Fall Butternut Squash Salad

Butternut squash salad is by far one of the best side dishes for Fall. It makes a great Thanksgiving salad, too. You’ll love this Sip Bite Go salad with butternut squash because it’s super simple, tastes hearty, and is healthy for the holiday soul. Grab any greens you’d like for this one!

Why butternut squash salad makes a great meal starter…

• Great recipe for using leftover butternut squash.
• Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe from the Food Network, with some tweeks I think you’ll love. (The “Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette”)
• You can serve the salad with any other side dish or main course. 
• It’s a hearty salad that’s great for the upcoming family get togethers. 

New to cooking Butternut Squash Salad? See my step by step video for beginners (scroll to bottom of page). 

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make butternut squash salad.

For the main butternut squash salad ingredients

• Butternut squash (oven roasted or smoked butternut squash)
• baby arugula and kale 
• pear
• Sliced almonds 
• Dried figs
• Parmesan cheese

For the butternut squash salad dressing with garlic and sage

• Olive oil 
• Garlic  
• Fresh sage 
• Maple syrup 
• Vinegar (apple cider / champagne)
• Dijon mustard
• Spices: cinnamon, salt, pepper 

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How to make Butternut Squash Salad

Now I’ll walk you through it…

How to make sage dressing for butternut squash salad

1. Heat flavored olive oil. To a small skillet on the stove set to medium heat, add olive oil, diced garlic and sage.. Stir for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat then garlic becomes translucent and before sage or garlic begins to burn. 
2. Whisk salad dressing ingredients together. To a large mixing bowl (or the salad bowl you’ll be serving the salad in), add cooled garlic sage olive oil (I like to crush up the sage with a spatula as I add it in to get little flavor pieces throughout the dressing), maple syrup, apple juice, champagne or apple cider vinegar, dijon, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Whisk it all together until well integrated, and use a spoon to give it all a taste. You might want to add another splash of vinegar or sprinkle of salt, etc. to get it just where your tastebuds like it. 
3. Reserve ½ cup of dressing on the side (remove from the bowl so you can top the salad with it later).

How to assemble butternut squash salad recipe

1. Place arugula in a large bowl and add the cooked and diced butternut squash with the rest of the salad ingredients.  
2. Add sage and garlic salad dressing vinaigrette and toss to combine. 
3. Top with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy.

How to roast butternut squash for salads

1. Prep butternut squash by peeling the skin, removing the seeds, and dicing it to 1 inch chunks and place in a large bowl.
2. ​​Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Season the butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tsp salt and ½  tsp pepper. 
4. Toss to combine and place the butternut squash onto a line baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Roast the butternut squash for 20 minutes turning halfway through the cooking time. 
6. Remove the butternut squash from the oven once they are fork tender. 

How to smoke butternut squash 

See this recipe for how to smoke butternut squash…

1. Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F and prepare the butternut squash with seasoning. 
2. Smoke butternut squash for 2.5 – 3 hours.
3. Finish smoking butternut squash when it’s fork tender and remove it from the smoker.
4. Enjoy.

How to assemble butternut squash salad with garlic sage dressing

1. Add greens. To the large bowl with the salad dressing, add in the salad greens: baby arugula and baby kale. Toss salad together to coat greens evenly. 
2. Arrange butternut squash salad toppings. To the top, add diced pear, almonds, figs or another dried fruit like cranberries, and butternut squash either chilled or warmed (just oven roasted or just smoked butternut squash). Top with a crack of black pepper if desired and sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
3. Drizzle the remaining salad dressing on top of butternut squash salad (or as much as desired) and serve.

FAQs 

If you are going to roast butternut squash in the oven, then yes, I recommend that you peel it and cube up the pieces. If you’re going to smoke butternut squash, then no, you should keep the peel intact during the smoke. 

See tasty recipes for holidays

• Tri Tip (it’s seriously the best!)
• Smoked turkey breast
• Smoked mac and cheese
• Smoked turkey
• Oven baked ham
• Smoked whole turkey
• Traeger spatchcock turkey
• Caramelized onions
• Air fryer baby potatoes
• Air fryer turkey breast tenderloin
• Garlic herb compound butter
• Bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers
• Sous vide turkey breast
• Chorizo sausage stuffing
• Easy leftover turkey recipes
• Sous vide Brussels sprouts
• Potato side dishes
• Pasta side dishes
• How to make a turkey gravy packet better
• Air fryer turkey legs
• Smoked turkey legs
• Smoked mac and cheese

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, hope that answers all your questions about Butternut Squash Salad. 

