This Delicata Squash Salad is fall in a bowl! Maple roasted delicata squash, mixed greens, bacon, candied pecans, and goat cheese are drizzled with a roasted shallot vinaigrette. This salad is hearty and loaded with textures, perfect for a dinner party or your Thanksgiving table!
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This Is the Ultimate Fall Side Salad for Holidays and Dinner Parties
I truly am a hearty salad girl, and this roasted delicata squash salad may just be my new favorite! It’s loaded with flavor and tons of textures so it feels anything but boring.
This recipe starts out with roasting the delicata squash and sliced shallots side-by-side on a baking sheet. The squash is for the salad and the roasted shallots make up our really incredible homemade vinaigrette (two birds with one stone!).
Then, the squash is tossed with mixed greens and arugula, crispy bacon, candied pecans, goat cheese, and crispy onions. The combination of flavors and textures really gives it that WOW factor. It’s the perfect side salad for Thanksgiving or a fall dinner party!
Ingredients You’ll Need (+ Substitutions)
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Delicata squash. A variety of winter squash that’s cylindrical in shape with light yellow skin with green stripes. It has a sweet, buttery flavor that’s similar to butternut squash. (You could swap in a different type of squash, but you’d have to adjust cooking times, FYI).
- Shallots. I really recommend only using shallot here, not yellow or red onion.
- Bacon. I love the smoky flavor that bacon adds, but you could omit it to keep the salad vegetarian.
- Candied pecans. I love the candied pecans from Trader Joe’s, but you could make your own or buy your favorite brand.
- Goat cheese. The creamy and tangy flavor adds so much to the salad. If you wanted to swap in a different cheese, I would consider feta.
- Greens. I love a mix of arugula and mixed greens that contain radicchio. The combination of spicy, mild, and bitter greens is the perfect background.
- Shallot vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, I used olive oil, champagne vinegar, maple syrup, dijon, and the roasted shallots. You could swap in another delicate vinegar like tarragon or white wine.
- Crispy onions. They’re not just for topping green been casseroles! The onion adds a nice crunch and flavor. My favorite is the fried onions from Trader Joe’s, but classic French’s work well too.
Can you eat the skin on a delicata squash? Yep! The skin is so delicate that you don’t have to peel it, making it a favorite squash for low-effort roasting.
Helpful Cooking Tools
How to Make This Roasted Delicata Squash Salad
- Prep the squash. There’s no need to peel the squash before roasting! The skin bakes up beautifully tender and is absolutely delicious. Simply cut the squash in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon before slicing into half moons.
- Roast the squash and shallots. Toss the squash with oil and season with maple syrup, paprika, salt, and pepper. Shove the squash to one side of the baking sheet and spread out the sliced shallot on the other side. Roast the veggies for roughly 30 minutes at 375ºF, or until tender.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whenever I’m making a vinaigrette at home, I almost exclusively use a wide-mouth pint jar and an immersion blender. I love this method because you just dump all the ingredients into the mason jar and blend them up! No streaming in the olive oil or adding the ingredients in stages. Plus, once you’re finished blending the dressing it’s already housed in its storage container.
- Assemble the salad. Lay the greens down in a serving bowl and top with the roasted squash, bacon, candied pecans, and crumbled goat cheese. Top with the fried onion and drizzle with the vinaigrette, or serve the dressing on the side.
What to Serve with This Salad
If you’re a person who loves to have a salad as part of your Thanksgiving spread, this delicata squash arugula salad is perfect! It’s hearty and flavorful and really has all those gorgeous fall flavors.
This is also a great salad for a dinner party. I would serve it alongside herb roasted chicken or beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and green beans for a totally impressive meal.
You could also turn this salad into a main dish and top it with some seared chicken breast for more protein.
Make Ahead Instructions
This side salad is best enjoyed fresh! If you are prepping ahead for a dinner party, prepare everything and add the dressing and crispy onions right before serving.
The dressing can be prepared and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance. Just give it a good shake before dressing the salad.
Store any leftover shallot vinaigrette in an airtight container (like a pint mason jar!) in the fridge for up to 1 week. Dressed salad won’t last for very long as the greens will wilt, but you can store any un-dressed salad components separately in the fridge for 3 days.
If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Fall Salads to Try
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Roasted Delicata Squash Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Delicata Squash Salad
- 2 delicata squash
- 2 medium shallots , peeled and sliced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 6 strips bacon , cooked til crispy and diced
- 1 cup candied pecans
- 2 oz goat cheese , crumbled
- 1/2 cup crispy fried onions
- 3 cups arugula
- 5 oz mixed greens with radicchio
Shallot Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup water
- roasted shallots and thyme , from above
- kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 375ºF. Line a rimmed backing sheet with parchment paper.
- Prep the squash. Cut the delicata squash in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to remove the seeds and membrane and discard them. Remove the stem ends and then cut the squash into 1/2-inch thick slices. Toss the sliced squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the maple syrup, paprika, and salt and pepper.
- Roast the squash and shallots. Lay the squash out on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Lay the sliced shallot out on the other side and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Top with the thyme leaves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 30-35 minutes.
- Make the vinaigrette. In a pint sized mason jar, combine the roasted shallots and thyme, vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, dijon, and water. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth and season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
- Assemble the salad. Lay the greens down in a serving bowl and top with the roasted squash, bacon, candied pecans, and crumbled goat cheese. Top with the fried onion and drizzle with the vinaigrette, or serve the dressing on the side.
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