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A delicious and nutritious Fall Harvest Salad recipe made with kale, roasted butternut squash, roasted Brussels sprouts, sliced honeycrisp apple, goat cheese, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and pepitas.
Say hello to all the best flavors of Fall with this harvest kale salad. It is delicious, hearty, full of texture, and covered in the most delicious maple vinaigrette. All you have to do is roast some veggies, make the harvest salad dressing, and then mix the rest of the salad ingredients together. And boom, you have an impressive, amazing autumn salad ready to be eaten.
This Fall green salad makes for a lovely main dish, or it can be served as a side dish along with a delicious roast chicken, Vegan cauliflower casserole, and broiled asparagus.
Table of Contents
What makes this recipe great
- It is EASY to make. Seriously, in 30 minutes you’ll have an impressive gourmet salad ready.
- It is delicious and full of Fall flavors. Any salad with goat cheese is great in my opinion. But add in dried cranberries, apple, pumpkin seeds, and pomegranate seeds and it takes things to a whole other level.
- You can serve it hot or cold.
- It is versatile. You can serve this salad as is or you can easily add some protein like hard boiled eggs or grilled chicken.
Recipe ingredients
- Baby kale or spinach– both of these greens are soft and mix well into the dressing.
- Butternut squash– you can buy it already cut into cubes to make it easier.
- Brussels sprouts– smaller ones don’t need to be cut in half, but if they are bigger, you’ll have to cut them.
- Honeycrisp apple– or your favorite kind of Fall apple.
- Carrots– you can buy them pre-grated or shred them yourself.
- Goat cheese– this pairs very well with the other flavors in the salad.
- Dried cranberries– these add a great fall flavor to the salad.
- Pomegranate seeds– You can buy the seeds or the fruit and remove the seeds from the fruit yourself.
- Pumpkin seeds– raw pepitas are best for this type of recipe.
- Olive oil– this is used for the base of the harvest salad dressing.
- Apple cider vinegar– this gives a good Fall flavor to the dressing.
- Maple syrup– this is used to sweeten the vinaigrette.
- Rubbed sage or dried thyme– this gives flavor to the dressing.
- Ground cinnamon– this adds an autumn vibe to the dressing.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of apples, you can use pears.
- Instead of cranberries, you can use raisins.
- Instead of pumpkin sees, you can use sliced almonds.
- Instead of butternut squash, you can use sweet potatoes.
- Instead of goat cheese, you can use feta cheese.Instead of maple syrup, you can use honey.
- Omit the cheese to make this recipe dairy-free, Vegan and Paleo.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Roast the butternut squash and Brussels sprouts in the oven.
Step 2: Make the maple vinaigrette dressing.
Step 3: Prep the rest of the salad ingredients.
Step 4: Mix the salad ingredients together. Then top with dressing.
Expert tips
- Make ahead instructions. Follow the instructions for this salad, except for adding the dressing. Keep the salad in a big bowl or individual meal prep containers and add the salad before serving.
- Presentation instructions. You can serve this salad in two ways. 1) You can mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl then serve it. OR 2) You can make individual plates, which is more visually appealing.
- To make individual plates, add the kale, carrots, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds to a bowl. Mix in some of the dressing and then use this as a base for each plate. Top each plate with some roasted butternut squash, roasted Brussels sprouts, apple slices, and goat cheese.
- How to store leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Add grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, grilled salmon or shrimp for extra protein.
I like using honeycrisp apples because they have a strong texture and a bright taste. But you can use any Fall apple of your choice such as Gala, red delicious or Empire.
Yes! You can use a classic balsamic dressing, a tahini dressing, or even a simple vinaigrette.
Other healthy salads you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Fall Harvest Salad Recipe with Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Fall harvest salad ingredients:
- 5 ounces baby kale or spinach
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash, (or a 12 ounce bag of pre-cut butternut squash)
- 2 cups halved Brussels sprouts
- 1 honey crisp apple, sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 5 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
Maple Vinaigrette ingredients:
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp rubbed sage or thyme , (whatever you have on hand or prefer)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put the butternut squash and Brussels sprouts onto a pan, spray with olive oil, add salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
- While the veggies roast, make the dressing. In a medium bowl, add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, rubbed sage or thyme, and cinnamon and mix until the mixture has thickened.
- Once the veggies are roasted, you can put the salad together in two ways. 1) Mixing it all together or 2) Making individual plates.
- Option 1) Mixing everything together. Put all of the salad ingredients into a bowl. Then add 3/4 of the dressing to the bowl and mix again. ( Taste and then add more dressing if you want or leave it)
- Option 2) Making individual plates. This is my favorite way of making this salad. Put the kale and shredded carrots into a large bowl. Then add about half of the dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds and pumpkin seeds to the bowl. Pour 3/4 of the dressing on top and mix. Then, add the kale salad mixture to individual plates. Top each plate with some butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, apple slices, goat cheese, dried cranberries, pomegranate sees, and pumpkin seeds. Then sprinkle a little more dressing on top of each plate.
Notes
- Make ahead instructions. Follow the instructions for this salad, except for adding the dressing. Keep the salad in a big bowl or individual meal prep containers and add the salad before serving.
- Presentation instructions. You can serve this salad in two ways. 1) You can mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl then serve it. OR 2) You can make individual plates, which is more visually appealing.
- How to store leftovers. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
