Warm Fall Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Maple Dijon Dressing

 

Warm Fall Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Maple Dijon Dressing-a healthy & cozy Autumn salad with savory Fall ingredients like cinnamon, apples, pecans & brown butter.

Hoorrayyyyy Fall is finally here!!!  Time to get out the hoodies, flannels and never ending Fall recipes.

Being a native New Englander I am lucky to live in one of the most beautiful states to experience the Fall.  The leaves are gorgeous, the weather is perfect and the Farms are stocked with pumpkins, cider, hayrides, mums…all the traditions of Fall I love oh so much.

Even if Fall isn’t you’re favorite time of year, you have to agree a little that it’s one of the best seasons for cooking and baking…pumpkin spice and everything nice :).

This warm fall quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash & maple dijon dressing is everything I love about Fall in a beautifully & deliciously healthy salad that’s vegetarian and gluten free.

Butternut squash, apples, and onions are sprinkled with toasty curry & cinnamon and roasted until golden brown.  Seriously, the smell of them roasting in the oven is heavenly…curry and cinnamon work beautifully together for a warm, savory depth of flavor.

I LOVE roasted brussel sprouts; they’re nutty and slightly sweet, but in this salad I’m using finely shredded raw brussels.  It adds a freshness and bite to the salad that is needed to balance out the natural sweetness from the squash, apples and dressing.

Okay, so now my favorite part….((drumroll pleaseeee))…The Brown Butter Maple Dijon Dressing…ouuuuuu it’s good stuff.  Brown butter, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, curry, ginger, cinnamon.  It’s a great balance of sweet and tangy with a slight nutty toasted aroma.

(Check out my post on how to brown butter.)

This Warm Fall Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Maple Dijon Dressing is great for lunch, dinner, or a wonderful Thanksgiving side, plus it’s gluten free and vegetarian!

*Click here for my tutorial on how to Brown Butter!

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Warm Fall Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash & Maple Dijon Dressing

A healthy & cozy Autumn salad with savory Fall ingredients like cinnamon, apples, pecans & brown butter.  Gluten free & Vegetarian

Course Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword butternutsquash, Fall, glutenfree, Healthy, quinoa, Salad, Vegetarian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Brown Butter Maple Dijon Dressing

• 4 tbsp Butter 1/2 stick
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 TBS Maple syrup
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 TSP Curry
• 1 TSP Cinnamon
• 1 TSP Ginger
• 1 TSP Black Pepper
• Pinch of salt

Warm Quinoa Salad

• ½ cup Pecans
• 1 Apple peeled, cored and cut into cubes
• 1 cup Butternut squash cubed (about 1/2 butternut squash)
• 1 Medium Onion sliced thinly
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp Curry Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 cups Water
• 1, 8 oz container of Brussel sprouts

Instructions

Brown Butter Maple Dijon Dressing

1. Place butter in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue melting until foamy, swirling pan around. Once butter is lightly browned and has a nutty fragrance, remove from heat and set aside.

2. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Set aside.

Warm Quinoa Salad

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place Pecans on baking sheet, and toast for 7-8 minutes, checking occasionally until lightly browned and fragrant. Set side.
3. Turn oven up to 400. Place apple, butternut squash, and onions on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, curry and cinnamon. Roast 20-30 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Set aside.
4. Cook Quinoa: combine 2 cups of water in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add in quinoa, turn down to low, cover and cook 10-15 minutes until liquid is fully absorbed.
5. To shred brussel sprouts: cut ends off, then cut in half. Place in food processor and pulse until shredded. (Alternately you can also cut them with a knife very finely, if you don’t have a food processor.)
6. Add quinoa, brussel sprouts, apples, butternut squash, and onions to large bowl. Toss to combine.
7. Pour in dressing, and toss to combine.

8. Roughly chop pecans and add to salad.

9. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

For instructions on how to make Brown butter click here for a quick tutorial

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