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Fresh, maple roasted cranberries and roasted butternut squash are mixed with soft spinach leaves and creamy goat cheese to create a new favorite salad! This roasted butternut squash salad with cranberries is perfect for the holidays or any day!
*Please note* This post was originally published in 2017. I’ve since redone the text but the recipe remains the same.
I know, I know. Where the cookies at y’all!? It’s December! Full-on Christmas baking season! What is this….. “salad” you’re trying to entice us with? Pffft.
But you guys, as much as I love all of the cookies and the eating and the teeth brushing (wait – what)? I really, really, need some green in there too. And not the kind that comes out of a food colouring bottle. My body craves it sometimes. Especially since I’m just coming down from the last few months of being a strict bread-tarian.
Now that I’m finally feeling more like my old self and vegetables are once again appealing, I’m finding myself craving salads, soups, and all sorts of dishes filled with colour.
It was my birthday yesterday (yay me!) and obviously, we had a weekend-long affair of delicious food – and cake! On Saturday we went to a little Italian restaurant and stuffed ourselves with antipasti and bucatini, among other things that I can’t pronounce 😉 My wonderful friend Deb made me the most delicious chocolate and peppermint cake, sending us home with leftovers and saving me from baking what would be my third cake in a week and a half. You HAVE to have cake on your actual birthday!
So, since all of that pasta and cake is still digesting, I am in desperate need of a few lighter meals. Enter this roasted butternut squash salad WITH cranberries!
How do you make a roasted squash salad?
Honestly, I could eat this salad every day (multiple times a day) for a week! It’s SO good. The tart cranberries are such a welcome flavour against the sweet butternut squash and creamy goat cheese. Roasting the fresh cranberries in maple syrups softens them up and lessens their bite. Paired with slightly sticky, sugary pecans and a maple and red-wine vinaigrette, you’ve got yourself a winner.
Start the salad by roasting the squash and cranberries together so they have time to cool down, and at the same time, start the quinoa. It will also need time to cool down!
Lately I almost always add quinoa to my salad – like this kale salad – not only for the extra boost of protein, but I love how quinoa attaches itself to the greens it’s placed with, and adds a little bit of texture to every bite.
Oh – and I almost forgot! The candied pecans. They’re so easy to make yourself! I usually do up a big batch of them at one time so I can have them on hand to toss into my salads. They’re also done in minutes; whisk together brown sugar with a pinch of salt, some water and a bit of vinegar, and heat it up over the stove with some lightly toasted pecans. The mixture gets syrupy and sticks to the pecans, coating them in a sweet layer of deliciousness. You’ll have to resist eating them all before adding them to the salad!
You can also try this salad with my healthy candied walnuts. So good!
How do you make the maple and red wine vinaigrette?
The vinaigrette is also super simple! You likely have everything you need in your house already:
- Dijon mustard
- red wine vinaigrette
- maple syrup
- lemon juice
- olive oil
- salt
The recipe makes more dressing than what you’ll need for the salad, so I would just add a little at a time.
Toss everything together and you’ve got yourself a fresh, filling meal or a wonderful salad to serve alongside a main course. Take a break from your holiday sweets and get some greens in!
Some other delicious salad recipes from the blog:
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Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Cranberries
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Fresh, maple roasted cranberries and roasted butternut squash are mixed with soft spinach leaves and creamy goat cheese to create a new favorite salad! This roasted butternut squash salad with cranberries is perfect for the holidays or any day!
Ingredients
- 2 cups butternut squash, diced into 1/2” pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 8 cups fresh spinach
- 1 cup quinoa (cooked and cooled)
- 1 cup goat cheese
Candied Pecans
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Maple-Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinaigrette
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and slice about 1/2 butternut squash into 1/2″ pieces, enough to get about 2 cups. Toss the sliced squash in 1 tbsp of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Spread the squash onto the baking sheet in a single layer. Roast the squash for 10 minutes; while the squash is roasting, combine the cranberries with the maple syrup and remaining tbsp of olive oil. Remove the squash from the oven, flip with a spatula, and scatter the cranberries throughout the squash onto the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet back into the oven for another 5-6 minutes, or until the cranberries and squash are tender. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, quinoa and goat cheese. Set aside.
