Fall Harvest Spinach Salad

Salad plate filled with spinach harvest salad including butternut squash, cranberries, quinoa, pecans, and apples. A fork of on the plate and a dish towel to the side.

4.55 from 48 votes

Loaded with fall favorites like butternut squash, chopped apples and dried cranberries, this fall harvest spinach salad is packed with nutrition and flavor.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fall harvest spinach salad

Servings:

Author: Brittany Mullins

Ingredients

4 cups fresh baby spinach chopped
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa cooked according to package directions (1/2 cup dry quinoa)
¾ cup butternut squash chopped
1 medium apple peeled and chopped
⅓ cup pepitas pumpkin seeds or pecans
3 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Tahini Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or aminos
4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons minced garlic about 2 cloves
2 teaspoons maple syrup

Instructions

Prepare the squash by peeling it, cutting it in half and scraping out the seeds.
Cut the squash into bite-size cubes, place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and roast at 400° for 30-40 minutes, turning once or twice, until all the pieces are tender and have a few small brown spots.
If your pepitas or pecans are raw, you can toast them in the oven with the roasting squash. Spread seeds/nuts on a separate baking sheet and add to the oven with the butternut squash for 5 to 10 minutes or until the seeds/nuts are golden and crunchy, then remove from the pan to cool. Be sure to watch the seeds/nuts carefully because they can burn quickly. The pepitas will take less time to toast than the pecans because they're smaller.
While roasting the squash, toss together spinach, cooked quinoa, apple and cranberries in a large salad bowl. Add cooled pepitas (or pecans) once they've been toasted.
Prepare dressing by placing all remaining ingredients (tahini through maple syrup) in a blender and blend until smooth.
Once the butternut squash is done roasting, allow it to cool and then place into the salad bowl with the other ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Baby spinach – use another dark, leafy green like kale or collard greens. Arugula is a great salad base as well.

Butternut squash – try roasted sweet potatoes instead, or even cinnamon maple roasted Kabocha Squash.

Apple – instead of apple, you could use pears or even jicama.

Pepitas – as mentioned above, you can also use pumpkin seeds or pecans. The idea here is to add some crunch so any kind of nut or seed will do!

Dried cranberries – raisins or dried cherries would also be tasty!

Nutrition