Delicata Squash Salad
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This Delicata Squash Salad recipe will become your new favorite fall salad! It’s healthy, flavorful, and easy to make in 30 minutes. The base of the salad is made up of spinach and kale, tossed with avocado vinaigrette dressing.
It’s topped with roasted delicata squash, dried cranberries, apples and candied pecans for a delicious combination of sweet and savory flavors, and tender and crunchy textures!
Table of contents
Tender roasted delicata squash, crunchy pecans, crispy apples and creamy goat cheese, are combined for an incredible fall salad! This recipe has a wonderful variety of both textures and flavors. It’s impressive enough to serve as a side dish for a holiday dinner, but also filling enough to make it a meal.
I’m a huge fan of delicata squash. It’s the only variety of winter squash, where you can eat both the skin and the flesh. The skin of the squash is so delicate (hence the name!) that after the squash is roasted, the skin and flesh can both be added to this salad.
It’s also a sweeter variety of squash, that becomes even sweeter when it’s roasted. Combined with the base of kale and spinach in this salad, there’s a great balance of sweet and savory. The bright yellow flesh and striped skin of delicata squash also makes it a beautiful salad addition, perfect for an impressive Thanksgiving, or holiday salad.
Delicious, beautiful and easy to make in 30 minutes, now this is a salad that I’m keeping in regular rotation at my house!
Ingredients
- Delicata squash – this winter squash is smaller in size than other squash like butternut, or spaghetti squash. An average delicata squash is approximately 1 pound. For this recipe you’ll want about 1 1/2 pounds of squash. On the day I was making this salad, all of the delicata squash at the grocery store were particularly small, so I ended up using 3 to make the salad. For more tips on delicata squash, including how to slice it and the best way to cook it, check out this post for How to Cook Delicata Squash.
- Olive oil – or another neutral-flavored oil, like avocado oil or vegetable oil.
- Dried rosemary + ground cinnamon – to season to the squash.
- Salt + black pepper – also to season the squash.
- Kale + baby spinach – for the base of the salad. You could also use a spring mix, arugula, or just use spinach or kale, instead of combining them. I like the variety of textures, which is why I used both in this recipe. No matter which greens you use, or how many you combine, you’ll need a total of 6 cups of leafy greens for this recipe.
- Apples – when adding diced apples to a salad, you’ll want crispy apples that don’t brown too quickly, like honeycrisp, fuji or pink lady. For this recipe, I used pink lady apples. They add a great crunch and tart flavor to this salad.
- Candied pecans – click the link to the left for my homemade recipe for candied pecans. You can also purchase pre-made candied pecans at the grocery store. You can also use regular pecans, if you’d like to reduce the sweetness added to the salad.
- Dried cranberries – these tart little pieces of dried fruit pair perfectly with this fall/winter salad.
- Goat cheese (optional) – leave the cheese off if you want to make the salad vegan.
- Avocado vinaigrette dressing – fresh avocado, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper make up this simple creamy dressing that pairs perfectly with this salad.
Instructions
- Prep the delicata squash. Slice the ends off of the delicata squash, then slice it in half lengthwise from root to tip. Use a fork to scoop all of the seeds out of the squash. Slice the squash into 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Season the squash. Place the squash on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then season with rosemary, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Toss until the squash is fully covered in the seasoning, then spread the squash out in an even layer on the baking sheet.
- Roast the squash. Place the seasoned squash in a preheated 425°F oven for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the salad dressing. While the squash is roasting, add avocado, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a blender. Blend until smooth, then with the blender still running, pour the olive oil into the blender so it will emulsify into the salad dressing. Set the vinaigrette dressing aside.
- Prepare the kale. If you’re using a bag of chopped kale, you can skip this step. Otherwise, you’ll want to remove the thick stems from the kale, chop it up and add it to a large bowl.
- Toss the greens with the dressing. Combine the chopped kale and spinach leaves in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette dressing and toss until it’s fully coated.
- Add the toppings. Once the delicata squash comes out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes, then add it on top of the salad, with the dried cranberries, candied pecans and diced apples. Add some crumbled goat cheese on top before serving, if you’d like.
Recipe tips
- This recipe serves 2 as a meal, or 4-6 people as a side dish. If you’d like to double this recipe to serve 10-12 people at a holiday meal, simply click the 2X button in the recipe card below. The ingredient amounts will automatically update for the new serving size.
- To make this recipe vegan, omit the goat cheese. Candied pecans or glazed pecans are traditionally made with egg white or butter. So be sure to check the ingredients if adding them to the salad. You might have to make a vegan version yourself, or just add plain pecans.
