Roasted butternut squash is paired with this fall kale salad with cranberries, apples, and pecans for a colorful autumnal plate that can stand alone as a main dish or a side at your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.
I have to admit that I created this vegan salad recipe with myself in mind. I am a huge fan of kale. Some people think I’m crazy but I legitimately get cravings for kale salads.
This fall kale salad brings together all of my favorite flavors of the season. I’ve added spinach to the kale to give some variety to the greens and roasted the butternut squash with cinnamon. It’s simple, yet so good!
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💗 Why You’ll Love this Fall Kale Salad
- Full of the flavors of fall!
- Simple to Make
- Oil-Free Dressing
- Healthy and Hearty
- Makes a Main Dish or Side
- Great for Thanksgiving or Christmas
🥣 Ingredients and Notes
Kale and Spinach: The base of this salad is a combination of kale and spinach. You can either buy one bunch of kale and roughly chop it, or you can buy kale in a bag from the grocery store that is washed and ready to go! The spinach adds a bit of a different texture to the salad that compliments the kale, but feel free to either use all kale or all spinach based on your preference.
Butternut Squash: If you use whole butternut squash as I did, you may have some leftovers. But the more the better when it comes to this delicious salad!
Dried Cranberries and Pecans: To keep this recipe low in sugar, use unsweetened cranberries. Pecans give this salad a nice crunch. Feel free to substitute walnuts or almonds if you prefer.
Sliced Apples: Use any kind of crisp apple you prefer. I used the honeycrisp apple since I had those on hand. They have a sweet yet tart taste.
For the Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
Vegetable Stock: Instead of using oil which is high in calories, I opted for vegetable stock to help thin out the dressing.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Gives the dressing an acidic flavor. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can use lemon juice.
Pure Maple Syrup: This helps to round out the flavor with a touch of natural sweetness. If you’re not vegan you could opt for using honey.
Dijon Mustard: Has a stronger more robust flavor than regular yellow mustard.
Garlic: Minced garlic helps gives this dressing a more rounded flavor.
Thyme and Pepper: Added for seasoning.
📋 Fall Kale Salad Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Dice the butternut squash into 1-inch pieces. Place the squash into a large bowl. Top with a tablespoon of olive oil, ½ a teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Step 2: Spread the squash evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is golden brown and fork-tender.
Step 3: While squash is roasting, wash, de-stem, and finely chop 1 bunch of kale.
Step 4: Whisk together the vegetable broth, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, garlic, thyme, and pepper.
Step 5: Pour the dressing over the kale. Massage the kale by squeezing and rubbing the kale for 3-5 minutes or until the kale darkens and softens. Add the spinach, and gently toss to evenly coat the spinach leaves.
Step 6: Finely slice the apples.
Step 7: Place massaged and dressed kale and spinach onto your serving platter or large salad bowl. Top with cranberries, and pecans. Then add the sliced apples, and roasted butternut squash. Enjoy this fall kale salad!
❓ Recipe FAQS
You can eat raw kale leaves like lettuce but I recommend properly preparing your kale prior to consuming it since it can be very tough to eat. When you know how to prep your kale for your salad it is much easier to consume. Many people don’t like kale because it’s been served to them raw without proper preparation.
No, you don’t need to blanch kale for salads. However, you can make kale less tough, by massaging your kale. Using your hands squeeze and rub the kale for 3-5 minutes. You’ll notice it starts to darken and soften. It will turn your tough kale into a perfect green ready-to-enjoy in your salad!
There are many different types of kale including curly, dinosaur, red, baby, and ornamental. In this recipe, I used 1 bunch of curly kale. Curly kale is the most popular kale you’ll see in the grocery store. Curly kale and dinosaur kale (which have flatter leaves) are great for salads, as well as baby kale.
💭 Expert Tips
- Add the dressing to the kale first so that you can massage the kale to make it less tough. Then add the spinach and gently toss. Spinach can easily bruise, so you want to add it to the kale after it’s been massaged.
- If you use whole butternut squash you will either have some extra leftovers, or a lot of butternut squash for your salad.
