Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad

This delicious salad with roasted butternut squash and quinoa is a great healthy Fall recipe that is packed with nutritious ingredients and full of flavors. It’s super easy to make and will be a perfect addition to any dinner, lunch, or even meal prep!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dinner, lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 175kcal

Author: Veronika's Kitchen

Ingredients

3 cups butternut squash peeled, seeded, cut in 1-inch cubes
4 cups arugula
1 cup quinoa uncooked
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup pepitas toasted
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
1 cup Citrus Salad Dressing

Instructions

Roast Butternut Squash

Peel, seed, and chop it into 1x1-inch cubes. Transfer to a large baking pan, season with salt, pepper and drizzle some olive oil. Mix everything up and bake at 400°F for about 30-35 minutes. You can check if it’s cooked by piercing pieces of the vegetable with a fork. When done, just take it out of the oven and let it cool off on the counter.

Cook Quinoa

Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a mesh sieve and put in the saucepan with 2 cups of water. Stir and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, lower the heat to medium/low and cover with a lid. Cook for about 15 minutes until it’s fully cooked and the water is absorbed. Season with salt to taste and let it cool off completely.

Assemble

To assemble, put all the ingredients in a big salad bowl (arugula, roasted butternut squash, cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, pepitas, and pomegranate seeds). Dress with Citrus Salad Dressing or Lemon Vinaigrette and give it a mix.

Notes

Make Ahead. You can cook quinoa and roast butternut squash a day before and refrigerate until ready to use. All you’ll need is just to assemble, which will take not more than 10 minutes.

What other ingredients can I add?

You can play around with flavors and add some other ingredients, like:

Spinach (instead of arugula)
Chickpeas (drained from a can)
Walnuts or pecans (chopped)
Goat cheese

How to store? If you have any leftovers, transfer them to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.

Nutrition