Savor the cozy flavors of autumn with this vibrant fall quinoa salad. Made with roasted butternut squash, pecans, pomegranate seeds, and an easy maple vinaigrette. Enjoy as a healthy side dish or make ahead to eat throughout the week!
For more cozy fall side dishes, check out this baked butternut squash mac and cheese recipe and easy cold wild rice salad.
Say hello to your new favorite fall salad! This fall quinoa salad is made with just a few classic fall ingredients and is so easy to make. Is Thanksgiving coming up, or just a fall gathering? Then you need to make this salad. If not, it's also great to make on a Sunday for food prep and enjoy throughout the week.
And while I recently have been obsessing over this particular salad, I am also partial to my apple arugula salad, cold wild rice salad, and butternut squash kale salad this time of year! So, if you're looking for even more seasonal salads to make, those are definitely worth checking out.
Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Nutritious - From the fiber and protein in the quinoa, vitamins and potassium in butternut squash, healthy fats in the pecans, and antioxidants in the pomegranate seeds, this salad is bursting with nutrients. My asparagus quinoa salad and superfood salad are other great options for a delicious and nutritious salad.
- Easy - I really tried to keep this salad easy by minimizing ingredients and prep time. Some other harvest/fall salads have lots of roasting, cooking, and chopping, but I kept this one as simple as possible while still getting all the fall classics.
- Real food - All ingredients are real, whole foods that are gluten free, refined oil free, and refined sugar free.
- Great as leftovers & food prep - I love anything that can be eaten in the days to come! This fall quinoa salad is great for leftovers, or for food prepping and enjoying throughout the week.
Ingredient Notes
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below. Here are some specific call-outs, and when needed, some tips on keeping the ingredients clean.
- Quinoa - I use white quinoa for this salad, but tri-colored quinoa also works.
- Spinach - Because spinach is known for high amounts of pesticides, use organic spinach if you can.
- Pecans - I like chopped pecans, but whole pecans can also be used. And if you have extra pecans, try this savory sweet potato casserole with pecan crumble.
- Pure maple syrup - Please be sure to use pure maple syrup and not the fake stuff. Not only does it taste a million times better, but it's a real food without corn syrup, caramel color, and lots of other fake stuff.
- Extra-virgin olive oil - For best results, use a high-quality EVOO.
- Apple cider vinegar - Opt for apple cider vinegar "with the mother" as it's unfiltered and contains more health benefits, like beneficial bacteria.
Salad Variations
Feel free to adjust some of the ingredients, or add something else to bulk up the salad. All of the below would be great additions, or easy swaps.
- Sprinkle in some dried cranberries (no sugar added) - Honestly Cranberry are my favorite.
- In addition to butternut squash, add some roasted Brussels sprouts or both roasted brussels and sweet potatoes
- Swap the goat cheese for feta, or skip the cheese all together
- Add some pumpkin seeds/pepitas
- Swap the pecans for walnuts
- Try adding some chopped apples
- For a grain-free salad, skip the quinoa and add additional spinach
How to Make Fall Quinoa Salad
Step 1: Roast the butternut squash. Preheat oven to 420-degrees F. Place cubed butternut squash on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Step 2: Cook the quinoa. While the butternut squash is roasting, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow quinoa to cool before adding to the salad.
Step 3: Make the dressing. In a small bowl, or mason jar, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, ground mustard, and salt.
Step 4: Add all salad ingredients to a large serving bowl.
Step 5: Add dressing. Pour dressing over quinoa salad ingredients.
Step 6: Lightly toss ingredients together with the dressing. I recommend chilling for 30-minuntes to an hour before serving.
Tips for the Best Salad
Butternut squash: Cube your squash in about ½" pieces. I find the smaller the pieces the better and allows for more of the overall flavors to to stand out in the salad as opposed to it just tasting like butternut squash.
Goat cheese: To avoid mushy goat cheese, sprinkle the finished salad with the goat cheese and then gently mix to add in the goat cheese. Love goat cheese? Try my goat cheese dip with honey, next!
Quinoa: The quinoa should be cold when you make the salad. If possible, make the quinoa the day before and store in the fridge. If you can't make ahead of time, after it cooks, spread out the quinoa on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 10-ish minutes so it can cool.
Storing & Meal Prep
Storing: Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
Meal prep: Because this salad keeps so well in the fridge, it's great for making ahead and enjoying for the days ahead. No special instructions are needed if wanting to meal prep this fall quinoa salad. Make recipe as is and keep stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Note: As the salad sits, it may get a little dry. Feel to whisk up some additional dressing, or just drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil if it's too dry.
More Fall Recipes to Try!
If you make this recipe, please let me know what you think! I would so appreciate you leaving a star rating and/or comment below. And don't forget to share a photo on Instagram or Facebook and mention @CleanPlateMama!
Eat Clean.Be Well!
-Sara
Fall Quinoa Salad
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Equipment
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 small sauce pan
- 1 large serving bowl
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Quinoa Salad
- 3-4 cups butternut squash, cubed (about a 2-pound butternut squash)
- 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- a sprinkle of salt & pepper
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3 cups chopped spinach (roughly ½ 5oz. container)
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds (or seeds from one whole pomegranate)
- ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion
- 4 oz crumbled goat cheese
Ingredients for the Dressing
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
- ½ tsp. ground mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 420-degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add cubed butternut squash to the baking sheet and toss with 2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil and a little bit of salt and pepper. Roast butternut squash in pre-heated oven for roughly 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Total time will vary pending how big your squash cubes are; they are done when lightly browned.
- While the butternut squash is cooking, prepare the quinoa according to package directions. Removed from heat and allow to cool before adding to the salad. To quickly cool, spread cooked quinoa out on a baking sheet, or a large plate, and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Add the roasted butternut squash, cooled quinoa, spinach, pecans, pomegranate seeds, onion, and goat cheese to a large salad bowl.
- To a small bowl, add the dressing ingredients and whisk together (you could also add them to a mason jar and quickly shake). Then, pour the dressing over the salad and lightly toss to combine.
- Salad can be served immediately, or chilled in the fridge first (I like it chilled for 30 minutes first). Enjoy!
Notes
- Smaller cubes of butternut squash are best - I like to cut mine in about ½" cubes.
- The quinoa should be cold when you make the salad. If possible, make the quinoa the day before and store in the fridge, or quickly cooling in the freezer works great.
- Salad will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
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Tracy Kolenich says
I cannot get enough of this fall salad! It’s really easy and delicious!! I like to make a big container of it and eat it for lunch or a snack all week long. It’s an easy take with you meal on the go ,or share with friends. Always a hit!
Sara says
So glad you are enjoying this salad and thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!