This Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette is both light and filling, made with fresh greens, maple roasted butternut squash, candied pecans, goat cheese, and farro. It is tossed with an ultra simple maple vinaigrette.
It’s great for meal prep for take-to-work lunches for the week, or for a fall party like a Halloween get-together, a fall book club, Friendsgiving, or Thanksgiving.
The components of this salad take a little bit of time to prep, but once they’re done, you have a whole week’s worth of lunches ahead of you.
The butternut squash and the farro make the salad very filling, so you’re not looking for snacks an hour or two later. The lettuce keeps it light and refreshing, the goat cheese adds a tangy element, and the pecans are crunchy and sweet.
🛒 Ingredients:
Below are the ingredients needed for this Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette.
Salad
- Butternut Squash: Peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks to be roasted. Honeynut Squash can be used as a substitute.
- Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Maple Syrup: Use real, pure maple syrup.
- Salt: To bring out flavor.
- Farro: Use quick cook farro to simplify the process. It’s often found in a small bag in the grains section of the grocery store. The recipe calls for 4oz, which is about half of a standard small bag. I tend to make the whole bag and use leftovers for another dish, like Italian Farro Casserole, or toss it in a soup like Fagioli Soup instead of pasta.
- Pecans and Brown Sugar: To make candied pecans.
- Lettuce: Use any green leafy lettuce, such as red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or romaine.
- Goat Cheese: I recommend using a log of goat cheese and gently crumbling it yourself with a knife or spoon, rather than buying goat cheese crumbles, which tend to lack flavor and creaminess.
Maple Vinaigrette
- Olive Oil: I highly recommend using a good quality extra virgin olive oil. It will add flavor and richness. For a mild tasting version, look for a standard extra virgin olive oil at Trader Joe’s or Costco. Or choose one that you already know that you like.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Pairs well with the flavors of maple syrup and roasted butternut squash.
- Maple Syrup: Use real, pure maple syrup (not pancake syrup). I tend to buy a large jug of it from Costco, where it is well priced per unit volume. We use it on everything from Sourdough Pumpkin Waffles and Sourdough Banana Pancakes to Maple Oatmeal Cookies or Maple Walnut Pie.
- Dijon Mustard: The mustard acts as an emulsifier to combine the olive oil and vinegar and prevent them from separating.
- Salt: To balance flavor.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Butternut Squash with Maple Vinaigrette.
Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 1. Roast the Butternut Squash: Peel and dice the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes, scraping out the seeds with a spoon and discarding them. Place the cubed butternut squash onto a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and a sprinkle of salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
Step 2. Toss and Continue Roasting: Remove the butternut squash, toss to ensure even roasting, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Step 3. Make the Salad Dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk the extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and salt.
Step 4. Boil the Farro: Cook the farro according to the package directions.
Step 5. Candied Pecans: Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat. Add the pecans, stirring frequently until toasted and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, allow to melt stirring occassionally until the pecans are coated, 3-4 minutes. Immediately remove the pecans from the saucepan and place them on a sheet of wax paper to cool.
Step 6. Assemble the Salad: In a large bowl or individual plates, layer the lettuce, butternut squash, farro, goat cheese, and candied pecans. Drizzle with dressing to taste. Serve while the farro and butternut squash are still warm.
✏️ Additional Tips
- Butternut Squash: Dice the squash into evenly sized pieces to ensure that they roast evenly, preventing some from being over or under cooked.
- Lettuce: I recommend only washing the lettuce that you plan to eat right away. If you’re making salads for lunch for the week ahead, wash the lettuce the morning of or right before you plan to eat, but not more than 1 day in advance. Be sure to dry the lettuce as best as possible if prepping it ahead of time.
- Storage: Store the lettuce, butternut squash, farro, pecans, and dressing all separately. The pecans can remain in a sealed container at room temperature. All other ingredients should be kept in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers: When using leftovers to make a fresh salad, warm the farro and butternut squash gently in the microwave. Warming the butternut squash softens it and helps it taste sweeter. It’s also really nice to have the contrast of the cool lettuce and dressing and the warm farro and butternut squash.
- Salad Dressing: Olive oil becomes thicker when refrigerated. Remove the salad dressing 10 minutes prior to using to allow it to warm through, or just gently heat it in the microwave on low power for 10 seconds. If you have extra dressing, use it for this New England Salad.
💖 More Salad and Side Recipes You May Love
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Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 oz quick cook farro
- 1½ cups pecans
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 bunch lettuce red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine or similar, roughly chopped
- 4 oz goat cheese
Maple Vinaigrette
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel and dice the butternut squash, scraping out the seeds with a spoon and discarding them. Place the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup, and salt. Toss to coat.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and using a stiff spatula, toss for even browning. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Maple Vinaigrette
- In a medium bowl, whisk the extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and salt. Set aside.
Farro
- Meanwhile, make the farro according to the package directions. I err on the side of overcooking the farro rather than undercooking, particularly when adding it to a salad, because I like it softer.
Candied Pecans
- Bring a saucepan to medium heat. Add the pecans, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the brown sugar and stir frequently as the sugar melts and coats the pecans, 3-5 minutes. Set aside on wax paper to cool. Tip: to clean the saucepan easily, just run it under hot water to melt and remove excess sugar before cleaning with soap and water.
Assemble the Salad
- In a large serving bowl or individual plates, layer the chopped lettuce, farro, and butternut squash. Dress the salad with the vinaigrette to taste. Top with the goat cheese and candied pecans. Serve while the butternut squash and farro are still warm.
Notes
- Butternut Squash: Dice the squash into evenly sized pieces to ensure that they roast evenly, preventing some from being over or under cooked.
- Lettuce: Use any green leafy lettuce, such as red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, or romaine. I recommend only washing the lettuce that you plan to eat right away. If you’re making salads for lunch for the week ahead, wash the lettuce the morning of or right before you plan to eat, but not more than 1 day in advance. Be sure to dry the lettuce as best as possible if prepping it ahead of time.
- Goat Cheese: I recommend using a log of goat cheese and gently crumbling it yourself with a knife or spoon, rather than buying goat cheese crumbles, which tend to lack flavor and creaminess.
- Storage: Store the lettuce, butternut squash, farro, pecans, dressing all separately. The pecans can remain in a sealed container at room temperature, all other ingredients should be kept in the refrigerator.
- Leftovers: When using leftovers to make a fresh salad, warm the farro and butternut squash gently in the microwave. Warming the butternut squash softens it and helps it taste sweeter. It’s also really nice to have the contrast of the cool lettuce and dressing and the warm farro and butternut squash.
- Salad Dressing: Olive oil becomes thicker when refrigerated. When serving leftovers, remove the salad dressing from the fridge 10 minutes prior to using to allow it to warm through, or just gently heat it in the microwave on low power for 10 seconds.
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