Roasted Carrot and Butternut Squash Salad with Mixed Greens, Extra Sharp Cheddar, and Pine Nuts
I wanted to do something different than our normal House Salad so I roasted some carrot and butternut squash, once they were cool, I added it to some mixed greens, cubes of extra sharp cheddar, toasted pine nuts, and dried cranberries. I tossed this salad with our favorite–Fran’s Vinaigrette. It was really delicious! I loved the sweetness of the roasted carrots & butternut squash and nutty toasted pine nuts, and salty cheddar together with the tangy vinaigrette. I noticed both my kids ate every bite of their salad and they seemed to especially love the roasted veggies – they said it tasted great. My husband and I both loved it and it paired nicely with the Parmesan Chicken and Brown-Butter Mashed Red Potatoes.
How to Make a Roasted Carrot and Butternut Squash Salad with Mixed Greens, Extra Sharp Cheddar, and Pine Nuts
Make Fran’s Vinaigrette; set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Place the diced carrots and butternut squash on the baking sheet then drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Toss to coat evenly. Place into the oven and roast, flipping halfway through cooking, for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Place the mixed greens in the salad then top with roasted carrots and squash, extra sharp cheddar, toasted pine nuts, and dried cranberries. Toss with vinaigrette, to taste. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Ingredients
- Fran's Vinaigrette click link up above for recipe
- 1 cup of carrots peeled and diced
- 1 cup of butternut squash peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 4 cups of mixed greens
- Extra sharp cheddar diced
- 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1 tbsp dried cranberries
Instructions
- Make Fran's Vinaigrette - click the link up above for the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Place the diced carrots and butternut squash on the baking sheet then drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Toss to coat evenly. Place into the oven and roast, flipping halfway through cooking, for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Place the mixed greens in the salad then top with roasted carrots and squash, extra sharp cheddar, toasted pine nuts, and dried cranberries. Toss with vinaigrette, to taste. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
We eat a lot of salad in our house, and I don’t know why I’ve never thought to add roasted veggies. This looks amazing, Pam!
I am a huge fan of all sorts of salads. This looks fantastic with roasted veggies.
Sounds like a great recipe. I love all the add-ins!
It looks like a nice salad. I love salads with a spinach base.
Love this salad look delicious!!
What an interesting salad. I bet is was delicious.
good.
I have to eat it….. 🙂
Saluti da Letychicche,
http://letychicche.blogspot.it
This is my kind of salad! The roasted veggies are such a great addition.
Great idea for using up carrots, we accidentally double bought and now have 6 lbs of carrots in the fridge. I like my carrots roasted very dark, almost burned looking. I probably have to cook them for almost twice as long as yours.
Salads are always welcome for me and this one sounds so great with roasted Vegs. wow!!
This was wonderful. Loved the roasted veggies on the salad and Fran’s vinaigrette worked so well with it. Your blog is one of my favorites.