Guys, this is by far my new favorite salad! I just can’t get enough of the combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy autumn flavors that make this Butternut Squash Salad with Candied Nuts the perfect addition to your Fall menus!
[Tweet “Butternut Squash #Salad with Candied Nuts: sweet, salty, crunchy, and perfect!”]
While it looks and sounds fancy {homemade dressing! candied nuts!}, don’t be fooled: I use plenty of short-cuts to make this salad come together in minutes. Plus, it’s not just a side dish! I have been known to gobble this up as a lighter main-course lunch option by adding some left-over turkey or chicken into the mix.
To save some time and effort, I like to buy the bags of pre-cut diced butternut squash that I can pick up at this time of year in the produce section of my grocery store. And forget about making your own candied nuts…I just pick up a tin of honey roasted pecans or other glazed nuts from the snack/nut section of the grocery store and call it a day! Like I said, there’s no need to add extra work in the kitchen — especially at this time of year. I hope that you love this combination as much as I do!
Butternut Squash Salad with Candied Nuts
Ingredients
For the Mustard Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
For the Salad:
- 12 ounces butternut squash cut into small cubes
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup candied pecans or other glazed nuts
- 1 pkg. 5 ounces spring lettuce mix
- ½ cup thinly sliced red onions
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
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For the dressing: combine all ingredients in a mason jar and shake until completely combined. Set aside.
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Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
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Toss squash with Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of the dressing. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tender, stirring halfway through. Set aside to cool.
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Once the squash has cooled, place it in a large salad bowl with the remaining ingredients. Add remaining dressing and toss gently.
Looking for other delicious salad recipes? Try these favorites:
Celebration Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Individual Frozen Fruit Salads
I’m a vegetarian and I loooooooove salad. This is definitely going to be MY favorite one for this Fall (and winter)
Looks fantastic
Pinning
Thanks for stopping by, Winnie! You will totally love this salad! 🙂
Yum, it looks delicious, wish I had one in front of me. I’m putting this on next weeks menu.
Thanks
That’s awesome, Celeste! I hope that you enjoy it. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I love the combination of the butternut squash and candied nuts! The dressing you’ve used on this salad sounds amazing!
Thanks so much, Kristine! So glad that you stopped by! 🙂
This sounds wonderful! Thank you for sharing a wonderul fall salad.
Thanks for stopping by, Jolena!
Yum! Thanks for linking up to Show Me Saturday!
Thanks for stopping by, Ginger!
this does sound like the perfect fall salad
It most definitely is, Heather! 🙂
Love this! I’ve been dreaming of a butternut squash salad, and this is giving me a reason to finally make it!
That’s great, Courtney! So glad that you might try it! 🙂
Hi Blair, great low carb dish! How about adding it to the Food on Friday: Low Carb collection over at Carole’s Chatter? Cheers
This salad looks fantastic! I have been looking for a new butternut squash recipe to try, and it looks like I’ve found it! thanks for sharing – I’m going to pin this one right now!
Oooh yum that salad looks so delicious. My husband and I have a big salad for our dinners one night during the week, and this one may just have to make the rotation. Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Thanks for stopping by, Amanda!
That does look really good, Blair! I love trying new salads! Pinned and tweeted and I’ll be sharing on my Facebook page tomorrow!
Your salad sounds great and bursting with flavor! I saw this on the Foodie Fridays link up! I would be delighted if you’d stop by http://picnicnz.blogspot.co.nz/ and add this to the Pure Blog Love link party too 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by, Nicole!
This salad looks great, I love the contrasting textures and colours. This has been featured as the most viewed link over at Sweet and Savoury Sunday. Stop by, grab a button and link up with us again!
That’s awesome, Laura! Thanks you!!
all of those salads are making me hungry! I love the candied nuts! thanks for linking up to the Create LInk Inspire party. You are being featured today on Nap-Time Creations in some great fall food!! Check it out! Emily
Thanks so much, Emily! Can’t wait to check it out! 🙂
Perfect salad for Fall!!! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
I absolutly love this idea to add the squash to the salad! This looks like something I am absolutely adding to my weekly menu! Yummmm! 100% pinned!
Cathy
Thanks, Cathy! I’m actually planning to make this AGAIN, because it’s so great and it’s something that I can happily live on all season long. Hope you get to try it!