Butternut Squash Spinach Salad – the perfect fall salad for holidays and parties. Full of flavor and beautiful colors!
Butternut Squash Salad with Spinach
You may not think of adding butternut squash to your salad but it really just works, especially when you add it to a spinach salad along with toasted pecans, pomegranate arils, and tangy goat cheese.
Then you coat all of that with a honey shallot red wine vinaigrette and incredible things just happen! I’m telling you I just can’t get enough of this salad!
I made it once this week and loved it so much that I deemed it worthy of my party this weekend and made it again. I’m guessing just about anyone could eat three platefuls of it.
All the flavors of this salad just meld so well together, plus it has fall and winter written all over it.
Ingredients Needed to Make Butternut Squash Salad
- Butternut squash
- Olive oil
- Pecans
- Baby spinach
- Pomegranate
- Goat cheese or feta
Ingredients in the Dressing
- Red wine vinegar
- Shallot
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Thyme
How to Make Butternut Squash Salad
- Roast the butternut squash.
- Prepare dressing.
- Toss all salad ingredients.
What Can I Prep in Advance?
This pretty much makes a party size amount, but the recipe can easily be halved if your just serving it to a few people. Just be sure to let the squash and pecans cool a bit before adding them to the salad so they don’t just wilt the spinach. And for make ahead you can do the vinaigrette 2 days in advance and just store it in the fridge.
You can also peel, seed and dice the squash a few days in advance then just store it in a gallon size resealable bag in the fridge and roast it the day you’ll be serving it. Then of course, the pomegranate can be seeded a few days ahead of time too.
I’m going to be dreaming about this salad tonight, wishing mine wasn’t gone.
More Butternut Squash Recipes to Try!
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Butternut Squash Pasta Carbonara
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Garlic and Herbs
- Creamy Tortellini with Butternut Squash Kale and Bacon
- Roasted Autumn Vegetables with Apples
5 from 5 votes Review Recipe
Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
Such a tasty flavorful salad recipe! Layered with fresh spinach, roasted butternut squash, bright pomegranate arils, creamy goat cheese, crunch pecans, and it’s finished with a tangy red wine vinaigrette. The perfect fall side dish.
Servings: 8
Prep20 minutesCook25 minutesReady in: 45 minutes
IngredientsSalad5 cups (1 1/2 lbs) cubed butternut squash, cut into 3/4 inch pieces1 1/2 Tbsp olive oilSalt and freshly ground black pepper1 cup chopped pecans, toasted10 oz baby spinach1 1/4 cups pomegranate arils4 oz goat cheese or feta, crumbledDressing1/2 cup olive oil1/4 cup red wine vinegar3 Tbsp minced shallot2 1/2 Tbsp honey1 Tbsp dijon mustard1 tsp fresh thyme leavesSalt and freshly ground black pepper
InstructionsFor the butternut squash: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash in a mound on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to evenly coat in oil. Spread into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes then remove from oven and toss. Return to oven and bake until tender, about 10 minutes longer. Allow to cool several minutes before adding to salad.For the Salad: In a large salad bowl toss together spinach, squash, 1/2 of the pecans and 1/2 of the pomegranate arils.Drizzle with desired amount of dressing and gently toss. Sprinkle with remaining pecans, pomegranate arils and goat cheese and serve immediately.For the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper). Process until well emulsified.
Nutrition Facts Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 367 Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%Saturated Fat 5g31%Cholesterol 6mg2%Sodium 107mg5%Potassium 625mg18%Carbohydrates 24g8%Fiber 4g17%Sugar 11g12%Protein 4g8% Vitamin A 12520IU250%Vitamin C 31mg38%Calcium 109mg11%Iron 2.4mg13% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Course: SaladCuisine: AmericanKeyword: Butternut Squash Salad Author: Jaclyn
5 from 5 votes
Review Recipe
Nutrition Facts Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 367 Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%Saturated Fat 5g31%Cholesterol 6mg2%Sodium 107mg5%Potassium 625mg18%Carbohydrates 24g8%Fiber 4g17%Sugar 11g12%Protein 4g8% Vitamin A 12520IU250%Vitamin C 31mg38%Calcium 109mg11%Iron 2.4mg13% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Nutrition Facts
Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 367 Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 6mg2%
Sodium 107mg5%
Potassium 625mg18%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 12520IU250%
Vitamin C 31mg38%
Calcium 109mg11%
Iron 2.4mg13%
- Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: SaladCuisine: AmericanKeyword: Butternut Squash Salad
Author: Jaclyn
