Thanksgiving is closing in on us quickly and it’s my absolute favorite holiday of them all! I mean really, why don’t we just eat stuffing all year round? It’s a travesty. I have three plant-based Thanksgiving meals coming out for you guys over the next week but I thought I’d start the week off with something healthy to prep for the ten pounds most of us will gain in the next month.
This Autumn Roasted Vegetable Salad is the perfect wild card dish to bring to a friendsgiving where all the good dishes are taken or if you’re not the type to want to hover over an oven for hours. It’s a great way to get vegetables in your system during the holiday season without overloading them in cream and butter. (not that that’s a bad thing).
This salad is gorgeous, it’s colorful, bright and loaded will all of the flavors of fall. There’s apple cider in the dressing which gives it a rich sweetness and the croutons are just perfect. I used butternut squash, celery root and fennel as my vegetables but you could mix it up and use anything you have at your house or that’s in season. While you can mix up the nuts, I strongly recommend using the pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds), and pistachios. They’re so good on this, they really take it to the next level.
If you’re new to celery root, trust me it’s awesome! It looks like a super ugly small volleyball but it tastes like potato! It’s crazy. I had it for the first time a while ago when I saw it at the Whole Foods salad bar and I was hooked! You should be able to find it at any grocery store but if you can’t, feel free to just roast up regular yellow or russet potatoes for this recipe.
Stay tuned this week because I have an amazing veggie pot pie recipe as well as vegan green bean casserole and a seasonal curry if you’re really trying to make Thanksgiving a crazy time. Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to follow us on social media! Follow our insta-stories for all the ups and downs of my cooking process.
Until Next Time,
Jackie
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Autumn Harvest Roasted Vegetable Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan
Description
Bright, colorful, and loaded with all the delicious seasonal vegetables of autumn, this salad is the perfect healthy compliment to Thanksgiving dinner! And it’s filling on it’s own!
Ingredients
Scale
- Salad
- 1 butternut squash, diced
- 2 bulbs fennel, sliced
- 1 head celery root, diced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
- 2 tbs pepitas
- 2 tbs pistachios
- 1 apple, sliced thin
- 1 loaf french bread, cut into cubes
- 3 cups mixed greens
- 2 cups green leaf lettuce (you can mix this up and do different lettuces if you want)
- Dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup apple juice or cider (either simply apple or apple cider)
- 1 tbs honey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Start by making the croutons. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place the cubes of bread on a large baking sheet. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic powder. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the croutons are crispy and browned. I recommend tossing the croutons in the dressing and setting aside to let them soften a little before adding them to the salad.
- For the roasted veggies, leave the oven at 400 degrees. Place the cut up veggies in a large baking pan and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake covered for 30 minutes or until the veggies are softened.
- Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients in a medium size bowl.
- Finally assemble the salad. Place mixed greens or your choice of lettuce into a large bowl. Top with pistachios, pepitas, Gorgonzola cheese, the roasted veggies and apples. Pour over the dressing and toss. Serve as a side dish or as is own dinner!
Notes
*The blue cheese here is optional, if you’re vegan, look for a plant-based parmesan or creamy crumbled cheese.
**I recommend here using apple cider for the dressing but if you don’t have it, get really good, 100% apple juice like simply apple.
