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This fall roasted vegetable salad is savory, salty, and a little sweet. Roasted butternut squash and green beans, pancetta, dried cranberries, pecans, are tossed together and drizzled with apple cider vinaigrette. It’s the perfect fall side dish and a must for Thanksgiving!
If you love roasted vegetable salads you have to make this roasted butternut squash and brussels sprouts salad!
Why You’ll Love Fall Roasted Vegetable Salad
Easy to make – The vegetables and bacon all roast on one sheet pan and while they roast you can make the apple cider vinaigrette. If you’re short on time, the salad will still have plenty of flavor without the vinaigrette.
Simple and flavorful – It’s amazing how roasting transforms the flavor of veggies! Pair them with the salty pancetta, sweet dried cranberries, and crunchy pecans, and you have an amazing fall salad.
Holiday recipe – This is a fantastic salad to make for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even New Year’s Eve! It’s colorful, uses seasonal ingredients, and goes great with turkey, ham, or prime rib.
Ingredients
- Butternut squash and green beans – Classic fall veggies. See below for other vegetables that can be used.
- Pancetta – An Italian salt cured pork belly. Similar to bacon, but it hasn’t been smoked.
- Dried cranberries and pecans – Sweet, chewy, nutty, and crunchy. They add a nice contrasting flavor and texture to the roasted vegetables.
- Rosemary and Thyme – Fresh herbs bring this salad to life!
- Apple cider vinaigrette – A little sweet, a little tangy, and pairs beautifully with the flavors in this salad.
How to Make Roasted Vegetable Salad
Preheat your oven and prep the vegetables. Add the butternut squash and pancetta to a rimmed sheet pan and toss everything together with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 12-15 minutes.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and add the green beans to it. Toss everything together and then roast again for another 12-15 minutes or until the green beans start to shrivel a bit and the squash is tender.
While the veggies are roasting, make the apple cider vinaigrette. You can also make this several days in advance.
Remove the veggies from the oven and add them to a serving bowl. Toss in the fresh herbs, pecans, and dried cranberries. Pour on some of the vinaigrette and then toss everything together.
Recipe Tips
- Cut the butternut squash in approximately equal size cubes so they roast evenly.
- The squash and green beans can be prepped and stored in an airtight container in the fridge 1-2 days in advance.
- The vinaigrette can be made 3-4 days in advance. Shake well and if the olive oil has solidified, warm it briefly in the microwave.
- Don’t crowd the baking sheet. If you need to, roast the green beans on a separate sheet pan.
- Buy pre-diced pancetta to make things easy. I used the Colameco’s brand that I found at Whole Foods.
Substitutions and Variations
- Pancetta can be substituted with bacon.
- Haricot verts, also called French green beans, are my preference for this salad. They’re more narrow and longer in length than green beans and have a slightly fresher flavor.
- Dried cranberries can be replaced with dried cherries.
- If you don’t want to make the apple cider vinaigrette you can serve the salad without it or try substituting with the balsamic vinaigrette that I used in this butternut squash orzo salad.
- Make the salad vegan/vegetarian and omit the pancetta.
- If you love cheese, add crumbled goat cheese or feta.
Is This a Hot or Cold Salad?
The salad should be served hot or warm. I don’t recommend serving it cold because of the pancetta. Nobody wants cold pancetta.
Storage and Reheating
Storage – The roasted vegetables can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you think there will be leftovers, I recommend keeping the pecans out of the salad and adding them in separately so they don’t get soggy.
Reheating – You can reheat the roasted vegetables on a parchment paper lined rimmed sheet pan at 350° F. for about 15 minutes. You can also reheat the salad in the microwave, however the veggies won’t retain any of their crispness.
More Roasted Vegetables Recipes
Did you make this fall roasted vegetable salad? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Roasted Vegetable Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetable Salad
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 pound haricots verts or green beans, ends trimmed
- 4 ounces uncured diced pancetta
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Add the butternut squash and pancetta onto a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I used approximately 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Spread the squash into a single layer and roast for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and add the green beans (or haricots verts) to it. Toss everything together. There should be enough grease from the pancetta to coat the green beans. If not drizzle with extra olive oil. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and roast for another 12-15 minutes or until the squash is tender and the green beans have shriveled slightly.
- While the veggies roast make the apple cider vinaigrette.
- Remove the roasted veggies and pancetta from the oven and dump them into a serving bowl. Sprinkle on the chopped rosemary and thyme, dried cranberries, and pecans. Drizzle on some of the vinaigrette and toss everything together. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and additional vinaigrette if needed. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
