Butternut Squash Salad is healthy and delicious as both a Holiday meal side, or a weeknight dinner! Sweet roasted butternut squash is paired with tart cranberries and tangy goat cheese in this flavorful, warm side dish made all on one pan! This post contains affiliate links for products I’m obsessed with.
Confession #65 – This weekend, a friend of mine asked me what I do when I run out of recipe inspiration and find myself in a food rut.
Umm…I don’t know.
That literally never happens to me.
I have the opposite problem, actually. My mind is always filled with recipe ideas. I dream about food, and sometimes I can’t sleep because I saw something on Pinterest I just NEED to try.
And throw Thanksgiving into the mix, and I am seriously haunted by sweet potatoes and pumpkin desserts.
It’s kind of a problem.
I have too many Turkey Day ideas right now, between recipes I want to share on the blog, and recipes I want to make for my own family’s Thanksgiving. I can’t possibly make them all in the small amount of time I have to cook, take pics, and write up posts.
I guess there is always next year.
You’ll stick around, right?
Anyway, this was such a festive and fun side dish, it will definitely be making an appearance on my Thanksgiving menu. You could sub feta for goat cheese if you prefer, but I thought it was perfect just like this! If you give it a try, let me know!
Because butternut squash can be so tricky to use and cut, I explain my favorite ways to soften it up in my Lazy Butternut Squash Lasagna and Butternut Squash Soup recipes. Go visit those posts if you’re having trouble!
Ingredients for Butternut Squash Salad
- peeled and chopped butternut squash – Soften this up beforehand for better success with making butternut squash cubes
- olive oil cooking spray – spray your pan first so things don’t stick
- olive oil – can sub coconut oil or avocado oil
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder – just a sprinkle to taste
- fresh cranberries – Readers have reported that blueberries are an amazing sub if you are trying to make this out of season
- honey – gives this a nice sweetness, you can always sub maple syrup if that is all you have
- crumbled goat cheese – any will work, but I used honey flavored from Aldi and it was sooo tasty
- cinnamon – gives it a nice flavor but you can omit too
- fresh or dried parsley to garnish – totally optional, but it looks so festive!
Looking for more Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas? Try some of these-
40+ Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes
21 Day Fix and 2B Mindset Thanksgiving Recipes
Healthy Pumpkin Pie [Gluten-free | Dairy-free | 21 Day Fix]
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes [Dairy Free]
Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole [21 Day Fix | Gluten-free | Dairy-free | Paleo]
Maple Cider Holiday Salad [21 Day Fix | 2B Mindset]
Butternut Squash Soup [Instant Pot/Crock Pot/Stove Top] [21 Day Fix | WW]
Enjoy this butternut squash salad recipe!
Warm Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Side Dishes
Description
Butternut Squash Salad is healthy and delicious as both a Holiday meal side, or a weeknight dinner! Sweet roasted butternut squash is paired with tart cranberries and tangy goat cheese in this flavorful, warm side dish made all on one pan!
Ingredients
- 6 cups of peeled and chopped butternut squash
- olive oil cooking spray
- 1 T of olive oil
- salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
- 1 cup fresh cranberries (Out of season? Readers have reported that blueberries are an amazing sub!)
- 2 T honey
- ¼ cup of crumbled goat cheese (I used honey flavored from Aldi)
- 1/8–1/4 tsp of cinnamon
- fresh or dried parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
- Add cubed squash to the sheet along with another drizzle of olive oil.
- Sprinkle with a light layer of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, based on taste preference.
- Roast at 400 F for 25 minutes on the center rack.
- At the 25 minute mark, pull out the oven rack, and add your fresh cranberries to the roasting pan.
- Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries have started to soften and burst a bit, resembling really juicy craisins vs fresh firm cranberries.
- Remove from oven and add a sprinkle of cinnamon and honey. Then gently mix in goat cheese.
- Garnish with parsley for some beautiful color and serve while it’s hot.
Notes
Serves 6
21 Day Fix: 1 GREEN, 1 tsp, trace BLUE, trace PURPLE (per serving)
WW: Green, Blue, Purple – 2 points (per serving)
Keywords: side, butternut squash, winter squash, fall, seasonal, vegetarian, cranberries, goat cheese, gluten-free, grain-free
Check out my Etsy Shop for 21 Day Fix eBooks with full grocery lists, prep tips, and easy to follow recipes!
Candice says
This was so good, I always have feta in the fridge so I used that. I found myself wanting chopped pecans for some crunch, then I saw your other squash recipe 🙂
Nancylynn says
Delicious, right? I love the addition of pecans to this one! Thanks for your comment :).
Julie Lease says
How many butternut squash did you cut up to get 6 cups? Thanks!
Nancylynn says
I used two large ones to get the 6 cups.
Allison says
Do you have a recommendation for reheating? I’m making this for Thanksgiving and will be bringing it to a dinner. How should I go about reheating it?
Thanks! Looks great. I can’t wait to try it!
Nancylynn says
I would just warm it in the oven on a low setting (no more than 325) for a few minutes to take the chill out…it doesn’t need to be super hot and actually tastes better just warm. Wait until just before serving for the goat cheese! I’ll be doing the same thing!
Carol says
I have a bag of frozen butternut squash…the kind you toss in the microwave and steam. Can I use this for your recipe?
nancy estherson says
would love to try your recipes. i’m a terrible cook because I have no vision. trying to get my family to eat healthier. we are a convenient family…..that means, packaged foods especially for lunch. dinners are always cooked…….not always good but cooked.
Nancylynn says
I totally understand convenience! My advice is to pick one new recipe each week to try…use my recipe index to help you find something you and your family will enjoy!
Laci says
Hi there! I was so excited to try this recipe but of course it’s too far away from Thanksgiving I guess and I cannot find fresh cranberries… is there something you would recommend subbing with? Thanks!
Nancylynn says
Frozen will work. Some readers lately have shared that blueberries worked great too!
Marissa Crescenzi says
Delicious! Made this as a side with salmon tonight. Curious how it would be subbing out butternut squash for sweet potatoes. Too sweet?
★★★★★
Nancylynn says
I think that would work out just fine! It would change the container count if you are following the 21 Day Fix though – yellow container instead of green. Let us know if you try it!
Codie Malone says
Made this with the pulled pork tonight, we didn’t have cranberry but I used pomegranate…… and it was interesting. The squash was good! Thank you
Nancylynn says
Lol! Other readers have loved using blueberries in place of cranberries- maybe try those next time! Glad you liked the squash!