Green Bean Pasta Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries
Green Bean and Butternut Squash Pasta Salad is a delicious Fall comfort food filled with nuts and dried fruit (toasted pecans and dried cranberries). The Autumn-style homemade salad dressing combines just 4 ingredients: olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and lime juice. This meatless Thanksgiving green bean side dish is bursting with Fall flavors and will make a great addition to your holiday menu. It's dairy-free, vegetarian, and gluten-free-friendly.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American, Mediterranean
Keyword green bean pasta salad, thanksgiving green beans
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Calories 576kcal
Author Julia
Ingredients
Roasted butternut squash
1lbbutternut squashpeeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded) and 1 tablespoon of olive oil together on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange butternut squash in a single layer (without overcrowding) on the baking sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until softened.
Proceed with the rest of the recipe while the butternut squash is in the oven.
Cook pasta and green beans
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the package instructions.
Add green beans during the last 3 or 5 minutes and boil (together with pasta) for about 3 minutes if you like them crispy or 5 minutes if you like them softer and tender.
Drain and immediately rinse green beans and pasta under cold water. Drain again. This way, the pasta doesn't get mushy and stays al dente, and the green beans are nice and crispy.
How to toast pecans
Toast pecan halves for about 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) in the oven at 350 F until they get darker. Chop up half of the pecans.
Note: pecans burn fast, so check the nuts after 5 minutes and frequently afterward.
Make salad dressing
Combine all salad dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Whisk well with a fork until emulsified. Add more lime juice to taste.
Assembly
Combine cooked pasta, green beans, roasted butternut squash, and cranberries in a large serving bowl.
Add the dressing (just enough; you don't have to use all of it). Toss to combine.
When serving, top with toasted pecan halves (some finely chopped) and fresh thyme (leaves only, no sprigs). You can also drizzle the remaining salad dressing over the top of the salad if desired.
Notes
If you would like to make this green bean pasta salad ahead, here are the steps that can be done up to 3 days in advance - keep these ingredients in separate, airtight containers in the fridge:
Roast butternut squash. Many stores sell precut cubed butternut squash when it's in season. That's what I used in this recipe, saving me a ton of time! Roast it in the oven per recipe instructions and refrigerate it for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
Cook pasta and green beans. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again.
Toast pecans in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes. This is especially recommended for raw nuts. But even if you bought already roasted or flavored seeds or nuts, freshen them up by toasting them for about 5 or 10 minutes. Once the nuts are cooled, keep them in small sandwich bags until ready to use.
Make salad dressing and refrigerate it in a mason jar with the lid for up to 7 days.
Assemble the green bean pasta salad right before serving.