This Roasted Honeynut Squash and Quinoa Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette is fresh, delicious and packed with nutrients. It's the perfect fall salad!
Cubed, roasted honeynut squash, quinoa, pomegranate seeds and arugula all tossed together in a simple, tangy vinaigrette with apple cider vinegar. It's full of texture, simple, flavorful and easy to put together. Plus it looks absolutely STUNNING.
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Never heard of honeynut squash? Check out this recipe for Honeynut Squash Crostini with Whipped Ricotta and Fried Sage for the details. In short, it's butternut squash's mini-me and it's absolutely delicious. If you can't find honeynut in your local markets quite yet, do not worry, this recipe works perfectly with butternut squash.
How to Make This Salad
This salad is super simple to put together. I love to serve it with slightly warm roasted squash to give it a cozy, fall feel but room temp is also spectacular. The dressing is a basic vinaigrette using apple cider vinegar and a few other pantry staples.
You can definitely prep all of the ingredients beforehand and assemble right before serving, making this a perfect holiday side. For the apple cider vinaigrette, I just add all of the ingredients to a small mason jar and shake it up. No mess and easy to store the leftovers in the fridge!
How to Roast Squash
I recommend cutting off the top stem and a small slice from the bottom so you have two flat ends. They use a peeler to remove the skin. I absolutely love this Kuhn Rikon Y Peeler.
Once you’ve peeled it, stand it up on the wider flat end and carefully slice all the way down. Scoop the seeds and stringy stuff out of the middle and then cut into small cubes. Aim for about ½ inch cubes and try to get the pieces all roughly the same size. This ensures that they all cook evenly and that they look pretty in your salad. Toss in olive oil and salt. Roast at 425 for 25-30 minutes until their tender and a bit crispy. Toss halfway through. Feel free to snack on squash cubes. They’re DELISH!
While your squash is roasting, cook the quinoa according to package directions. I love to throw this in my mini rice cooker so I don't have to think about it while I'm busy doing other things in the kitchen. You can definitely seed the pomegranate on your own but that can get kind of messy. Many grocery stores sell just the seeds in little containers. I highly recommend making your life easy and just grabbing one of those, but you do you.
Once all of the ingredients are prepped, lay down a bed of arugula, top with quinoa, roasted squash and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve with more on the side. This recipe makes more vinaigrette than you need but it keeps in the fridge for several weeks for you to drizzle over all your fall salads.
Honeynut Squash and Quinoa Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- For the Salad
- 2 cups roasted honeynut squash cubes or butternut squash, about 1 small squash.
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 6 cups arugula
- For the Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon, honey and salt or add to a mason jar and shake vigorously. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel and cube squash. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until tender and slightly crisp.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare quinoa to package directions.
- Assemble arugula, squash, quinoa and pomegranate seeds in a bowl or on a platter. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve immediately.
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