This ultimate Fall Salad is loaded with roasted butternut squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, baby spinach, creamy goat cheese, and bow-tie pasta. The Autumn-style homemade salad dressing combines together just 4 ingredients: olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and lime juice. This is a must-try recipe to make in the Fall and Winter. It also makes a festive side dish for the holidays (Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, and Christmas).
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword butternut squash salad, fall harvest salad, fall salad
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 6people
Calories 500kcal
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.
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.
Cook pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Assembly
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.
When serving, top with fresh thyme (leaves only, no sprigs).
Notes
If you would like to make this Fall 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 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 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 seeds or 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.