My #1 favorite healthy & hearty fall salad with butternut squash, tart cherries and a savory apple cider sage dressing. Gluten free.
My mom loves to clip articles. Newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, stories, recipes – sometimes they come in the mail, sometimes she saves them up for a visit. A couple of years ago she brought me a recipe for a couscous salad clipped from Edible Michiana that was similar to this one. We made it, loved it… then later I lost it. But I could never get this sweet & savory flavor combo out of my mind so I’ve been making versions of it ever since.
The original recipe used couscous but I used quinoa here because it’s the grain I usually have on hand. I tossed it with roasted butternut squash, feta cheese and dried tart cherries for a sweet & tangy pop of flavor. They perfectly balance the warm, savory flavors that are going on here.
While the butternut squash is roasting in the oven, make your dressing. I slightly warm some olive oil and mix in apple cider vinegar, sage, honey and cinnamon. I promise – once you toss the sage in, your kitchen will instantly smell like fall… it’s just so warm and cozy.
butternut squash & tart cherry quinoa
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, cubed (about 2 cups)
- 2 big handfuls mixed greens (ie. spinach & arugula)
- â…“ cup tart cherries
- â…“ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- a few leaves of fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon honey (vegan sub: maple syrup)
- salt & pepper
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook quinoa - rinse ½ cup quinoa then transfer to a small pot and toast the quinoa for a few minutes (basically until it’s dry again) over medium heat. Add just over 1 cup of water, cover and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn heat off and let it sit (covered) for 15 more minutes. Check at some point before the end to make sure it’s not burning - if is starting to - stir in a little more water and probably reduce heat. (Note that I usually cook double this amount and save some for later). Set quinoa aside until ready to use.
- While your quinoa is cooking, roast your butternut squash. (remove the guts of the butternut squash (save the seeds to toast for later if you want). Peel and slice into 1-inch cubes. Toss with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown, flipping halfway through.
- In a small saucepan, gently heat olive oil (it has a low smoke point so you don’t want to heat it too much. If you’re concerned about this use grape seed oil instead). Add the sage and stir until fragrant (30 seconds or so - just until the sage is not raw). Turn off heat and add apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, honey, salt & pepper.
- Assemble all salad ingredients together and toss with as much dressing as you like. Taste and adjust seasonings.
recipe inspired by this recipe from Edible Michiana.
Thanks for the giveaway! What about an oatmeal, dark chocolate chip cookie with tart cherries…
I’ve been inspired lately by the new How Sweet Eats cookbook where she roasts fresh cherries to top breakfast quinoa. HOLY YUM.
I would make big, flaky scones with tart cherries, chunks of dark chocolate and sprinkle the scones with coarse raw sugar!
well
a vanilla bean brown butter tart cherry hand pie
of course!
Hm, maybe in addition to roasted butternut squash, some roasted mushrooms. Then the feta and the cherries. And walnuts. And farro.
I love quinoa and tart cherries together! I use them to make an oatmeal-like breakfast. Looking forward to trying this recipe.
Tart cherries go wonderfully with goat cheese. I love to make a goat cheese-based ice cream and include tart cherries. For something healthier, tart cherries go great in a baked oatmeal breakfast.
I’ve also soaked cherries in alcohol (rum or vodka) before to use in desserts – learned that from Jeni of Jeni’s Ice Creams!
This salad looks spectacular. I tend to prefer tart over sweet, but I love the interplay here. I recently made a batch of some spicy peach jam and I think some tart cherry pancakes topped with my sweet and spicy jam would be absolutely delicious!
You should make your grown-up smore’s with dark chocolate and tart cherries! mmmmmm!
mmm I’ve done cornbread with cranberries but I feel like tart cherries would add some lovely zest!
Great salad. I also use cherries in salad and just made a great granola with cherries and apricots. Hubby drinks cherry juice every day to help him avoid gout. He says so far it is working. ..
Reminded me of a tart cherry Collins drink I had in London once-yum!
Tart cherries on top of quinoa cooked in coconut milk, topped with pecans and cinnamon. And if it’s a decadent day, shavings of dark chocolate. Yummmm.
I’m in full on fall baking mode, so I’m thinking tart cherries and dark chocolate biscotti would be yummy. Love the salad recipe too, should probably have that before I eat too many cookies ! 😉
This looks delicious and easy! I can’t believe Fall is almost here – I only wish our California heat would subside. I think a dark chocolate ganache tart with cherries would be divine. Really, anything with dark chocolate and cherries can’t be too bad. 🙂
I think tart cherries and candied walnuts would balance each other. They would be good tossed on julienned string beans.
a tart cherry old fashion – a reinvention of the classic with a kick from the cherries.
I put tart cherries in my dark chocolate smoothie….mmmmm! I also LOVE putting cherries in my homemade granola! They give it a wonderful tart bite that is great with the nuts and the slightly sweet and salty tastes that you get from honey and sea salt…delish!
Thanksgiving is coming up…I’m thinking a tart cherry dip to go with the turkey 🙂
This salad is a great way to quick off the fall season – yum! I make a socca ‘pizza’ topped with arugula, snipped sage, goat cheese, tart cherries and a teeny drizzle of pomegranate molasses.