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Overhead view of winter butternut squash pomegranate salad with cider vinaigrette

Winter Squash & Pomegranate Salad (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Emily Dixon, One Lovely Life
This butternut squash salad is perfect for holidays, celebrations, and weeknights alike. You’ll love the apple cider vinaigrette! (Gluten-free, Vegan)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Servings: 6 -8 servings
Calories: 253kcal

Ingredients

For The Apple Cider Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup apple cider (the juice, not the vinegar!)
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar (the vinegar, NOT the juice!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

For The Butternut Squash Pomegranate Salad:

  • 3-4 cups peeled & diced butternut squash
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (5-8 oz.) bag of spring mix, spinach, or kale
  • 1 cup cooked and cooled brown rice or wild rice
  • 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 1/2 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds
  • 1 avocado diced or sliced

Instructions

  • First, Roast The Squash. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine diced squash, olive oil, 1/4 tsp. Salt and 1/4 tsp. Pepper. Stir to coat the squash well and spread out on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the squash is tender and starting to get some color.
  • Make Salad Dressing. While the squash is roasting, mix your salad dressing. In a jar or bowl, combine apple cider, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator until it’s time to assemble the salad. (If you haven’t already, you an also toast almonds, seed your pomegranate, or cook your rice during this time)
  • Assemble Salad. When the squash is done, assemble your salad. In a large bowl, combine salad greens, cooked rice, squash, pomegranate seeds, toasted almonds, and avocado.
  • Drizzle with half of the dressing and gently toss the salad with two forks or salad tongs to combine, adding more dressing if desired or needed.
  • Serve & Store. Enjoy right away. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Dressing will keep up to 1 week in the fridge, and salad will keep best if components are stored separately.

Notes

  • Prep Shortcut! To save time, consider buying frozen bags of cooked rice. They reheat in about 3 minutes and don't have any added ingredients. It makes prepping this salad even easier!
  • Make-Ahead Tips. Because some of the ingredients are a bit delicate (like spring mix and avocado!), I don’t recommend fully assembling the salad in advance, but you CAN do a lot of prep to make assembling this winter squash pomegranate salad a breeze. Make the dressing, cook & cool rice, toast almonds, seed the pomegranate, and dice the squash to speed up prep later! 

Video

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: butternut squash salad, pomegranate salad, squash salad, winter salad

Nutrition

Serving: 1heaping cup salad | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 27.7g | Protein: 5.1g | Fat: 15.7g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Sodium: 219.5mg | Potassium: 723.6mg | Fiber: 6.6g | Sugar: 5.7g | Vitamin C: 30.5mg | Calcium: 102.5mg

Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.

Find it Online:

https://www.onelovelylife.com/winter-squash-pomegranate-salad/