- Make the candied pecans: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, water, vanilla extract and salt. In a skillet on the stove over medium heat, toast the pecans for 3-4 minutes or until just starting to become fragrant. Add the sugar mixture to the skillet and stir continuously, until the sauce thickens and begins to stick to the pecans. There should be hardly any liquid remaining in the skillet before you remove it the heat. Immediately scatter the pecans onto a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool completely.
- Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients until thoroughly combined. Add the cooled pecans, butternut squash and cranberries to the salad, then slowly pour the vinaigrette over everything. Start with half the dressing, before tossing and testing. Add more dressing as desired. Enjoy immediately!
Pre-dressed leftover salad will store in the fridge for 1-2 days; undressed salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: salads
- Method: no-bake
- Cuisine: american
I hear ya Kathy. This time of the year anything green comes out of a bottle.We do love our reds and greens in December!! That being said, a healthy salad with seasonal produce is something that we desperately need right now. A great head start instead of waiting until January and complain about all that weight gain:)
YES! We all need a little bit of salad in our lives this time of year, I think. I will probably still be complaining about weight gain in January, but at least meals like this will help 🙂
Looking at this recipe I can’t believe I’ve never tried roasting cranberries! I have half a bag sitting in my fridge waiting for me to bake them into something but I think I’m going to roast them and throw them in a salad instead. This one sounds amazing, and just what I need to prepare myself for a few weeks of eating extra cookies :). Sounds like you had a great birthday–YAAAAY!
Aah you have to try!! I have half a bag left in my fridge too – I used the first half roasting them, so I think I’m due to bake something else with them 😉 Thanks Kelsie!!! I had a great birthday 🙂
Sounds like you had the most fabulous birthday, Katherine! And, lucky you, your friend made you a yummy cake! I totally know what you mean, though, about sometimes craving a little green salad or veg or whatever! This salad looks unbelievably good – roasted cranberries with butternut squash? You brilliant lady! And then those pecans? Whoa. Pinning. I can’t wait to try this one over the holidays after I’ve had waaaaay too much eggnog and chocolates. Hope you week is going lovely, my friend! XO
I had a great birthday!! And yes, she is a doll for making me such a delicious cake!! Aah the pecans might be my favourite part – I have a hard time holding back from just eating them all before they make it to the salad!! Thank you Dawn! We’re almost at the weekend!
I’m the same way! I’d love a salad just like this one. And great idea to make a big batch of candied pecans—as they push a salad over the top! Sounds like you had a marvelous birthday! xoxo
Those candied pecans definitely add such a nice, sweet crunch to the salad!! It was a wonderful birthday. Thank you Liz! I hope you’re having a great week 🙂
Perfect for my office lunch ! Thank you !
Would be a totally perfect office lunch!! Hope you enjoy!
No seriously, BRING ON THE SALAD recipes! I love indulging this time of year but my poor stomach needs a reset after the overly sweet and rich holiday meals. I try and offset my bad holiday diet with salad recipes and it looks like I just found my next salad! True confession time- I’ve never made salad with roasted butternut squash before so I’m stoked to give it a go!!
I’m with you, Christina!! I am eating sweets pretty much all day long – sometimes I need a little break! You know what – you’re going to LOVE the roasted squash on your salad! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This is exactly what I need this time of year Katherine! A delicious, healthy option for my menu!
Definitely! We all need some green to keep things from getting too indulgent!! Thank you friend!
I love salads that are packed with autumn flavors and colors! This is a nice antidote to all those cookies we’ve been eating! Happy Birthday!
Yes! Me too! I find myself craving a giant salad when I’ve been over-indulging on sweets. Thank you so much my friend!
You sound like you had a great birthday and I’m so glad! That meal (and cake!) sounded amazing! This salad is something I want to dig into…I love everything about it. I’m even more excited to look at salads like this than cookies so you’ve got me. I love those roasted cranberries!
It was a wonderful day! I feel very blessed 🙂 I’m loving big salads like this too lately – I see you’ve got a couple new ones on your blog that I just can’t wait to try. Cheers, Marcie!
Katherine, this salad sounds like such a refreshing change from all the cookies and cakes, I have been baking. And it looks so delicious and crunchy. This I have got to make 🙂
Have a great weekend 🙂
It really is a refreshing change, Ashika!! I have been living on sweets so I think my body craves green some days!! I hope you love it! Cheers!