Roast Pumpkin Salad

Roast Pumpkin Salad is a show stopper for your fall dinner table and so easy to make. The homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette is the best!

All the fall flavors you love are in this salad. And isn’t she gorgeous? A simple salad like this with vibrant colors really dresses up a holiday meal. I’m planning to serve this alongside my traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year. But it’s an easy enough salad recipe to make for any weeknight dinner in the colder months. The air fryer easily roasts the cubes of pumpkin. And the roasted pumpkin can be made 1-2 days before you plan to serve this salad.

More Thanksgiving recipes

• Stuffing Muffins
• Crock Pot Frozen Turkey Breast
• Grandma’s Dinner Rolls

Why this recipe works

The fall flavors in this salad just harmonize so well together! She’s a real crowd pleaser. A few fresh ingredients combine together for the most delicious maple balsamic vinaigrette. And then the pomegranate seeds, feta and fresh lettuce along with the roast pumpkin – it’s just a perfect balance of color and flavor. You’re going to really love this salad, with or without the walnuts.

Ingredients for roast pumpkin salad

• Pumpkin – I think the air fryer is the best way to roast pumpkin for this salad. But you could oven roast your pumpkin instead. Also if you aren’t able to find a sugar pie pumpkins, you can use butternut squash instead. The salad will still be delicious.
• Lettuce – Choose whatever artisanal lettuce you like best. Or you could use baby spinach or arugula.
• Pomegranate Seeds – You can use a fresh pomegranate and remove the seeds yourself. But I prefer to buy just the seeds. They’re great to snack on too.
• Feta Cheese – I like the strong flavor of salty feta because I think it compliments and stands up to all the other earthy flavors and sweetness of the pumpkin in the salad. A good substitute would be crumbled goat cheese.
• Oil – Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil are great choices to make the vinaigrette dressing.
• Maple Syrup – Use pure maple syrup. Or you could use honey instead.
• Balsamic Vinegar – I love the coloring and flavor of balsamic vinegar. But you could substitute it with apple cider vinegar if you prefer.
• Dijon Mustard – Adds a nice zingy, sophisticated flavor to the dressing.
• Garlic – One fresh clove of garlic adds just the right amount of garlic flavor to this balsamic vinaigrette.
• Salt and Pepper
• Variations – Add toasted walnuts, pecans, pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.

Instructions for roast pumpkin salad

First, use my recipe for Air Fryer Pumpkin to prepare your small cubes of roast pumpkin for the salad.

In a clean glass bowl or measuring cup, add the oil, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, garlic clove, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Layer each salad plate or bowl with lettuce, pomegranate seeds, prepared roast pumpkin cubes and feta cheese. Drizzle each salad with 2 – 3 tablespoons of the homemade dressing and serve immediately.

Tips

I debated on if I wanted to serve this salad with walnuts or not. I pictured them on the side. If your family likes nuts, I think they would be a great addition. I personally liked the salad without the addition of nuts. If you do serve this salad with nuts as a topping, toasted pecans or even pine nuts would be great choices.

Did you know you can toast nuts in your air fryer? Here’s my recipe for Air Fryer Pecans. You can toast walnuts the same way, using the same recipe (time and temperature).

Storage directions

You can keep the salad ingredients, each stored separately in their own airtight containers for up to 4 – 5 days. So this is a perfect side dish to serve at Thanksgiving because you can prepare the dressing and the roast pumpkin a couple of days in advance.

Serving suggestions

Serve this salad with Thanksgiving dinner. Or serve it as a side for my Slow Cooker Sirloin Tip Roast or Potato Soup in the Crockpot.

Kitchen tools

• I use a Philips XXL Air Fryer to test all of my air fryer recipe, including my air fryer pumpkin
• Glass measuring cup and small whisk to blend the salad dressing
• Beautiful salad plates for serving

More salad recipes

• French Country Salad
• Spinach Strawberry Salad
• Greek Rice Salad

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