A fresh, citrusy roasted butternut squash salad that has a nice subtle kick from chilli! Perfect as a light stand alone dish or for a buffet style dinner.
This roasted butternut squash salad is a fresh, zesty, flavoursome and delicious! It has fennel, quinoa, spinach, toasted pumpkin seeds and is finished with a zingy chilli dressing!
This salad has so many textures, delicate flavours that really pair well together and the citrus dressing just ties the bag of flavours together! The dressing has chilli in it, which can be adjusted to your taste. Do you like chilli? Add more! Is your palate a little bit sensitive to chilli? Take it down a notch!
Serve this salad as a stand alone dish, or pair it with grilled chicken or fish to make it more substantial!
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad – Nutrition Breakdown
This salad is packed with vegetables and we all know that vegetables are good for you and packed with nutrients! This salad has
- Vitamin A – Butternut Squash is an excellent source of beta-carotene, which is converted to active vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for eye health, helps to maintain healthy skin, supports immune function and keeps your cells in good shape.
- Vitamin E – Important for heart health and can strengthen the skin and keep hair and nails in good condition.
- Plant Protein – Quinoa is a pseudo seeds that is packed with protein and it’s one of few plant proteins that contain all essential amino acids! Protein is the building blocks in the body and is needed for anything from cell reparation, maintaining healthy hair to build muscle!
This salad is vegan, gluten free and contains no nuts!
Love Butternut Squash? Check out these butternut squash recipes
- Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower – A perfect side dish to accompany a roast dinner! Vegan & Gluten Free
- Butternut Squash Pasta – This pasta is incredibly creamy despite having no cream (or dairy for that matter) in it! Can easily be both Vegan + Gluten Free
- Butternut Squash Steak – A real crowd pleaser! Packed with flavours and super easy to make and sure to impress! Vegetarian + Gluten free
- Vegan Butternut Squash Soup – A creamy, warming and nourishing soup! Gluten Free
If you make this recipe, please comment and rate it! And don’t forget to take a picture and @nutritionistmeetschef on Instagram! We love to see your pictures!
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Ingredients
- 200 g cup uncooked quinoa
- tsp olive oil
- 1 kg butternut squash
- 1 fennel bulb (around 300g)
- Handful of pumpkin seeds (about 1/4 cup)
- few handfuls of spinach
- flat leaf parsley (optional)
Chilli Lemon Dressing
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 chilli
- 2 fennel stalks reserved from the fennel bulb)
- 4 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil or cold pressed rapeseed oil*
- pinch of sugar (if needed)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 225° C.
- Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet.
- Cut the butternut squash in half and slice it into thin slices. Place the butternut squash in a bowl and drizzle over a teaspoon of oil over and season with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands so each piece of butternut squash is lightly covered with oil
- Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until soft and slightly golden.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds in a hot pan with a little bit of oil until they are slightly golden. Remove from the pan, transfer the seeds over to a clean plate and set aside.
- Cut of the stalks (reserve 2 stalks) from the fennel and finely slice it (use a mandolin if you own one). Set aside.
- Make the dressing by placing the lemon zest, lemon juice, chopped chilli and grated fennel stalk into a bowl. Gently pour over extra virgin olive oil whilst whisking so the oil emulsifies with the lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste (and perhaps a SMALL pinch of sugar if needed)
- Assemble the salad by mixing the spinach, parsley, roasted butternut squash, quinoa sliced fennel and toasted pumpkin seeds and drizzle over the vinaigrette!