In early September, I visited a small Italian cafe for lunch. They had a pumpkin ravioli and butternut squash salad on special that I tried and loved! The salad came topped with cold ravioli, and a mixed berry vinaigrette on the side. I loved all the fall flavors, and the colors reminded me of the holidays. This months recipe redux theme was to create “naturally-colored/naturally-dyed holiday fare.” When I recreated this holiday butternut pecan salad with berry vinaigrette, I knew it was perfect for the redux!
I decided to leave out the pumpkin ravioli. The Italian restaurant made their own, and they were fantastic. Instead, I added candied pecans to the salad to fill it out, and make it perfect for the holidays! Serve this salad as a light main dish during the holiday season, or as a side during your holiday gathering!
Variations to the Holiday Butternut Pecan Salad with Berry Vinaigrette recipe:
- Use white wine vinegar for a sweeter dressing, or red wine vinegar for a bolder dressing.
- Use the weekend warrior technique! Roast an entire butternut squash and use it to whip up easy bowls and salads all week long!
- Substitution ideas: Feta or goat cheese for blue cheese; Almonds or pistachios for pecans. Use what you have on hand!
- ½ cup pecans
- 1 TBS maple syrup
- ¼ cup raspberries
- ¼ cup blueberries
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 2 TBS white or red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ⅔ cup roasted butternut squash cubes
- 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled or diced
- 3-4 cups spring mix, or your favorite greens
- Place pecans in a small skillet over medium heat. Toast stirring frequently until evenly browned and toasty, about 3-5 minutes. Pour maple syrup into hot skillet and quickly stir to coat. Scoop candied pecans onto a piece of parchment paper. Spread them out to cool.
- In a mini food processor, combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette. Process until smooth.
- On two plates, divide the spring mix, butternut squash, blue cheese, and pecans.
- Serve each salad with half of the vinaigrette. (If you put it in a small bowl on the side of the plate, it makes nice presentation to show off those holiday colors!)
Your dressing sounds amazing! Love this colorful dish!
Thank you Karman! Color makes food so much fun!
Your salad is just perfect for the holidays! Thanks so much for sharing with us at our Thanksgiving Edition of Full Plate Thursday! Hope you have a great week and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you Miz Helen! It was a great idea to have the party on Tuesday last week, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to participate!
This looks delicious! Pinned! Tomorrow we are hosting the Whisk It Wednesday Link Party at Carrie’s Home Cooking and thought you might want to share there too! I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with lots of love and laughter! ~ Carrie
Thank you Carrie! I will add your link party to my list! Have a happy Thanksgiving!
I love the variations you gave for the recipe, we’re always adjusting recipes slightly to suit our taste. We’re not usually super big on salads. But we also try to eat healthy, so we always keep a look out for salad recipes that we actually crave. With all of the great ingredients on this, it’s definitely included!
I love to eat salads for lunch, but they rarely make the dinner menu. This salad definitely loads you up with healthy and filling foods, I hope you love it!
Sounds yummy!
Thank you, Carol!
I want that dressing! Looks so fresh and perfect for a salad!
Thanks Becca! The dressing is super vibrant and flavorful, I love the color too!