Sweet and savory flavors fill this fall harvest salad recipe. Roasted sweet potatoes and crisp apples provide the sweetness, while the red onion, arugula, and other vegetables, provide the savory taste. Dressed in a smokey dijon dressing, this Fall harvest salad is perfect for lunch, a weeknight meal, or a Thanksgiving salad.
Fall is in the air, and fall harvest salad with smokey maple dijon dressing tastes like Autumn in a bowl. Whenever I make a new entree salad, I combine sweet and savory for a delicious meal. My fall harvest salad recipe tastes incredible because of the combination of ingredients dressed in a fall harvest salad dressing. This maple dijon dressing recipe is a keeper.
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A combination of raw and cooked fall vegetables provides sweetness, such as sweet potatoes and honey crisp apples. However, the arugula and red onion provide a contrasting element, creating a sweet and savory salad.
Even though parts of the salad are cooked, this salad is served cold. Or, serve the salad warm.
The crisp, fresh grape tomatoes and English cucumbers add color and vibrance to this fall salad.
I also chose to dress this fall harvest salad with a sweet, savory, smokey maple dijon dressing topped with raw or roasted pecans.
Salad Ingredients
- Organic Arugula: Arugula is a peppery, spicy, and slightly tart leafy green.
- Romaine Lettuce: Romaine ranked among the top 10 "powerhouse foods" by the CDC, which is classified based on their associations with reduced risk for chronic diseases. It's an especially great source of vitamin A — one cup has 81% of your daily intake — as well as some B vitamins.
- Cooked Quinoa: I used red quinoa because I love the texture, nuttiness, and beautiful color.
- Sweet Potato: Sweet potatoes are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, sweet potatoes — especially the orange and purple varieties — are rich in antioxidants that protect your body from free radicals
- Honey Crisp Apples: The Honeycrisp apple is known for its honey-sweet flavor. This apple is juicier than most apples because the cells of this apple are much larger than other varieties. Each bite is a refreshing mouthful of apple goodness that keeps you wanting more! You do get notes of a pear flavor with this fruit.
- Lemon Juice: I always use fresh lemon juice whenever available. I love the fresh citrus flavor, but it keeps the apples from browning.
- Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes have fewer seeds than other tomatoes, and they are the perfect size to cut in half for the perfect bite every time.
- English Cucumber: English cucumbers have fewer seeds and are less watery than regular cucumbers.
- Roasted Pecans: Roasted pecans are crunchy and delicious when added to salads.
Salad Ingredient Substitutions
- Choose any greens, such as spinach, collard greens, or kale.
- Couscous or barley is often substituted for quinoa in recipes.
- Butternut squash is similar to sweet potatoes.
- Choose any sweet apples in season.
- If fresh lemons are;t available, use bottled lemon juice.
- Cherry tomatoes are similar to grape tomatoes in size and have fewer seeds than other tomatoes.
- Persian cucumbers are similar to English cucumbers. Although smaller than English cucumbers, Persian cucumbers have few seeds.
- Skip the nuts or add raw walnuts or almonds.
Since the sweet potatoes and quinoa are cooked, allow them to cool completely before adding them to the salad unless you are eating the salad warm. For example, preparing the quinoa and sweet potatoes daily saves time preparing the harvest salad.
Dressing Ingredients
- Raw Cashews: Raw cashews supply the creaminess in the dressing. However, see the substitutions below for nut-free options.
- Water: Water thins the dressing instead of using oil.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup supplies sweetness without using sugar.
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard supplies tanginess to the dressing.
- Liquid Smoke: I used hickory-flavored liquid smoke.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider pairs perfectly with the harvest salad ingredients.
Dressing Ingredient Substitutions
- Choose silken tofu instead of cashews and reduce water by ½ the amount.
- Try sunflower seeds instead of cashews.
- Or, use white beans and ½ the amount of water.
- Agave nectar or date syrup replaces maple syrup in recipes.