- This salad is naturally gluten free, using the ingredients shown above.
- You can cook the delicata squash in an air fryer. After tossing the sliced squash with olive oil and the spices, arrange the squash in a single layer in an air fryer. Cook at 400°F for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through the cooking time. With 1 1/2 pounds of squash, you might have to do this in two batches. Adding too many slices of squash in the air fryer at one time means it won’t cook evenly.
Additions and substitutions
- Drizzle the delicata squash with 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup before roasting for added sweetness.
- Instead of candied pecans, use another type of nuts, like pistachios, cashews or walnuts.
- Replace the dried cranberries with pomegranate arils. They will add a similar tart flavor, and look beautiful on top of the salad!
- Replace the dried cranberries with chopped dates. These will add a similar texture to the dried cranberries, with more sweet flavor, than tart.
- Use feta cheese instead of goat cheese. Feta is also crumbly, but not quite as soft as goat cheese, and a little more salty.
- Add protein to the salad. This balsamic salmon is a delicious and healthy protein to add to the salad. Or add this Greek Marinated Chicken. It can be cooked on the grill, on the stove or in the oven.
- Use bottled balsamic dressing, instead of making the avocado vinaigrette. It won’t have the same creaminess, but the flavors will still work really well with this recipe.
What to serve it with
If serving this roasted delicata squash salad as a side dish, try pairing it with these other main dishes and sides.
More salad recipes
Get your greens every day of the week with these other popular, delicious salad recipes!
Delicata Squash Salad
This Delicata Squash Salad recipe will become your new favorite fall salad! It's healthy, flavorful, and easy to make in 30 minutes. The base of the salad is made up of spinach and kale, tossed with avocado vinaigrette dressing. It's topped with roasted delicata squash, dried cranberries, apples and candied pecans for a delicious combination of sweet and savory flavors, and tender and crunchy textures!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds delicata squash
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups kale
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup apples, diced
- ¼ cup candied pecans, chopped (click the link for my homemade recipe)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup goat cheese, crumbled
Avocado Vinaigrette Dressing
- ½ medium avocado, skin and pit removed
- 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Slice the ends off of the squash, then slice the squash in half lengthwise through the middle, from root to tip.
- Use a fork to scoop out the seeds from the middle of the squash.
- Slice the squash into ½ inch thick strips.
- Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, then season with the rosemary, cinnamon, salt and pepper.
- Toss until the squash is fully covered in the seasoning, then spread the squash out in an even layer on the baking sheet.
- Place the seasoned squash in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the salad dressing by adding the avocado, white balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a blender, blend on low until smooth, drizzle the olive oil in the blender while on low. Continue blending until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Remove the thick stems from the kale, chop it up and add it to a large bowl.
- Combine the chopped kale and spinach leaves in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette dressing and toss until it’s fully coated.
- Remove the delicata squash from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then place on top of the salad with the apples, pecans, cranberries and goat cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Apples – when adding diced apples to a salad, you’ll want crispy apples that don’t brown too quickly, like honeycrisp, fuji or pink lady. For this recipe, I used pink lady apples. They add a great crunch and tart flavor to this salad.
- To make this recipe vegan, omit the goat cheese. Candied pecans or glazed pecans are traditionally made with egg white or butter. So be sure to check the ingredients if adding them to the salad. You might have to make a vegan version yourself, or just add plain pecans.
- This salad is naturally gluten free, using the ingredients shown above.
- This recipe serves 2 as a meal, or 4-6 people as a side dish. If you’d like to double this recipe to serve 10-12 people at a holiday meal, simply click the 2X button above. The ingredient amounts will automatically update for the new serving size.
- You can cook the delicata squash in an air fryer. After tossing the sliced squash with olive oil and the spices, arrange the squash in a single layer in an air fryer basket. Cook at 400°F for 10 minutes, tossing halfway through the cooking time. With 1 1/2 pounds of squash, you might have to do this in two batches.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 456kcal (23%)Carbohydrates 33g (11%)Protein 10g (20%)Fat 34g (52%)Saturated Fat 8g (40%)Polyunsaturated Fat 4gMonounsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 13mg (4%)Sodium 624mg (26%)Potassium 1067mg (30%)Fiber 8g (32%)Sugar 16g (18%)Vitamin A 9797mg (196%)Vitamin C 80mg (97%)Calcium 254mg (25%)Iron 3mg (17%)
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