within the dressing and add some Dijon mustard in the event you like for an earthier taste.
• Add fruit: Contemplate including pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, or dried cherries for one thing candy and tart.

Recipe Ideas and Variations

Listed below are a few of my prime suggestions that will help you make this dish:

• Combine up your nuts. Not a fan of almonds? No drawback! Pecans and walnuts are each simple to roast and style nice on prime of this salad. You’ll be able to truly roast your nuts forward of time, as they are going to final for weeks in an hermetic container.
• Swap your greens. Whereas I really like the style of arugula on this salad, you’ll be able to swap it out for any form of leafy greens you want. Blended greens, spinach, and kale will all work nice as properly.
• Make it forward! This salad is nice for meal prepping and making forward of time. Simply you’ll want to retailer the arugula and dressing in separate containers. In case you retailer all of them collectively, the arugula will start to droop and the leaves will get soggy. For greatest outcomes, add the arugula and dressing simply earlier than serving.
• Add grains. In case you’re seeking to beef up this salad with some hearty protein and fiber, grains are an effective way to do it! Quinoa and lentils will each work properly or flip it right into a Roasted Vegetable Bowl with grains and further veggies.
• Swap cheese. Not a fan of feta? Goat cheese, parmesan cheese, and blue cheese will present a equally tangy taste that tastes scrumptious on this dish.
• Make it vegan. You’ll be able to flip this right into a scrumptious vegan facet dish by omitting the feta and swapping out the honey for maple syrup.
• Add protein. For an entire and well-balanced meal, attempt topping this salad with a wholesome protein supply like grilled hen, tofu, or roasted chickpeas.
• Add fruit: Do that with sliced apples, pears, stone fruit, or berries.

Learn how to Select the Proper Butternut Squash

In case you’re a first-time butternut squash purchaser, it may be laborious to know the way to decide on the correct squash. Right here’s what to search for within the good butternut squash:

• Search for a squash with a strong beige coloration. There shouldn’t be any punctures, deep cuts, or extreme bruises on its pores and skin. Nevertheless, a single darkish spot from the place the squash touched the bottom is ok.
• Your squash ought to really feel heavy for its dimension. Don’t be afraid to choose up a number of completely different squashes so you’ll be able to evaluate the burden in opposition to the completely different ones.
• Search for a squash that has a fats neck and a small bulb. This implies it is going to have probably the most meat in order that you’ll get the most important financial institution to your buck.

Learn how to Retailer Butternut Squash Salad

Whether or not you’re prepping for Thanksgiving or saving leftovers for a weeknight dinner, there are a number of methods to retailer this wholesome squash salad. First, seal your roasted squash, arugula, feta cheese, and orange French dressing in separate, hermetic containers. Then, you’ll be able to retailer them in a few alternative ways:

• Butternut squash will refrigerate for as much as 3-5 days or freeze for as much as 3 months.
• Arugula will refrigerate for as much as 5 days.
• Feta cheese will refrigerate for as much as 5-7 days.
• Orange French dressing will refrigerate for as much as 7-10 days or freeze for as much as 6 months.