This ultimate autumn salad is filled with fresh greens, roasted butternut squash, sliced honeycrisp apples, candied walnuts, pomegranate arils and the best apple cider vinaigrette.
It incorporates the best of seasonal fall ingredients to create a cornucopia of flavors on the plate! You're going to love it!
How to make the ultimate autumn salad
Featured Ingredients
- Mixed Greens: Peppery and/or bitter greens work really well in this salad.
- The combination of greens like watercress, arugula, or radicchio plays incredibly well with the sweetness of the squash and apples.
- Of course, if you’d like to go with a heartier green like kale, mustard greens, or chard would be great options.
- Alternately, if you’d like to go in the opposite direction and just use piles of microgreens, those would be fantastic too!
- Butternut Squash: This sweet squash tastes like a cross between a carrot and a turnip, and when it’s mashed it’s reminiscent of sweet potatoes.
- Bonus: It’s also incredibly good for you! It promotes good digestive health and immunity, it also reduces inflammation, and it’s also good for your eyes.
- Candied Walnuts: We love these hearty nuts in salads! (Well, in pretty much any recipe that calls for nuts. We’re nuts for walnuts!)
- They’re savory, smooth, and buttery, which means that when they’re candied and tossed with greens, squash, apples, and pomegranates, they’re simply perfect.
- Of course, if you’re a fan of other types of nuts like pecans or pistachios, feel free to substitute them in.
- Apples: We love a really hearty apple! Some of our favorite varieties include: Fuji, Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith apples.
- Feel free to add your favorite type to this ultimate autumn salad!
- Pomegranate Arils: These seeds of the pomegranate can range in flavor depending on the size and ripeness of the fruit.
- A completely ripe pomegranate will have arils that taste a little bit like cherries or sweet grapes.
- When shopping for pomegranates, note how heavy they are. The heavier they feel, the juicier they are!
- Also, make sure to pick up pomegranates that are smooth and unblemished for the best flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Place in the refrigerator.
- Toss butternut squash cubes in oil and salt and spread out on the baking sheet.
- Roast 30-40 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Turn to a low broil and broil for 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through, until crispy on the outside. Let cool.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter or a wooden cutting board. In a medium skillet over low heat, melt butter and whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Stir in walnuts and cook on low 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until walnuts are slightly toasty and butter mixture has thickened. Transfer walnuts to the sheet of parchment paper to cool.
- Assemble the salads by arranging greens, apple, pomegranates, cooled roasted squash and candied walnuts on plates or in bowls.
- Serve salads with dressing.
How to cut a butternut squash
- I like to roast a large batch of butternut squash and use it throughout the week (throw some eggs on them for breakfast!).
- My method of slicing, dicing and roasting it is pretty simple: I cut the ends off the squash, microwave it for 2-3 minutes to help soften it, let it slightly cool, peel it (get a good vegetable peeler!).
- Then, cut it in half lengthwise then separate the bulbous end from the shaft, scoop the seeds out, then slice it all in slabs and into cubes.
- After that, I toss it in oil and salt (and red pepper flakes if you want a kick!), lay it flat on a baking sheet and roast it at 400 degrees 30-40 minutes or until it's tender.
- If you're feeling crazy, you can broil it on low for a few minutes to get a nice crispy exterior (I encourage you to feel crazy).
How to make candied walnuts
- I also garnish this salad with candied walnuts, but I do it without adding a ton of sugar.
- I melt a few tablespoons of butter in a skillet, whisk in a tablespoon of dark brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, then stir in the walnuts until they're fragrant and slightly toasty and the sauce mixture has thickened.
- I line then on parchment paper to cool and voila! The best candied walnuts ever with not a alot of sugar. BOOM.
Make ahead tips
- If you’d like to make this salad ahead of time for lunch or for company earlier in the day, just assemble the salad itself, and store the dressing separately.
- Dress it right before serving.
Recipe Substitutions and Alternatives
- Instead of mixed greens: Try dinosaur kale, spinach, spring greens or watercress.
- Instead of butternut squash: Try sweet potatoes.
- Instead of apples: Try pears.
- Instead of walnuts: Try pecans.
- Instead of pomegranate arils: Try dried cranberries or cherries.
- Instead of maple syrup: Use honey.
- Add some zing: Quick pickled shallots or red onions would be amazing with the squash, apples, greens, and pomegranate arils!
- For the sugar: Both light and dark brown sugar work perfectly for candying the nuts.
- Add some chewy texture: Pitted cherries, blueberries, gooseberries, or dried cranberries would be great add-ins to this salad for even more color and flavor.
Nutrition Considerations
- To make this gluten free: This recipe is naturally gluten free. Be sure all packaged ingredients are gluten free.
- To make this dairy free: This recipe is naturally dairy free.
- To make this vegan: This recipe is naturally vegan.
- To make this nut free: Skip the walnuts.
Delicious fall recipes:
- Brussels Sprouts Cranberry Salad
- Hasselback Butternut Squash with Cinnamon Butter
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins
- Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins with Graham Cracker Crumble
- Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
- Country Apple Fritter Bread
The Ultimate Autumn Salad
The Ultimate Autumn Salad (that's good for winter, too!) with salad greens, honeycrisp apples, roasted butternut squash, candied walnuts and juicy pomegranate arils. Served with a light apple cider vinaigrette.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Total Time: 1 hr
- Yield: Serves 6
- Category: Salad
- Method: Roasting, Stove-Top, No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Salad Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch coarse salt and ground black pepper
Salad:
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 4 cups mixed greens
- 1 medium crisp apple, cored and sliced
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Place in the refrigerator.
- Toss butternut squash cubes in oil and salt and spread out on the baking sheet. Roast 30-40 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Turn to a low broil and broil for 3-4 minutes, stirring halfway through, until crispy on the outside. Let cool.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter or a wooden cutting board. In a medium skillet over low heat, melt butter and whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in walnuts and cook on low 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until walnuts are slightly toasty and butter mixture has thickened. Transfer walnuts to the sheet of parchment paper to cool.
- Assemble the salads by arranging greens, apple, pomegranates, cooled roasted squash and candied walnuts on plates or in bowls.
- Serve salads with dressing.
Notes
Cooking Tip: You can make the roasted butternut squash up to 3 days in advance - refrigerate in an airtight container. You can make the candied walnuts up to 2 weeks in advance - store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 287
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 406
- Fat: 24
- Saturated Fat: 5
- Unsaturated Fat: 19
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 18
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 10
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