Butternut Squash Pasta Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Pecans, and Cranberries
Butternut Squash Pasta Salad is a delicious Fall comfort food perfect for cozy cold nights. This meatless holiday side dish is bursting with Autumn flavors and spices (cinnamon and maple syrup) and will make a great addition to your traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas menu.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword butternut squash pasta salad, fall pasta salad, thanksgiving pasta salad
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 40 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Calories 472kcal
Author Julia
Ingredients
Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
12ozBrussels sproutsends trimmed, yellow leaves removed, each sliced in half
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt (to taste), and toss to combine.
Add Brussels sprouts cut sides down onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes. The cut sides should be nicely and partially charred but not blackened (see my photos).
How to roast Butternut Squash
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded),1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon, and toss to mix.
Place butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes, until softened.
Note: You can roast both Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets or on one large baking sheet at the same time, on the same rack in the oven – that’s what I did.
Cook pasta
While the veggies are roasted in the oven, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions, usually about 10 or 12 minutes. Drain.
How to toast pecans
Toast the pecans for about 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) in the preheated oven at 350 F until they get darker in color.
Note: pecans burn really fast, so make sure to check the nuts after 5 minutes and frequently afterwords.
Assembly
In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, cooked and drained pasta, pecans, and cranberries, and mix to combine.
Salad dressing options
There are 4 salad dressing options that you can drizzle over this butternut squash salad:
Option 1. Combine 3 or 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify.
Option 2. Drizzle the salad with balsamic glaze (store-purchased) or homemade. To make a balsamic glaze, combine 1 cup of balsamic vinegar + ¼ cup of honey or brown sugar and cook it down until reduced at least by half. Consistency should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon but should not be overly thick.
Option 3. Use 2 or 3 tablespoons of maple syrup plus 2 or 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (not the bottled kind) as a salad dressing.
Option 4. Your favorite store-bought Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (not the creamy kind).
Option 5. Anything pomegranate based would be good - such as pomegranate molasses mixed with a small amount of olive oil. Or store-bought Pomegranate-based salad dressing (not the creamy kind).
Notes
Looking for more Thanksgiving side dishes ?
I have created a comprehensive recipe collection of 60 Thanksgiving side dishes conveniently categorized by ingredient: Green Beans, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, Potatoes, Acorn Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Asparagus, Broccoli, etc. It's a great resource to browse through for a last moment holiday inspiration! This side dishes will also work great for Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Looking for a complete Thanksgiving menu?
Be sure to check out my 50 Best Thanksgiving Recipes (The Complete Holiday Menu) - it includes everything: Fall-inspired holiday appetizers, side dishes, salads, main courses, pasta recipes, desserts, and even breakfast. This holiday menu features proven, tried, and true Thanksgiving dishes that have been reader favorites for years (I've been publishing recipes since 2012).