Warm Quinoa Salad Butternut Squash (Print)
Fluffy quinoa paired with roasted butternut squash, cranberries, spinach, and toasted nuts tossed in a tangy dressing.
# Ingredient List:
→ Grains
01 - 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
02 - 2 cups water or vegetable broth
→ Vegetables
03 - 1 small butternut squash (about 1.5 lbs), peeled and diced
04 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
05 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
06 - 2 cups baby spinach
→ Fruits & Nuts
07 - ½ cup dried cranberries
08 - ⅓ cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
→ Dressing
09 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
10 - 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
11 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
12 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
13 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss diced butternut squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing halfway, until tender and golden.
02 - While the squash roasts, rinse quinoa under cold water. Combine quinoa and water or broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
03 - Whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup or honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until emulsified.
04 - In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, roasted butternut squash, baby spinach, red onion, dried cranberries, and chopped nuts.
05 - Drizzle dressing over salad and toss gently to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- It's one of those meals that tastes indulgent but actually leaves you feeling energized, not weighed down.
- The whole thing comes together in under an hour, and you can eat it warm fresh from the pan or cold the next day without apology.
- It genuinely looks like you spent more effort than you did, which is always nice when you're feeding people.
02 -
- Don't skip the rinsing step for quinoa; I learned this the hard way by serving something that tasted faintly soapy to guests.
- The dressing needs the maple syrup or honey to balance the acid and the earthiness—without it, everything tastes a little bit flat.
- Toast your nuts if you have even two minutes to spare; it's the difference between a good salad and one people actually remember.
03 -
- If you toast your nuts in a dry skillet for two minutes before adding them, it wakes up their flavor in a way that feels like a completely different ingredient.
- Don't dress the salad more than an hour before serving if you want to keep the quinoa fluffy; the acid will soften it, which is fine if you like it that way, but it changes the texture.