This Fall Cobb Salad is a twist on the classic main dish salad. Butternut squash, apples, pepitas, dried cranberries and a maple balsamic vinaigrette give this hearty salad plenty of fall flavor!
Fall starts tomorrow and I wanted you to be ready, so I’m sharing this wonderful Fall Cobb Salad today. It’s reminiscent of a traditional Cobb salad, but with a couple of my favorite autumn produce staples.
What is a Cobb Salad?
A Cobb salad is a classic American main dish salad. Typically it’s made with a mix of chopped salad greens, chicken, bacon, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, blue cheese, avocado and a red wine vinaigrette.
Ingredients Needed to Make Fall Cobb Salad
- Mixed greens
- Butternut squash
- Apple
- Hard boiled eggs
- Bacon
- Dried Cranberries
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- Goat Cheese
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Dijon Mustard
- Maple Syrup
- Olive Oil
How to Make a Fall Cobb Salad
Making this salad requires some prep work, but aside from that it’s just as easy as preparing any other salad. I recommend roasting the butternut squash the day before you plan to eat the salad to save time.
On a large platter or bowl add all of the mixed greens. I usually buy one of the shell containers for convenience. Dice an apple, I recommend using Honeycrisp or another sweet and crunchy variety. Chop the cooked bacon and cut three hard boiled eggs into wedges.
Arrange all of the ingredients on top of the mixed greens. You can be as creative or not creative as you’d like with this part. In a small jar or bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar, dijon, maple syrup, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk it together and serve it alongside the salad. I prefer to serve it on the side so that if there’s leftovers they don’t get soggy from the vinaigrette.
Ingredient Substitutions
Butternut Squash – If you don’t like butternut squash replace with sweet potatoes or another variety of winter squash that you do like.
Pepitas – If you can’t find pepitas, replace them with toasted pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds or pistachios.
Goat Cheese – Goat cheese may be replaced with crumbled feta, blue cheese or even a sharp cheddar would be good.
Bacon – Bacon can be omitted for a vegetarian salad or replaced with rotisserie or grilled chicken.
Dried Cranberries – Dried cherries would be an excellent substitution.
Fall Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ounces mixed greens or lettuce of choice
- 6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
- 3 hard boiled eggs, quartered
- 1 1/2 cups diced roasted butternut squash
- 1 apple, cored and diced
- 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- 3 tablespoon pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the diced butternut squash on a foil lined sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the squash at 400° F. for about 20 minutes or until fork tender.
- In a small bowl or jar whisk together the ingredients for the vinaigrette.
- On a large serving platter or bowl, add in the mixed greens. Arrange the roasted butternut squash, apple, bacon, hard boiled eggs, dried cranberries, goat cheese and pepitas on top of the greens. Serve the vinaigrette on the side with the salad.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 345Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 163mgSodium: 539mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 6gSugar: 21gProtein: 16g
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