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This Butternut Squash Salad is made with roasted squash, shaved Brussels sprouts, and tender quinoa. Toss it with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a delicious maple mustard dressing for the ultimate winter salad!
This Butternut Squash Salad is easily the most colorful, flavorful winter salad recipe there is. It’s full of quinoa, tender roasted squash, and shaved Brussels sprouts. Once you add the toppings and the maple mustard dressing, it becomes a salad that the whole family will love! It is filling and can be served on its own as a meal or top with your favorite protein.
Looking for more butternut squash recipes? Try our Maple Roasted Butternut Squash or this Butternut Squash Mushroom Risotto.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Healthy, healthy, healthy! This butternut squash quinoa salad is absolutely packed with nutrients. It’s a great vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free salad recipe.
- So delicious. The flavors of the roasted squash, dried cranberries, and maple mustard dressing make for a really tasty salad. Also, it tastes as delicious as it looks!
- Make-ahead friendly. You can easily make the components of this salad ahead and then just roast the squash and assemble before serving.
Ingredients you’ll need
This is just a list of ingredients you will need to make the Butternut Squash Brussel sprouts Salad. Full measurements are listed further down below.
Red onion
Butternut squash
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Ground cinnamon
Apple cider vinegar
Dijon mustard
Maple syrup
Brussels sprouts
Cooked quinoa
Dried cranberries
Pumpkin seeds
Fresh thyme
How to make this butternut squash salad
- First, prep the oven: Preheat your oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Next, season squash: Add the cubed butternut squash to the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the seasonings, then toss well and arrange in a single layer.
- Then, roast the squash: Bake for 18-20 min, or until fork-tender.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine all the dressing ingredients. Whisk until emulsified, then set aside until ready to use.
- Finally, assemble salad: Add the roasted butternut squash, shaved sprouts, sliced onion, and cooked quinoa to a large bowl. Then top with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and thyme, and drizzle with the dressing. Toss well to combine and serve!
Tips and substitutions
- Butternut squash: You can buy the squash peeled and cut from the store, or you can do it yourself.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Substitute with grapeseed oil or canola oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: You can substitute it with white vinegar.
- Brussels sprouts: You can buy these shredded from the store, or you can thinly slice/shave them with a knife at home.
- Dressing: You can make the dressing ahead and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Assembly tip: You can prep elements of this salad ahead, but it is best when the squash is roasted and salad assembled shortly before serving.
faqs
When roasting a whole squash or large wedges, you do not have to remove the skin first. But in this recipe, you must peel the squash before cutting it into small cubes. After peeling, remove the seeds and cut the squash.
This depends on the ingredients in the salad. This recipe has quinoa, which is packed with fiber, protein, and essential amino acids. This salad also has healthy butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin seeds, all of which add extra vitamins and nutrients. This is a very healthy salad!
We serve this salad at room temperature with warm roasted butternut squash. But if you prefer it cold, you can definitely serve it after refrigerating.
Butternut Squash Salad can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-4 days.
Other salad recipes
- Black Bean Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
- Healthy Steak Salad Recipe
- Harvest Quinoa Salad with Feta
- Greek Orzo Salad
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad
- Spicy Shrimp Avocado Salad Recipe
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Butternut Squash Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (about about 2-pound butternut squash or 4 cups)
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Salad
- 1 lb Brussels sprouts, outer leaves discarded, ends trimmed and shaved
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Instructions
To roast the butternut squash:
- Preheat your oven to 400F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the cubed butternut squash to the prepared sheet pan. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the seasonings. Toss well to coat and arrange in a single layer.
- Bake for 18-20 min, or until fork tender.
To make the dressing:
- To a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients. Whisk until emulsified. Set aside until ready to use.
To assemble the salad:
- Add the roasted butternut squash, shaved sprouts, sliced onion and cooked quinoa to a large bowl. Top with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and thyme, and drizzle with the dressing. Toss well to combine.
Notes
- Butternut squash: You can buy the squash peeled and cut from the store, or you can do it yourself.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Substitute with grapeseed oil or canola oil.
- Apple cider vinegar: You can substitute with white vinegar.
- Brussels sprouts: You can buy these shredded from the store, or you can thinly slice/shave them with a knife at home.
- Dressing: You can make the dressing ahead and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Assembly tip: You can prep elements of this salad ahead, but it is best when the squash is roasted and salad assembled shortly before serving.
- Storage: If you have leftovers, you can store in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
