Maple Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Salad

Salad is usually not the star of the Thanksgiving meal. Most people look forward to the turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, and dessert. We always serve a green salad anyways because eating a little salad makes us feel better about the rest of the meal, right?:) Well, this year make sure you save room for the greens because this Maple Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Salad just might steal the show. It is that good!

To make the salad, I roasted maple glazed butternut squash and apple chunks in the oven to bring out their flavors. I added the squash and apples to a bed of mixed greens. I also topped the salad with dried cranberries, pepitas, and feta cheese. I like to serve the salad with a maple mustard dressing. The recipe is included below. It is easy to make, but if you are in a pinch a store bought balsamic or cranberry dressing work well too.
If you were thinking about crossing that green salad off your Thanksgiving menu this year, don’t do it. Add this Maple Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Salad to the menu. This salad is delicious, pretty, and a great way to balance out all of those carbs on your plate:)

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple Salad
Yield: Serves 8-10
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
3 Granny Smith apples, core and chopped
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
freshly ground black pepper
About 10 cups mixed salad greens
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pepitas
3/4 cup feta cheeseFor the Maple Mustard Dressing:
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon brown grainy mustard
2/3 cups pure maple syrup (you can use "imitation" maple syrup to cut costs, but I recommend at least using 1/2 pure maple syrup)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup canola oil
Salt and pepper, to tasteDirections:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the butternut squash and apple chunks on a large baking sheet. Add olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper and toss. Roast the squash and apples for 25-30 minutes, turning once, until tender. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
2. While the squash and apples are roasting, make the maple mustard dressing, if using. Combine garlic, mustards, syrup, vinegar, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. With the machine running, pour in oil in a slow steady stream to emulsify. You should have about 2 cups of dressing. You will not need it all for the salad. You can store the leftover dressing in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
3. Place the mixed greens in a large salad bowl and add the butternut squash, apples, dried cranberries, pepitas, and feta cheese. Drizzle dressing over the salad to moisten and toss well. Serve immediately.
Note-you can also serve this salad with a store bought balsamic or cranberry dressing.



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This looks delish! I was at TJ’s today and the sample girl was sampling a squash salad with maple and she had wild rice in her version. Yours looks amazing and now I really have a craving for a roasted butternut squash salad!
A marvelous autumn salad! So colorful and fresh.
Cheers,
Rosa
That is vibrant and gorgeous!!
Roasted pumpkin salads are the best!
Love that squash! I could just eat that. Great salad!
This salad looks like it could be the star of any meal. Just beautiful. And, it sounds so delicious, too!
What a gorgeous Fall salad! I would definately like to make this for Thanksgiving, but I have a question- why did you use half imitation maple syrup instead of all maple syrup? I try not to use “imitation” anything, prefering to use the real stuff. I’m not sure I have ever seen imitation maple syrup…can I just use all of the real stuff? Thanks!
Two Peas replied: — November 16th, 2011 @ 8:52 am
You can use all pure maple syrup if you would like. Using part “imitation” syrup is to cut costs since pure maple syrup is so pricey. Feel free to go with all pure though. It is the best:)
i can honestly say that i’ve never had a salad on thanksgiving, but i would totally make an exception for this bad boy. yum!
This looks absolutely delicious and I LOVE the colors!
I’m thinking we’re going to have to have this for dinner tonight with some grilled chicken.
Hope Josh isn’t feeling too sore this morning after his accident yesterday!
So pretty and yummy!! Perfect for Fall or Thanksgiving
what a gorgeous salad!! that makes me that you serve it just to feel a little better about eating all that yummy T-day food! I actually do that everyday! ha whenever we order pizza i always make ava a little salad…she usually only takes two bites of the greens! lol worth a try!
I bet the sweet roasted squash and apple pairs well with the feta! What a fun menu addition
See?! I came running! I’m not waiting until Thanksgiving for this! I called hubs just now to tell him to bring me a butternut squash when he comes in today and he says like the yellow ones? Guess I better go get the squash, lol! I love the addition of pepitas!
We always serve a light salad too, but THIS, is so my kind of salad!
What a gorgeous fall salad for Thanksgiving – love all the harvest colors. I think if I had this on our table, I would eat more of this and less of the heavier foods – it would definitely make me think twice about what I put on my plate.
This was MEANT for my face and stomach.
I just tried squash for the first time this year and absolutely love it! This looks amazing!
That Vinaigrette is sounding awfully tasty!
that is one gorgeous salad… the colors are so pretty! i think it’s a great idea to serve salad at thanksgiving. it seems like no one does! this salad looks so good… want some now!
I was just asked to bring a salad to my families Turkey Day dinner. Question can I roast the squash and apple ahead of time and then bring the salad to dinner and assemble later? or will the apples turn brown and not be so good?
Two Peas replied: — November 16th, 2011 @ 2:46 pm
The apples kind of wrinkle and brown when you roast them so I think you will be fine to roast the squash and apples ahead of time. Enjoy!
Now this salad will make you the life and soul of the party – healthy, light and tasty – much needed at any Thanksgiving Feast
we always have a salad at TG too! Although I don’t know that I can wait until then to try this!!
A beautiful salad!
YUM Maria! Looks gorgeous and I bet it tastes amazing. Another butternut recipe to add to my list!
what a gorgeous salad, maria!
This looks really good! I am always looking for new combinations of things to try and although I have heard a lot about it, I have never had apples in something like a salad. It’s just seems kind of odd to me, like the combination of strawberries and balsamic. But once I forayed into that world, I was in love, so this is definitely something that I need to try soon!
What a great colorful salad! I may be making that dressing soon:-)
Gorgeous salad, and I especially love the maple-mustard dressing!
Yum! I seriously think there are not enough colorful foods (veggies) at Thanksgiving dinners. One time I looked at a spread at a friend’s house we were having Thanksgiving with and everything there was a shade of brown! Salad looks great!
Yum!! This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! xo
Having salad absolutely makes me feel like I’m allowed to overindulge a little more on sides and dessert – I ate healthy, now bring it on! We love butternut squash, such great flavor and texture.
I love the idea of adding roasted squash to a green salad. Delicious!
That is quite a list. And I LOVE The idea of having salad with Thanksgiving dinner. Perfect addition in my opinion!
A lovely salad for the holidays
love maple with butternut!
For the past few years I have brought some type of veggie or salad to my MIL’s Thanksgiving dinner. This year I am bringing my Holiday Fruit Salad & Wild Rice Salad. This may have to be in the plans as well, as I really wanted to bring a trio of salads.
Ohmygoodness. Perfect.
What a beautiful and flavorful salad – it so festive & colorful.
This salad is at LEAST going to find it’s way into my lunches next week, if not my T-Day table!
Perfect! I’m always in charge of the salad at Thanksgiving.