- You can buy sweetened cranberries or unsweetened ones. The unsweetened is quite tart. So what you use is based on your preference.
- Top with pumpkin seeds for more crunch.
- Dress the salad just before you’re ready to serve.
How to Store
Kale that is washed, stemmed, and shredded can last for up to three days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. If you’ve already dressed and massaged your kale I recommend eating it within the next day or waiting until you’re ready to serve the salad before dressing.
You can prep the kale well in advance of making the salad. Kale is such a tough green that it doesn’t wilt as easily. To prepare your kale you’ll need to wash, stem, and tear the kale into bite-sized pieces. Wrap the kale in a paper towel and store it in an airtight container.
If you want to prepare your salad and store the rest for later leave the dressing off of the kale to prevent wilting. Then dress and massage kale prior to serving. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
How to Serve
My main dish for Thanksgiving is my Vegan Potato and Cauliflower Casserole. This Fall Kale Salad has all the flavors of autumn that bring back the joyous memories of Thanksgiving. Serve with your holiday dinner in a small bowl or an autumn celebration. It’s delicious anytime during the autumn months.
Please comment below if you found this article helpful or have any additional questions. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more family-friendly vegan recipes!
Fall Kale Salad with Butternut Squash
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 Honeycrisp Apples thinly sliced
- ½ cup dried cranberries sugar free
- ¼ cup pecans
Maple Dijon Dressing
- 3 tablespoon vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop butternut squash into one inch pieces.
- Evenly spread the squash on a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in preheated oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping once.
- Wash, de-stem, and finely chop 1 bunch of kale while butternut squash is roasting.
- Whisk together vegetable broth, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, thyme, and pepper.
- Pour dressing over the kale. Massage the kale by squeezing and rubbing the kale for 2-5 minutes or until the kale darkens and softens. Add spinach and toss.
- Thinly slice apples.
- Place greens on the bottom of a serving tray or salad bowl. Top with roasted butternut squash, cranberries, apple slices, and walnuts. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Pierce the butternut squash a few times with a fork and microwave for two minutes to help soften it.
- Cut the bottom and the top off the butternut squash.
- Cut the squash in half at the place where the squash begins to widen.
- Set one-half of the squash on your cutting board so that it lays flat. Using a sharp knife or peeler starting at the top and cutting downward remove the peel of the squash.
- Remove all the peel and the green lines that appear as these are places on the squash that are tough to eat.
- After you’ve peeled both halves, cut the wide half in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Cut the peeled and seeded squash into one-inch pieces.
- Add the dressing to the kale first so that you can massage the kale to make it less tough. Then add the spinach and gently toss. Spinach can easily bruise, so you want to add it to the kale after it’s been massaged.
- If you use whole butternut squash you will either have some extra leftovers, or a lot of butternut squash for your salad.
- You can buy sweetened cranberries or unsweetened ones. The unsweetened is quite tart. So what you use is based on your preference.
- Top with pumpkin seeds for more crunch.
- Dress the salad just before you’re ready to serve.
Nina
Sounds great. When using dried cranberries in salads, I heat water in a kettle and pour it over the cranberries in a bowl. Cover with a lid and let them soak for 15–20 minutes. Then drain. You can also use the “cranberry water” in the salad or a dish. This makes the cranberries softer and they give off more flavor to the salad.
Alison Corey
Great tips about the cranberries! I’m going to try that next time I make a salad with cranberries!
Megan Ellam
This is such a great combination of flavours. Thanks for such a great recipe Alison.
Alison Corey
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it!
Veena Azmanov
Awesome combination and a healthy salad too. Have to make it soon.
Alison Corey
Thank you!
Natalie
Looks so delicious and healthy! Perfect for a balanced dinner or lunch ♥
Alison Corey
Thank you! Enjoy!
Josi
This salad sounds fantastic! I love the idea of roasted butternut squash for a fall salad! Yum!
Krissy Allori
Kale and butternut squash are a match made in heaven in this delicious salad.