Servings
Font
Back
Butternut Squash Spinach Salad
5 from 21 votes

Butternut Squash Spinach Salad

This Butternut Squash Spinach Salad combines roasted cubed butternut squash with baby spinach, toasted pecans, pomegranate arils, and crumbled goat cheese. The salad is dressed with a honey-Dijon vinaigrette featuring red wine vinegar, shallots, fresh thyme, and honey for balanced acidity and sweetness. The dish offers a mix of textures from tender roasted squash to crunchy nuts and juicy seeds.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 8
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Salad
  • 5 cups butternut squash cubed, 3/4 inch pieces, 1 1/2 lbs
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
  • black pepper freshly ground
  • salt freshly ground
  • 1 cup pecans toasted, chopped
  • 10 oz baby spinach
  • 1 1/4 cups pomegranate arils
  • 4 oz goat cheese crumbled, or feta
Dressing
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp shallot minced
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp thyme fresh leaves
  • black pepper freshly ground
  • salt freshly ground

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. For 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.
  2.  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.
  3. For the Salad: In a large salad bowl toss together spinach, squash, 1/2 of the pecans and 1/2 of the pomegranate arils.
  4. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing and gently toss. Sprinkle with remaining pecans, pomegranate arils and goat cheese and serve immediately.
  5. 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.