Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

5 from 1 vote

Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

This Butternut Squash Salad with Maple Vinaigrette is both light and filling, made with fresh greens, maple roasted butternut squash, toasted pecans, goat cheese, and farro.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 657kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

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.

Nutrition