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beautiful harvest salad recipe on a platter with cranberry dressing, candied pecans, butternut squash, goat cheese, cucumber slices, pepitas, red onions
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5 from 2 votes

Harvest Salad Recipe with Cranberry Dressing

This Harvest Salad with Cranberry Lemon Vinaigrette will become your favorite fall and winter salad. A bed of arugula and spinach topped with roasted butternut squash, goat cheese, red onions, pepitas, cucumbers and homemade sugar free candied pecans. Top it all off with a sugar free cranberry lemon vinaigrette, which creates a beautiful to look at masterpiece that tastes amazing, and is healthy for you too! Perfect for low carb diets this holiday season.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 405kcal
Author: Briana

Ingredients

  • 4 servings stovetop low carb candied pecans  (about 160 grams )
  • 432 grams butternut squash, cut into pieces (roughly 2 cups, about half of a large squash, or 1 medium squash)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon dried sage
  • 8 ounces arugula and spinach mix
  • 2 whole Persian cucumbers, sliced into rounds
  • ½ medium red onion (about 75 grams)
  • 1 ounce pepitas (raw or roasted)
  • 8 ounces goat cheese
  • 5 servings cranberry salad dressing (or to taste, about 5 ounces)

Instructions

Make the Cranberry Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:

  • Prepare your sugar free cranberry lemon vinaigrette if you haven’t already. It can be prepared up to a week ahead of time. It comes together in less than 5 minutes in the food processor or blender, but it tastes best if chilled. So make that first, so you can keep it in the fridge while the rest of the salad comes together.

Roast the Butternut Squash:

  • First, preheat your oven to 425°F. While your oven is preheating, peel and cut up a small to medium sized butternut squash and cut it into bite sized pieces. Place the squash in a large bowl, then melt your butter and combine it with salt, pepper and dried sage, then drizzle it over the squash. Toss with a rubber spatula, then transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pieces are golden brown.

Make the Candied Pecans:

  • Next, you will want to prepare your candied pecans, if you haven’t already. You can prepare them up to 10 days ahead of time. They take just 15 minutes to prepare in total, and 10 of those minutes are spent resting. Once they come out of the skillet, set them aside while you put the rest of the salad together.

Put the Harvest Salad together:

  • If desired, you can toss part of salad and layer it on the bottom of your salad bowl or serving plate. Then, layer the rest of the ingredients on top. Start with the greens, followed by red onions, candied pecans, cucumbers, pepitas, and butternut squash. Drizzle with dressing, then add goat cheese.
  • This salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. If anticipating leftovers, SKIP dressing the salad! Dress only when it's time to eat.

Notes

  • We made our own dressing and candied pecans, and the nutrition facts reflect this. Please be aware that if you alter the ingredients, this will impact the nutrition facts. 
  • Traditional pecans can be used in place of candied pecans. 
  • To take the "bite" off of red onions, soak them in a bowl of water, then rinse before serving. 
  • If preparing ahead of time or you plan to have leftovers, DON'T add the dressing, and instead only add dressing right before serving. 

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 542mg | Potassium: 459mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 9177IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 2mg