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Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash is impressive and inviting as freshly dressed greens are topped with a cascade of Roasted Caramelized Delicata Squash slices. You’ll also love the fresh apple and other seasonal ingredients tossed in — a beautiful sprightly salad, thanks to an amazing Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette and those irresistible slices of caramelized roasted delicata squash!
This recipe is perfect for real food diets, including Gluten-free, Paleo, AIP, Vegan and Whole30.
Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash ingredients
This recipe includes beautiful greens: romaine lettuce or butter lettuce. Butter lettuce or fresh crisp romaine hearts are best. If you want the salad to be really delicious, having fresh really nice crisp lettuce is important.
Butter lettuce is my personal favorite, because it’s actually buttery, tender, has an amazing mouthfeel, but the leaves still have some crispness to them.
The other main ingredients are: peeled sliced apple, roasted delicata squash slices, a delicious Maple Balsamic Salad Dressing … and then seasonal ingredients!
This means that the salad can flex a bit depending on when you make it and what’s available:
- In early fall, I include fresh wedges of figs in this recipe, which is how it’s photographed.
- As fall turns into winter, in November, looks for Japanese persimmons, which are great when they’re a little tender and soft, like a tomato, and can be cut similarly, into wedges.
- Spanning all of fall and winter, a few veggies and fruits are easy to find and may always be used as good options: celery, pomegranates and beets (served cooked and sliced).
- Finally, for non-AIP, sprouted pecans or pumpkin seeds may be added to the salad, optionally.
Lastly, the salad is garnished with fresh thyme, which isn’t just beautiful, as a visual layer — it’s truly delicious with the other salad ingredients.
How to make Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash
- To make Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash, start by roasting the squash. The link to that recipe is below in the Recipe itself. It’s an easy recipe: just grab a sheet pan, preheat the oven and pop it in! (That recipe will then guide you how to easily roast the slices.)
- If you plan to include beets in the salad, cook those now. (Just cover with water, and slow-boil until fork-tender. Run under cool water to rub off the peel. Then slice.)
- While the squash roasts, make the Maple Balsamic Salad Dressing.
- Wash and dry the lettuce. Peel and slice the apple.
- Prep the seasonal ingredient: either figs, persimmon, celery, pomegranate or beets. Yes, you can use more than one of these, if you want an extra bountiful voluptuous salad!
- Shortly before the squash is done roasting, assemble the salad: in a large salad bowl, toss the greens and the remaining ingredients.
- Pour onto a serving platter, if you wish. Top with squash slices. The squash may be hot or cooled when you serve, as you wish. Garnish all with fresh thyme leaves and sprigs.
Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash
Equipment
- large salad bowl or serving platter
Ingredients
- 2 heads romaine lettuce or butter lettuce, depending on how big they are, or 6 to 8 cups greens, loosely packed
- 1 recipe Roasted Caramelized Delicata Squash Slices <-- see recipe
- 1 recipe Maple Balsamic Salad Dressing <-- see recipe
- 1 large apple peeled and sliced
- optional seasonal ingredients to choose from ~ in early fall: look for fresh figs ; in November, look for Fuyu/Japanese persimmons; in winter: celery and/or pomegranates; all cold seasons, cooked beets, sliced
- optional for non-AIP: sprouted pecans or pumpkin seeds (omit for AIP)
- several sprigs optional fresh thyme
Instructions
- Toss greens and all the other ingredients, except Delicata Squash, with preferred amount of vinaigrette.
- Fill individual salad plates or a huge platter with dressed greens.
- Arrange Roasted Delicata Squash artistically on top. Top with fresh thyme leaves, optionally.
- Serve.
Nutrition
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You can Pin Fall and Winter Salad with Roasted Delicata Squash here:
Libby Addy says
Yes, I would love the GAPS version.
Megan says
Great Libby. For the dressing, you’ll sub apple cider vinegar for the balsamic and honey for the maple syrup. And omit the Dijon mustard. For the butter options, choose pumpkin seed butter, sunflower seed butter or almond butter. The rest of the salad will stay the same. 🙂