This Pumpkin Salad with Feta and Walnuts is a vibrant fall dish featuring caramelized roasted pumpkin, crisp greens, crunchy walnuts, and creamy feta tossed in a bright honey-balsamic dressing. It’s easy to make, full of texture and flavor, and perfect for weeknights, gatherings, or your holiday table.
This salad is excellent as a side dish or as a complete meal on its own. The best part is that you can make the salad components ahead of time, as I do with my wild rice salad.
Fresh salads are a favorite in my family, and for me, it’s a win-win if they can be thrown together quickly and easily.
In my opinion, this amazing salad has the perfect balance of flavors, textures, and colors. It is sweet, salty, acidic, and nutty – all at the same time. Arugula, crumbled feta cheese, crunchy walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and tender caramelized roasted pumpkin add a variety of textures.
Table of Contents
Ingredients & Variations
You need a few simple ingredients – most of them are already in your pantry.
Roasted Pumpkin: You may use any pumpkin or even butternut squash for this dish. A fantastic alternative to pumpkin, which is always easier to procure, is butternut squash. Sweet potatoes, instead of pumpkin or squash, also make a delicious salad.
Arugula: It adds a slightly tart, peppery flavor that balances the sweetness of the pumpkin. You can use any greens of your choice. Baby spinach tastes great. You can also use 1:1 of arugula and baby spinach. You can use a spring green mix. Kale is a fantastic addition to this salad, too.
Walnuts: Walnuts add a nutty, earthy taste to the salad. You can replace the walnuts with pecans. You can also use slivered almonds. I love roasted pine nuts on my salad- they are creamy and have a distinct flavor.
Cranberries: Add color and sweetness. No cranberries – don’t fret! Use pomegranate seeds for the amazing texture, taste, and pop of color.
Feta: Feta adds a lovely, soft, and creamy element to the salad. Swap feta with goat cheese or gorgonzola to add a great twist. If you are vegan, skip the cheese or use any plant-based cheese.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The ideal oil for dressings is extra virgin olive oil, which adds a unique peppery taste to the dish.
Balsamic Vinegar: It adds sweetness and a rich, smooth feel to the dressing. It adds a distinctive, bold flavor to the salad.
Honey: This enhances the dressing’s sweetness. You can also use maple syrup in place of honey.
Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice provides a tang to the dressing.
How To Make?
Step 1: Roast The Pumpkin
The pumpkin should be cleaned and cut into small cubes. Toss the cubed pumpkin in a large mixing bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. On a baking sheet, spread them and bake till tender.
You can also roast pumpkin in the air fryer. It is quicker and a favorite way to roast pumpkin cubes.
Step 2: Make the Dressing
To make the dressing, shake together all ingredients mentioned under the dressing. It can be mixed in a small mason jar. It can also be prepared in a mixing bowl using a whisk.
Step 3: Assemble and Combine
Add the greens to a large bowl or platter. Drizzle some dressing and mix.
Spread the roasted pumpkin, walnuts, feta, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds on top.
Drizzle the vinaigrette dressing over the salad, and enjoy!
This salad is perfect for a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. Perfect fall flavors and a gorgeous red, green, and orange color!
Recipe Tips
Cut evenly: Cut the pumpkin into even cubes. This will ensure uniform roasting.
Cooking pumpkin just right: Because ovens can vary in temperature, the amount of time it takes to roast a pumpkin can also vary. The pumpkin should be soft and have a lovely golden color. Do not overcook, as it can turn mushy in the salad.
Avoid soggy salad: Add the dressing only at serving time, or the salad will turn soggy.
Adding Grains: Add quinoa or couscous to add bulk for a hearty meal.
What To Serve With?
You can serve it at room temperature or warm. I like mine warm, especially on winter nights. If you want to serve this salad warm, add the pumpkin right out of the oven. If you want your salad to be at room temperature, allow the pumpkin to cool before adding it.
Soup and Salad is the perfect meal. Serve this pumpkin salad with any soup of your choice. Some inspirations are – Mushroom Wild Rice Soup, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, or Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup.
The combination of pasta with salad can never go wrong. Try some pasta recipes – Spaghetti Pesto, Penne in Tomato Cream Sauce, and Lemon Parmesan Orzo.
Serve it with some plain grilled chicken, fish, or tofu.
This salad makes an ideal Thanksgiving side dish alongside the Turkey.
How To Store?
I recommend not storing any leftovers, as the dressing can make the salad soggy.
But if you want to make it ahead and refrigerate, you can store the salad ingredients and dressing separately in the fridge for up to 2 days. Roast the pumpkin, cool it down, and store it in the fridge. This dressing can also be made up to 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
Combine everything just before serving. This way, the salad will turn mushy while the leaves remain crunchy.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
- Air Fryer Pumpkin
- Creamy Vegan Curried Pumpkin Soup
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Muffins
- Thai Pumpkin Red Curry
- Indian Mashed Pumpkin Curry
- Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Salad (with Feta & Walnuts)
Video
Ingredients
For Roasting Pumpkin
- 4 cups Pumpkin , or butternut squash, cut into cubes, 1 lb
- 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly crushed
For Salad
- 4 cups Arugula, 5oz, or baby kale
- 1/3 cup Crumbled feta cheese, 2oz
- 2 tablespoon Dried cranberries , or pomegranate seeds
- 2 tablespoon Walnuts, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Toasted pumpkin seeds
For Dressing
- 3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1/2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- salt & pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Toss the cubed pumpkin in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Spread the pumpkin onto the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Half way through remove from oven and flip. Then remove and let cool.
- To make the dressing, mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a cup or a jar. Shake well!
- In a large mixing bowl or serving platter, add the arugula leaves. Drizzle a little dressing and toss.
- Spread the roasted pumpkin cubes, feta, walnut, dried cranberries, and toasted pumkin seeds .
- Drizzle the dressing onto the salad. Toss gently when serving. Enjoy!
Excellent post
We just had this for our Thanksgiving Dinner! Delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