It snowed today. Let me repeat, it snowed today. Now I know that for a lot of people this is not a big deal, however for a girl from Florida it is a huge deal! Well maybe not a huge deal but it is exciting for me. Exciting and scary I should say. This will be my first real winter. Although I have been living in Atlanta for the past two years, which is much colder compared to Florida, I think it’s safe to say that I have not experienced a real winter. I was stuck in the infamous “snowmagedon” two years ago when an ice storm hit Atlanta and the whole city literally and figuratively froze. This made the rest of the country laugh at us, but let me tell you it was scary to be in. So here I am living in Colorado with the first light dusting of snow on November 5 and I’m ready for winter as I’ll ever be.
So I decided that heating up the oven and roasting some butternut squash was the perfect way to welcome the first snow!
Roasted butternut squash is one of my favorite fall foods. There are so many ways to use it. In soups, as a side dish, even in dessert, or in this case, in a salad. If you have not tried it I highly recommend giving it a shot. It’s a little tricky to peel and cut but if you are careful all should go smoothly.
While the squash is roasting, that gives you plenty of time to prepare the dressing and the other ingredients. The dressing is super simple. I find that a lot of people like to buy pre made salad dressings, which I completely understand and do so myself at times. However, sometimes it’s easiest just to whip up a little vinegarette to go with your salad. This is also a great way to control the salt, sugar, and fat of you dressing.
To me one of my favorite aspects of this salad are the roasted walnuts. If walnuts aren’t your thing, you could add a different nut, swap them out for roasted pumpkin seeds, or leave them out altogether.
Enjoy!
Roasted Butternut Squash and Arugula Salad
Ingredients
Squash and Salad
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- 4 cups arugula
- 1/4 cups walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
Dressing
- 2 teaspoons diced shallots
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
- Peel the butternut squash. Scoop out the seeds and dice the squash into 1 inch cubes. Place cubed squash onto baking sheet and drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil, or until squash is covered. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Roast butternut squash for 45 minutes, or until tender and brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- For the dressing, whisk together mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and shallots in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while continuously whisking. Season dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a large bowl mix arugula with chopped walnuts and squash.
- Right before serving toss with as much dressing as desired. (*NOTE I like my salad lightly dressed, if you like heavier dressing I would double the dressing recipe and store any extra in the fridge for a week).
Can’t wait to make this!!! Looks so yummy!!!goodnluck staying warm!!
Thanks Dani!
I made butternut squash tonight and I love it. I will be trying this recipe next and let you know how it tastes.
Please do!
I shared this recipe with my clients for my What’s Cooking Wednesday post in our members only Facebook group. I linked to your blog as well. This looks delish! I’m so happy to see you food blogging 🙂 xoxo
Thanks so much Ashley, it means a lot!!
[…] a salad it can be a real winner. Some of my favorites include a well done chicken Caesar salad, roasted butternut squash salad, and this quinoa kale […]