Arugula Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash

A large serving bowl fill with arugula quinoa salad topped with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, and pepitas.

Arugula Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash

A delicious harvest bowl to celebrate the autumn season! Full of bright color, texture, and flavor, this salad is made with a simple bed of arugula layered with quinoa, roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. It's topped with a flavorful and creamy green goddess dressing that blends together in seconds.

Course Dressing, Lunch or Dinner, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings people

Calories 420kcal

Author Michelle Cehn and Jessi Pratton | World of Vegan

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa plus 1 ¾ cups water for cooking
3 cups butternut squash cubed
2½ cups Brussels sprouts halved or quartered
Olive oil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
5 ounces arugula
⅓ cup dried cranberries
⅓ cup pumpkin seeds or any other nuts or seeds

Green Dressing

½ cup cashews soaked for at least 2 hours
1 large lemon
3 medium cloves garlic
¼ cup tahini
1 small bunch parsley
¼ cup dill packed
½ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup water plus more as needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook quinoa: In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup quinoa and 1 3/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Then, without removing the lid, remove from heat and leave for 10 minutes before fluffing the quinoa with a spoon. Set aside to cool.
Roast the squash and Brussels sprouts: On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, add the butternut squash and Brussels sprouts. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix until coated and bake for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees F until Brussels sprouts are slightly crispy and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Make the dressing: In a high-powered blender, add the cashews, juice of the lemon, garlic cloves, tahini, parsley, dill, olive oil, salt, and ⅓ cup of water, and blend on high until smooth and creamy. If needed, add up to an additional ¼ cup of water to achieve the desired dressing consistency.
Assemble the salad: In a large serving bowl, add the arugula, cooked and cooled quinoa, roasted and cooled butternut squash and Brussels sprouts, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds (or nuts of choice). Drizzle with dressing to serve; or serve dressing on the side if you’d like to show the salad’s vibrant fall colors for a Thanksgiving table.

Notes

For an oil-free version of this salad dressing, replace ½ cup olive oil with and additional ½ cup soaked cashews, and add additional water and lemon juice as needed to achieve the perfect consistency and flavor.

This salad is fantastic for meal prep and lasts 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

If you store the dressing in the refrigerator, it may thicken, in which case you can simply add more water and stir or shake it up to create a pourable liquid dressing.

Nutrition