Fall Harvest Salad

5 from 9 votes

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 maple dijon dressing, this Fall harvest salad is perfect for lunch, a weeknight meal, or Thanksgiving salad.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 386kcal

Author: Kathy Carmichael

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
½ red onion diced
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice for apples, so they don't brown
1 cup grape tomatoes sliced in halves
1 English cucumber Cut into coins, then quartered.
½ cup Roasted Pecans or Raw Nuts of Choice

Dressing

1 recipe Maple dijon Dressing

Instructions

Cooking the Quinoa

Rinse 1 cup quinoa.
Combine 2 cups water, rinsed quinoa, and add ½ teaspoon salt.
Bring to a boil uncovered.
Cover and reduce to medium-low.
Cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Using a fork, fluff and let it cool.

Roasting the 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 the 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 the 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 Tomatoes, and Romaine lettuce.
Divide (4 salads) and evenly distribute ingredients throughout the salad.
Add the roasted pecans (or nuts of 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 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.

Nutrition