Serve this salad with main dishes like pellet grill pulled pork or this best smoked brisket recipe.

Connect…

• Instagram / TikTok / YouTube
• Browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection

Easy Butternut Squash Salad Recipe | Sip Bite Go

Butternut squash salad is by far one of the best side dishes for Fall. It makes a great Thanksgiving salad, too. You’ll love this Sip Bite Go salad with butternut squash because it’s super simple, tastes hearty, and is healthy for the holiday soul. Grab your any greens you’d like for this one! | sipbitego.com

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 654kcal

Author: Jenna Passaro

Ingredients

For the butternut squash salad dressing with garlic and sage

• ▢ 3 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 2 tbsp garlic minced
• ▢ 3 sprigs sage leaves only and stems discarded
• ▢ 2 tbsp maple syrup pure (substitute honey)
• ▢ 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar substitute apple juice
• ▢ 2 tbsp champagne vinegar substitute white wine or apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ tsp cinnamon dried
• ▢ ½ tsp salt sea or Kosher
• ▢ ¼ tsp black pepper freshly ground

For the main butternut squash salad ingredients

• ▢ 5 oz baby arugula
• ▢ 5 oz baby kale substitute baby spinach
• ▢ 1 medium pear Bartlett green (substitute red pair), diced or sliced
• ▢ ⅓ cup almonds sliced (substitute walnuts or pepitas)
• ▢ 5 medium dried figs diced (substitute dried cranberries or cherries)
• ▢ 2 cups butternut squash cooked in oven or Traeger pellet smoker and diced (about half a squash)
• ▢ ½ cup Parmesan freshly grated (sub goat cheese as another option)

Instructions

How to make sage dressing for butternut squash salad

• Heat flavored olive oil. To a small skillet on the stove set to medium heat, add olive oil, diced garlic and sage.. Stir for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat then garlic becomes translucent and before sage or garlic begins to burn.
• Whisk salad dressing ingredients together. To a large mixing bowl (or the salad bowl you’ll be serving the salad in), add cooled garlic sage olive oil (I like to crush up the sage with a spatula as I add it in to get little flavor pieces throughout the dressing), maple syrup, apple juice, champagne or apple cider vinegar, dijon, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste.

  Whisk it all together until well integrated, and use a spoon to give it all a taste. You might want to add another splash of vinegar or sprinkle of salt, etc. to so your tastebuds like it.
• Reserve ½ cup of dressing on the side (remove from the bowl so you can top the salad with it later).

How to assemble butternut squash salad with garlic sage dressing

• Add greens. To the large bowl with the salad dressing, add in the salad greens: baby arugula and baby kale. Toss salad together to coat greens evenly.
• Arrange butternut squash salad toppings. To the top, add diced pear, almonds, figs or another dried fruit like cranberries, and butternut squash either chilled or warmed (just oven roasted or just smoked butternut squash). Top with a crack of black pepper if desired and sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
• Drizzle the remaining salad dressing on top of butternut squash salad (or as much as desired) and serve.

How to roast butternut squash in the oven for salads

• Prep butternut squash by peeling the skin, removing the seeds, and dicing it to 1 inch chunks and place in a large bowl.
• ​​Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season the butternut squash with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp maple syrup and 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.
• Toss to combine and place the butternut squash onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
• Roast the butternut squash for 20 minutes turning halfway through the cooking time.
• Remove the butternut squash from the oven once they are fork tender.

How to smoke butternut squash

• Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees F and prepare the butternut squash with seasoning.
• Smoke butternut squash for 2.5 – 3 hours.
• Finish smoking butternut squash when it’s fork tender and remove it from the smoker.
• Enjoy.

Video

Notes

See the recipe: https://sipbitego.com/butternut-squash-salad

 

Watch the full-length YouTube recipe video for Butternut Squash Salad on Sip Bite Go’s YouTube channel.

Nutrition

Calories: 654kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 1107mg | Potassium: 1444mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 23848IU | Vitamin C: 109mg | Calcium: 803mg | Iron: 5mg

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