Roasted Butternut Squash Salad (Make Ahead)- Slender Kitchen

If you’re seeking for the ultimate tumble salad, this Butternut Squash Salad is the just one. This crave-deserving salad is a stunning mixture of rich, tangy, zesty, and nutty flavors.

When it arrives to meals, there is one thing to get psyched about in each and every period. In the slide, it is butternut squash. This delectable fall vegetable is one of my preferred foodstuff to prepare dinner up in the course of the slide and winter seasons.

From Sluggish Cooker Brown Sugar Butternut Squash to Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos to Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes, I have attempted (and beloved) much more healthy butternut squash recipes than I can depend.

The other good detail about this roasted squash salad is that if you roast your butternut squash in advance of time, it only will take 10 minutes to toss with each other. This would make it a excellent make-in advance salad for holiday break meals.

I advocate serving this dish with a protein-major entrée or a heat bowl of soup. It doesn’t make any difference if you’re serving a desk full of meat lovers or a bunch of herbivores. This tasty butternut squash salad will transform any person into a salad lover. Have confidence in me.

Crucial Components

To make this delectable squash salad, you will need to have the next essential components:

• Butternut squash: The star of this flavorful drop salad! For proper roasting, chop the squash into bite-sized cubes and sprinkle them with kosher salt and black pepper. Any winter season squash is effective in this salad if you don’t have butternut squash on hand.
• Arugula: I enjoy the peppery taste of arugula in this salad, but you could also test spinach, kale, or even a combo of all a few.
• Feta cheese: This tangy cheese is the fantastic complement to the squash’s refined sweetness. Really don’t have any? Feel cost-free to swap it out for a different tangy cheese like goat cheese.
• Almonds: Just about every fantastic salad wants a little bit of a crunch! Roasted almonds are a delicious way of incorporating a ton of taste (and protein) to this healthy drop salad. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or candied pecans are all scrumptious as very well.
• Orange vinaigrette: Manufactured from a drool-worthy blend of contemporary orange juice, red wine vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper, this dressing truly is the cherry on major of a great dish. Swap in apple cider vinegar or white balsamic in the dressing and insert some Dijon mustard if you like for an earthier flavor.
• Increase fruit: Look at including pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, or dried cherries for some thing sweet and tart.

Recipe Suggestions and Variations

Below are some of my top rated tips to assist you make this dish:

• Blend up your nuts. Not a enthusiast of almonds? No trouble! Pecans and walnuts are each easy to roast and taste fantastic on best of this salad. You can in fact roast your nuts in advance of time, as they will final for months in an airtight container.
• Swap your greens. Whilst I appreciate the style of arugula in this salad, you can swap it out for any sort of leafy greens you like. Combined greens, spinach, and kale will all get the job done fantastic as perfectly.
• Make it in advance! This salad is terrific for food prepping and producing forward of time. Just be positive to retail outlet the arugula and dressing in individual containers. If you keep them all collectively, the arugula will begin to droop and the leaves will get soggy. For finest benefits, add the arugula and dressing just in advance of serving.
• Increase grains. If you are searching to beef up this salad with some hearty protein and fiber, grains are a good way to do it! Quinoa and lentils will equally get the job done well.
• Swap cheese. Not a lover of feta? Goat cheese, parmesan cheese, and blue cheese will supply a similarly tangy taste that tastes tasty in this dish.
• Make it vegan. You can flip this into a delectable vegan aspect dish by omitting the feta and swapping out the honey for maple syrup.
• Increase protein. For a finish and properly-well balanced meal, check out topping this salad with a nutritious protein source like grilled hen, tofu, or roasted chickpeas.
• Add fruit: Attempt this with sliced apples, pears, stone fruit, or berries.

How to Pick out the Proper Butternut Squash

If you are a 1st-time butternut squash purchaser, it can be tricky to know how to decide on the correct squash. Here’s what to seem for in the perfect butternut squash:

• Look for a squash with a sound beige colour. There should not be any punctures, deep cuts, or excessive bruises on its pores and skin. Even so, a single dim spot from wherever the squash touched the ground is high-quality.
• Your squash should really really feel weighty for its dimension. Never be concerned to select up a few diverse squashes so you can evaluate the excess weight towards the distinct types.
• Search for a squash that has a extra fat neck and a modest bulb. This indicates it will have the most meat so that you will get the greatest lender for your buck.

How to Store Butternut Squash Salad

No matter if you’re prepping for Thanksgiving or conserving leftovers for a weeknight supper, there are a handful of means to retail store this healthful squash salad. To start with, seal your roasted squash, arugula, feta cheese, and orange vinaigrette in separate, airtight containers. Then, you can shop them in a pair of distinct ways:

• Butternut squash will refrigerate for up to 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• Arugula will refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• Feta cheese will refrigerate for up to 5-7 times.
• Orange vinaigrette will refrigerate for up to 7-10 times or freeze for up to 6 months.