- Stone ground mustard is similar to dijon mustard in the flavor profile.
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika = ½ teaspoon liquid smoke. You could also add another ½ teaspoon of regular paprika for color.
- White wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar have a similar acidity, making for an easy swap. Or, try champagne vinegar.
Recipe FAQs
Crimson Crisp is very similar in taste to a Honey Crisp apple. Fuji apples are also another option.
Pecans are a good source of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which help lower blood pressure. Most of the fat found in pecans is a healthy type called monounsaturated fat.
Butternut squash has a lot of powerful antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. Antioxidants help prevent or slow cellular damage and reduce inflammation, which may reduce your risk of several chronic diseases.
Tips
- Cut the apples and toss in lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into uniform cubes to cook evenly.
- Soak cashews for the dressing unless using a quality high-speed blender.
- Another way to prepare cashews for blending in dressing is to boil them for 10 minutes and drain them.
- Prepare the maple dijon dressing recipe in advance to chill for serving on the salad.
- For spicy pecans, toss raw pecans in a small amount of aquafaba, sprinkle with cinnamon, cumin, and salt, and roast for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
Take a bite of this fall harvest salad dressed in smokey dijon mustard dressing.
Great Vegan Salads to Enjoy
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📖 Recipe
Fall Harvest Salad
Ingredients
SALAD
- 8 ounces Organic Arugula
- 8 ounces Romaine Lettuce
- 2 ½ cups cooked quinoa 1 cup uncooked
- 1 large Sweet Potato cut into slivers
- 2 large honey crisp apples cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice for apples, so they don't brown
- 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in halves
- 1 English cucumber. quartered
- ½ cup Roasted Pecans or Raw Nuts of Choice
DRESSING:
- ½ cup raw cashews sunflower seeds, silken tofu or white beans (reduce water by half if using tofu or beans)
- ½ cup water
- 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke I used hickory flavor
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Cooking the Quinoa
- Rinse 1 cup quinoa.
- Combine 2 cups water, rinsed quinoa, and add ½ teaspoon salt.
- Bring to a boil uncover.
- Cover and reduce to medium-low.
- Cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Using a fork, fluff and let cool
Roasting sweet Potatoes
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel sweet potato or leave skins on.
- Cut the sweet potato into similar sized bite-sized cubes.
- Place cut sweet potato on a silicone mat, or parchment-covered pan.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool.
Salad Dressing
- Drain the cashews if soaked.
- Combine all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend the ingredients on high until smooth.
- Refrigerate the dressing until ready to use.
Dressing Variation (if you are allergic to nuts)
- Use ½ cup silken tofu and reduce water to ¼ cup
Salad
- Cut the apples (leave the skin on) and place in a container with lemon juice; shake and set aside (this will prevent your apples from browning).
- Cut and prepare remaining vegetables.
Assembling the Salad: 4 Large Shallow Bowls
- Place ½ cup to ¾ cup quinoa in the center of a shallow bowl.
- Place Arugula around the edges of the bowl, leaving the quinoa in the middle.
- Add cooled sweet potatoes, apples, red onions, cucumbers, grape Ttmatoes, and Romaien lettuce.
- Divide (4 salads) and evenly distribute ingredients throughout the salad.
- Add teh roasted pecans (or nut soy choice) in the center of each bowl.
- Drizzle with smokey maple dijon dressing.
Notes
- Cut the apples and toss in lemon juice to prevent browning
- Cut the sweet potatoes into uniform cubes to cook evenly
- Soak cashews for the dressing unless using a quality high-speed blender.
- Another way to prepare cashews for blending in dressing is to boil them for 10 minutes and then drain them.
- Prepare the maple dijon dressing recipe in advance to chill for serving on the salad.
- For spicy pecans, toss raw pecans in a small amount of aquafaba and sprinkle with cinnamon, cumin, and salt, and roast for 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
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