• Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Familystyle Food

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
    • press
    • permissions and copyright
    • disclaimers and disclosures
    • privacy policy
  • Collaborate
    • Portfolio
  • Resources
    • How to Stock a Basic Healthy Pantry
    • The Healthy Pantry Checklist
    • Familystyle Food Amazon Store
    • Six Essential Spice Mixes Free E-Book
    • Seasonal Produce Planner
    • photography
  • Contact
  • Shop
Home - Salad - Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

An easy vegetarian main dish salad you can make on one sheet pan: Spicy roasted butternut squash seasoned with North African chili paste, feta cheese and pomegranate. 

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

Tell me – is there a butternut squash taking up quiet residence in a corner of your kitchen?

I feel you.

Maybe you can relate: I’ll buy an attractive assortment of winter squash and put them on the counter in a basket or something.

Boom! Fall decorating is complete.

Trouble is weeks (ok, months) go by and that squash is still sitting there, waiting to be eaten.

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta Cheese

Well, here’s a fun and super-tasty recipe to make with your old butternut (hopefully not that old).

This dish is pretty hands-off to make, with the squash and seasonings roasting on one sheet pan. 

Here I will humbly submit that one of the best ways to cook butternut squash is to roast it.

When it’s done — all golden and tender —mix the sweet roasted butternut squash with some salad greens, feta cheese, pomegranate seeds and pistachios to complete the dish.

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

The slightly sweet, earthy nature of butternut squash practically begs to be paired with bold, spicy flavors, which is exactly what harissa paste has to offer.

It’s pretty easy to make your own harissa — I have a recipe for homemade harissa here — but otherwise you can buy prepared harissa in most supermarkets and grocery stores.

How to make homemade harissa

What’s harissa?

Harissa is a tasty North African chili paste, made with not-too-hot dried chilies, garlic, spices and olive oil. It has a mellow heat and deep, complex flavor.

You can use harissa to spice up just about anything — it’s delicious on vegetables, especially.

One of our favorites here on the blog is this Roasted Cauliflower with Harissa Chickpeas.

Harissa works wonders when combined with everyday basic condiments like mayo or hummus to add an immediate zippy punch to a sandwich spread or dip.

Tips for roasting butternut squash

To make the process of roasting butternut squash just about foolproof, follow these basic steps:

  • Preheat your oven for at least 20 minutes before roasting. This ensures the squash will cook faster and evenly.
  • Use a shallow baking sheet with a rim, like this one.  A deeper pan, like a roasting pan, won’t allow enough air circulation to allow surface browning and caramelization (which is the secret to great-tasting roasted anything.)
  • Line the pan with piece of parchment paper for easy clean up. I like these natural pre-cut parchment sheets.

How to Prep and Peel Butternut Squash for Roasting How to Prep and Peel Butternut Squash for Roasting

How to prep and peel a butternut squash

The biggest question is do you really need to peel butternut squash?

Well, the answer is no, not really.

The skin is totally edible, but depending on the age and size of the squash, the skin can sometimes be tough.

To keep prepping easy, I recommend a compromise. 

Which is, peel the squash in not-too-perfect swipes with a regular swivel peeler, leaving some random pieces of skin on the squash.

That way, you get a bit of extra texture and you don’t have to go crazy.

  1. Lay the squash on your work surface and run the peeler along the edge of it, removing the skin in strips.
  2. Trim off the very top of the squash (with the stem) and about a 1/4-inch slice off the bottom, using a large sharp knife.
  3. Slice the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out most of the seeds with a spoon or use your finger to pull them out. Don’t worry about getting every last seed out. They actually add a bit of crunch to the salad when they’re roasted.

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

The salad makes a perfectly satisfying vegetarian salad to serve as a main dish. 

You can toss in some warm cooked grain like brown rice, quinoa or farro to round it out, if you like.

Or, if you’re not vegetarian, serve it along with some cooked chicken, fish or shrimp.

More Healthy One Dish Winter Squash Recipes:

  • Creamy Dairy-Free Butternut Squash Soup 
  • Harvest Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri
  • Pumpkin Pasta in Parmesan Garlic Cream Sauce
Yield: 4 servings

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

Roasted Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

This spicy Harissa Roasted Butternut Squash Salad is an easy vegetarian main dish salad made on one sheet pan, seasoned with North African chili paste, feta cheese, pomegranate seeds or dried cranberries.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, halved and seeded
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons harissa paste (here's a recipe for homemade harissa)
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 cups mixed salad greens
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (or other soft cheese, like goat)
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds *
  • 1/4 cup chopped shelled pistachios

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with the rack positioned in the center.
  2. Slice the squash into 1 1/2-inch chunks and place on a rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment if you have it.
  3. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the harissa and 1 teaspoon salt. Roast the squash until it's golden brown and tender, 40 - 45 minutes, stirring everything around at about the 20-minute mark.
  4. Transfer the squash to large serving bowl and mix in the red wine vinegar, remaining tablespoon olive oil and the greens (they will wilt slightly). Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, vinegar or oil if you like.
  5. Sprinkle the salad with the feta cheese, pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Enjoy!

Notes

* To remove the seeds (arils) from a pomegranate, slice it half. Break each half into quarters. Holding each piece over a bowl, use your fingers to release the seeds from each section.

If you don't have pomegranate arils, sprinkle the salad with dried cranberries or cherries.

Inspired by this recipe.

Add some cooked whole grain like warm brown rice, quinoa or farro or top with a piece of simply cooked chicken or seafood for a non-vegetarian.

© Familystyle Food
Cuisine: vegetarian / Category: Salad

Pin this recipe:

Harissa Butternut Squash Salad with Feta

Salad, Vegetables fall, feta, squash, Vegetarian, winter

About Familystyle Food

Hi there, I’m karen.

Home chef, food photographer, certified holistic nutritionist.

I’m a mom of two living and working in the NYC suburbs. When I’m not creating recipes, you can find me snuggling with my dog, Poppy and eating homemade popcorn.

Learn more here.

Get all the recipes here.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Previous Post: « Curry Coconut Chicken with Cauliflower {Slow Cooker/Instant Pot}
Next Post: How to Make Homemade Almond Milk »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search for a recipe:

Welcome to Familystyle Food

You'll find tasty, healthy, and professionally-tested recipes inspired by fresh seasonal produce. Read more...

Fall Food, Family Style

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Acorn Squash with Brown Butter

Roasted Acorn Squash with Brown Butter

Recipe Categories

Footer

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact

search for a recipe

follow along

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2019 — Familystyle Food • All rights reserved. • Privacy Policy • Disclaimer

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases