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Salads & Sides

Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

This delicious autumn-inspired fall harvest salad with butternut squash, pecans, pomegranate, and maple dijon dressing comes together in just 30 minutes! It’s the perfect salad recipe for fall gatherings and parties. I love to make this salad as a healthy side dish option for Thanksgiving!

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
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Recipe Index | Cook | Salads & Sides

Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

This delicious autumn-inspired fall harvest salad with butternut squash, pecans, pomegranate, and maple dijon dressing comes together in just 30 minutes! It’s the perfect salad recipe for fall gatherings and parties. I love to make this salad as a healthy side dish option for Thanksgiving!

Fall Harvest Salad Recipe Perfect for Parties

Are you looking for a ridiculously easy salad recipe to prep for a party, potluck, or gathering? Well, this is the recipe for you! For parties, I like to prep the salad in a big bowl with a lid, then prep the dressing in a bottle. That way everyone can add their own amount of dressing! Even the homemade maple dijon dressing recipe is simple! Here’s what you will need to make the salad and the dressing:

  • Spinach
  • Roasted Butternut Squash (you can sub roasted sweet potato)
  • Sliced Red Onion
  • Pomegranate Seeds
  • Pecans
  • Corn
  • Maple Syrup
  • Dijon Mustard
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Sauerkraut
  • Olive Oil
  • Black Pepper
  • Salt

Simple and Healthy Maple Dijon Homemade Vinaigrette Dressing

Making your own salad dressing at home is the BEST and it’s way easier than it seems. I like to add all the ingredients to the little dressing bottle I bought and shake it up. You can also blend all the ingredients in a blender for a more emulsified mixture. Feel free to sub out the dressing ingredients too! For instance, you can use whatever type of oil you have. I like to use olive oil, but avocado oil works great too.

Easy Vegan Thanksgiving Side Dish

My family is not vegan, so arriving to Thanksgiving parties without bringing a dish isn’t really an option. If I don’t bring anything, I don’t have much to eat. I like to bring this salad recipe I created because it’s not hard to make at all, and takes almost no time to prep. The holidays are stressful enough, so I like to bring the easiest, yet healthiest thing I can make.

This salad is also full of fall flavor, so it’s “on brand” for a thanksgiving meal. The pecans, pomegranate and maple dressing give off some serious autumn flavor vibes.

What to Pair With This Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

Here are two other super easy fall recipes you can pair with this salad for a full meal:

  • Baked Acorn Squash Stuffed with Vegan Mac and Cheese
  • Easy Recipe for Instant Pot Roasted Carrot and Turmeric Soup
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Salads & Sides

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Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Dijon Dressing

This delicious autumn-inspired fall harvest salad with butternut squash, pecans, pomegranate, and maple dijon dressing comes together in just 30 minutes! It’s the perfect salad recipe for fall gatherings and parties. I love to make this salad as a healthy side dish option for Thanksgiving!

  • Prep: 10 minutes
  • Cook: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

  • 6 Cups Spinach
  • 2 Cups Butternut Squash, Cubed and Roasted
  • 1/4 Cup Pecans
  • 1/4 Cup Pomegranate Seeds
  • 1/2 Cup Corn, Fresh
  • 1/4 Cup Red Onion, Chopped

Dressing

  • 2 Tablespoons Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
  • 3 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup sauerkraut with brine
  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

  1. Peel, cube, and roast the butternut squash at 450° F for 20 minutes.
  2. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
  3. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until emulsified. 
  4. Serve and add the desired amount of dressing! 

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a 5-star review below if you loved it! Tag @cultured.guru on Instagram

 

Nutrition information is auto-calculated and estimated as close as possible. We are not responsible for any errors. We have tested the recipe for accuracy, but your results may vary.

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Kaitlynn Fenley Food Microbiologist and Fermentation Specialist
Kaitlynn is a Food Microbiologist and FSPCA-certified fermentation specialist. An alumna of the LSU College of Science, she combines her academic background in microbiology with her Cajun heritage to create safe and delicious recipes.
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fermentation food microbiology sourdough sauerkraut fermenting at home fermented foods fermented drinks food safety and preventive controls
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hey i’m kaitlynn, i’m a microbiologist and together with my husband jon we are cultured guru.

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Pickle Pursuit Ep. 2: Bloody Mary Pickles We’ve a Pickle Pursuit Ep. 2: Bloody Mary Pickles

We’ve all heard of putting pickles in a Bloody Mary, but why not put Bloody Mary ingredients in some pickles?! These pickles are fermented for 10-14 days, and are full of probiotics. 

Visit the link in my insta bio to get the recipe. 😍🥒 #bloodymary #pickles
Don’t have time for kombucha, ginger bugs, or wate Don’t have time for kombucha, ginger bugs, or water kefir, but you want a bubbly gut healthy drink? Then try my Shrub Vinegar Master Recipe!

You can make any fruit and herb flavor combo using my recipe! I went for a calendula, turmeric and mandarin, but I’m thinking a cucumber, melon and mint will be next! Get the recipe at the link in my bio :) #guthealth #vinegar
Ep. 1: Dill and Horseradish Pickles, aka the pickl Ep. 1: Dill and Horseradish Pickles, aka the pickles I’ve been using in every salad and salad dressing recipe lately.

✨Google✨ “fermented horseradish pickles” when you are ready to make these and you’ll see my recipe first! 

I know some of you will ask if you can use fresh horseradish, and I honestly don’t know because I haven’t tested it. I love using the prepared horseradish though, and I’ve tested many recipes with the prepared kind, so I do recommend using that!

I think this Summer Pickle Pursuit Series is going to be so much fun, and I can’t wait to share more and more pickle recipes with you guys! I’m even going to grow my own cucumbers to ferment for the first time ever because I have a garden now. Stay tuned for the next recipe very soon 😍🥒
Root veggies in kombucha? Yes, please! 🥕🍊✨ This ca Root veggies in kombucha? Yes, please! 🥕🍊✨ This carrot, blood orange, and turmeric combo is packed with flavor and health benefits. I even made a cranberry beet version recently! Root veggie juice just works so well in kombucha. Try it out! Both recipes are on the blog! My recipe index is linked in my bio. #fermentation #kombucha
✨google✨ “fermented celery recipe” and you’ll see ✨google✨ “fermented celery recipe” and you’ll see mine, it’s the first one. 🤗 You can also find the recipe through our recipe index on our website! 

& Cher, the most boring thing you can do is correct my pronunciation in the comments. Fermented or “Fermeded”… potato, potahtoe. You know what it means. I’m Cajun, so a girl is gonna roll those t’s into d’s sometimes. Get over it, and enjoy this fermented celery recipe. 🤗 #celery #fermentation
It can suppress overgrowth of Candida albicans, wh It can suppress overgrowth of Candida albicans, while boosting good bacteria in your gut! To get the recipe 👉GOOGLE SEARCH “garlic sauerkraut”👈 and you’ll see mine it’s the first one.

Roasting garlic increases beneficial garlic compounds like diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide — or DADS, for short. Both of these compounds have been studied for their anti-inflammatory (anti-cancer), antioxidant, and antifungal properties.

It’s definitely a sauerkraut you should keep in your rotation.

Sources:
PMC8777027 (Diallyl Disulfide (DADS) Ameliorates Intestinal Candida albicans Infection by Modulating the Gut microbiota and Metabolites and Providing Intestinal Protection)

https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9100401 (diallyl disulfide (DADS) shows a substantial increase, with concentrations rising from 1.6 mg/g in non-fermented garlic to 4.8 mg/g in its fermented counterpart, suggesting enhanced bioactivity through fermentation)

#garlic #fermentation
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