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Butternut squash salad with spinach, cashews, pumpkin seeds, feta cheese, pomegranate seeds, and mustard honey-lime dressing in a white bowl.
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Butternut squash salad

Butternut squash salad is a perfect sidekick to have with your weeknight dinner or to make for lunch or a mid-afternoon snack. You can also make this festive Fall and Winter salad for your holiday menu (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Eve). Or, share it with your family and friends at picnics, potlucks, and parties.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword butternut squash salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 people
Calories 314kcal
Author Julia

Ingredients

Butternut squash

Salad dressing

Salad ingredients

  • 1 cup cashews toasted, some of them chopped finely
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds toasted
  • 8 oz baby spinach
  • ½ cup feta cheese crumbled
  • ½ cup pomegranate arils

Instructions

How to roast butternut squash

  • 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.

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 - Option 1

  • I prefer to arrange the salad in individual bowls for presentation purposes.
  • Add spinach to each individual salad bowl. Top with the remaining salad ingredients, including roasted butternut squash.
  • Drizzle with the salad dressing.

Assembly - Option 2

  • Alternatively, you can combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl, add the dressing (just enough, you don't have to use all of it). Toss to combine.

Notes

If you would like to make it 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 and it saved 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.
  • Toast cashews and pumpkin seeds in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes. This is especially recommended for raw nuts and seeds. But even if you bought already roasted or flavored nuts, freshen them up by toasting them for about 5 or 10 minutes. Once, the nuts and seeds are cool, 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.
  • Remove the pomegranate seeds from the shell. Or better yet, buy shelled pomegranate seeds in a container so that you don't have to do it.

Nutrition

Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 561mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 8740IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 3mg