This healthy vegetarian winter salad makes an incredible easy dinner. The butternut squash is tossed with harissa before roasting then topped with goat's cheese and yoghurt.
Welcome to your healthy winter salad of dreams 🙌
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This salad is so simple but so good! It's got spicy butternut squash which is roasted until soft and caramelised. Creamy avocado and salty goat's cheese all sprinkled over fresh rocket leaves.
I add some scoops of Greek yoghurt just before serving which cools the squash down and combines with the goat's cheese and harissa to make a ridiculously tasty dressing for the salad.
Once the squash is roasted the salad comes together so quickly and you can serve it hot or cold, either way it's so good!
This salad would be great to serve as a lazy weekend lunch for friends along with some crusty bread or it's equally good as a weeknight dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day.
Why we love this recipe...
It only takes a handful of ingredients to make this salad which makes it such a good weeknight dinner because you can literally grab everything you need on your way home from work!
This is such a healthy dinner which you're definitely in need of during these cold winter months when it feels it'll never be warm again.
Even though it isn't a big bowl of comfort food which is what I'd normally want this time of year it's got the spicy butternut squash which helps to warm you up and stop it feeling too healthy!
You can add any extra ingredients you like to this salad so pop in whatever your favourite salad ingredients are and really make it your own!
Ingredients
spicy noodles with broccoli
These spicy noodles are tossed with a mixture of harissa, tahini and garlic in a hot wok with fresh broccoli for a super quick weeknight dinner.
These noodles are sure to make your weekly dinner rotation 😍
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- Why we love this noodle recipe...
- Ingredients
- How to make it
- Recipe Variations
- Try these other noodle recipes!
- Recipe
I think noodles might be the king of quick and easy dinner ingredients. I even went with ready to eat noodles for this recipe which made it even quicker.
Even if you're boiling your noodles before tossing all of the ingredients together you're still looking at a 15 minute dinner recipe which is a huge win in my opinion.https://a2c637b888a72e7bc189d124becd2df3.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
The sauce is a mixture of tahini, harissa, garlic and a couple of other tasty ingredients which blend together and create a nutty and spicy flavour throughout the whole dish.
why we love this noodle recipe...
It's just such an easy dish with a handful of ingredients and a couple of steps involved before you're ready to eat.
It's also a really easy recipe to meal prep. You could mix the sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until ready to use and you could also chop the broccoli ahead so that everything is pretty much done when you need to start cooking.
There are so many ways you could add to this recipe according to your preferences. Whether it's extra protein, veggies or toppings!
It's an ideal vegetarian meal which you can also make vegan by switching the honey for maple syrup.
Ingredients
This section is here to provide further tips and ideas for alternative ingredients. The full recipe and instructions are included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
Olive Oil: For roasting the squash.
Butternut Squash: Roasted until caramelised and soft.
Harissa: Tossed with the squash before roasting so it gets lovely and spicy.
Rocket: Or you could use another of your favourite salad greens.
Avocado: Sliced over the salad before serving.
Goat's Cheese: For that delicious saltiness! Feel free to leave off if you're not a fan or switch for feta if you prefer.
Greek Yoghurt: Helps to cool the salad down from the spiciness of the harissa.
How to make it
Roast the squash: Toss the squash with the olive oil and harissa and place in the oven. Roast to 30-40 minutes until soft and caremlised.
Dress the salad: Whisk together the rest of the harissa and oil and toss with the rocket. Spread on a serving plate and add the squash and avocado.
Finish the salad: Dot over the goat's cheese and yoghurt before servings.
Possible Variations
- Protein: There are loads of things you could add to this salad. Some shredded chicken or crispy tofu would be delicious tossed through the salad before serving.
- Vegetables: What I love about salads like these is that you can use it as an opportunity to toss in anything you need to use up from the fridge. Chopped cucumber would be great. You could toss some chopped carrots or Brussels sprouts in with the squash before roasting. Really anything would work!
Try these other salad recipes!
- Tuna Salad with Garlic Toasts
- Roast Vegetable Salad with Halloumi
- Cobb Salad with Pasta & Roasted Chickpeas
- Orzo Pasta Salad with Salmon
- Healthy Potato Salad with Greek Yoghurt
- Salmon Salad with Watercress & Edamame
- Mediterranean Freekeh Salad
Recipe
Winter Salad with Spicy Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Butternut Squash peeled and chopped into medium chunks
- 3 tablespoon Harissa
- 100 g Rocket
- 1 Avocado sliced
- 65 g Goat's Cheese crumbled
- 3 tablespoon Greek Yoghurt
- Nigella Seeds to serve, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Spread the squash out on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and add 2 tablespoon of the harissa. Toss to coat the squash in the harissa. Put the squash in the oven and roast for 30-40 minutes until soft and charred around the edges.
- Whisk together the remaining harissa and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put the rocket in a bowl and toss with the dressing. Spread on a serving plate and spread over the avocado slides and butternut squash. Sprinkle over the goat's cheese then dot over the Greek yoghurt and serve. Sprinkle with nigella seeds if desired.
Notes
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Kelly Anthony says
This is my kind of salad. Loaded with spice and ingredients to keep me full throughout the day.
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter says
I love squash and I love salads, so this makes it a perfect meal for me for sure! Can't wait to try it x
Krissy Allori says
I love butternut squash and I loved this salad. I also loved all the sub ideas you gave.
Kelley says
This looks like such a hearty salad!
Sarah says
I can’t wait to try this. I love the idea of pairing butternut squash with harissa!