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Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri

4.83 from 17 community reviews

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This colorful roasted root vegetable salad recipe is absolutely bursting with flavor! Combine carrots, butternut squash and potatoes, roast them on a sheet pan and toss with fresh greens and a zesty herb chimichurri sauce.

Photo of a large serving bowl and spoon with chunks of roasted root vegetables tossed with spinach, herbs and chimichurri dressing.

This is root vegetable salad is like a rainbow of color — root veggies are all roasted together and tossed with an herby/spicy chimichurri salad dressing you’ll want to pour on everything.

This dish brings that breath of freshness and vibrancy you might be craving as the weather turns cooler, when a summery roasted vegetable salad is a distant memory.

In the kitchen, the cooler months call for a shift toward the world of root vegetables —  carrots, sweet potatoes and butternut squash in particular — all with the color of spectacular autumn leaves.

Chunky root vegetable salad with carrots, potatoes and spinach tossed with wooden spoons.

Roasting root vegetables in the oven

Roasting root vegetables is a simple technique that transforms them into sweet nuggets. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy them than in a salad! The steps outlined here are the easiest way to deal with a harvest of root vegetables.

  • Peel them with a sturdy swivel peeler
  • Slice into bite-size chunks (be sure to use a sharp chef’s knife for this step)
  • Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and put them on a sheet pan.
  • Roast for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees, until the veggies are tender and browned on the edges.

Chimichurri sauce for the win!

Photo of a small dish serving fresh chimichurri dressing.

Hearty root vegetables tolerate a stronger hand with seasoning. I love to spice things up! For this recipe, I made a chimichurri sauce to contrast with the natural sweetness of the root vegetables.

Chimichurri is a delicious South American condiment to enjoy as a marinade or topping for just about anything. It’s a lot like a loose pesto sauce or herby dressing in consistency, and it adds a ton of bright flavor to this salad.

This zesty sauce ranks very high in my personal category of magically tasty green sauce like salsa verde and homemade basil pesto.

Fall Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri Dressing

Serving idea: You can easily make a meal of this salad by serving it over cooked whole grains (barley, farro, brown rice) or as a vegetarian side dish fit for a holiday table.

Fall Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri Dressing

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Chimichurri

Karen Tedesco
This colorful roasted vegetable salad recipe is absolutely bursting with flavor! Winter vegetables including carrots, butternut squash and potatoes are oven-roasted before they’re tossed with fresh greens and a zesty chimichurri dressing.
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4.83 from 17 community reviews
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

Chimichurri Sauce:

  • 1 green onion, white and light green sections, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 small fresh red chili, finely chopped or 1/2- 1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) red wine vinegar
  • cup (20 g) Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • cup (20 g) fresh cilantro, chopped
  • cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

  • 2 cups (280 g) peeled butternut squash, sliced into 1 1/2" cubes
  • 1 (226 g) sweet potato, sliced into 1 1/2" cubes
  • 1 bunch baby carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch sticks
  • 2 yellow potatoes (such as Yukon Gold) , sliced into 1 1/2" cubes
  • ½ cup sliced red onion
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 1 cup radicchio leaves, torn into pieces

Instructions 

For the Chimichurri Sauce:

  • Put the green onion, garlic, chili and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Pour the vinegar over and let sit 10 minutes.
  • Add the parsley and cilantro to the bowl and stir. Pour over the olive oil and stir again to blend.

For the salad:

  • Heat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Combine the squash, sweet potato, carrots and yellow potato on a large rimmed baking sheet. Pour the oil over and add ½ teaspoon salt. Toss everything together and roast 20 minutes.
  • Add the red onion to the vegetables and stir the mixture around. Roast an additional 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and golden brown.
  • Put the vegetables in a large serving bowl along with the spinach and radicchio.  Pour about half the sauce over and toss together. Serve with additional sauce on the side.

Karen’s Notes and Tips

  • To add variety to the salad, it’s fun to cut the vegetables into different bite-sized shapes — half moons, cubes and stubby matchsticks.
  • The roasted vegetables and sauce keep well made a few days in advance. Briefly warm the vegetables before tossing with the greens and chimichurri.
  • Save any leftover chimichurri in the refrigerator 3-4 days.
Optional salad mix-ins:
  • Crumbled soft cheese like feta, goat or blue
  • Sliced raw or roasted cherry tomatoes
  • Toasted pecans or sliced almonds
  • Tender sprigs of fresh parsley and cilantro

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 1304mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 33731IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

Recipe developer Karen Tedesco of the popular website Familystyle Food in her kitchen making a kale salad.

Hey, I’m Karen

Creator of Familystyle Food

I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.

4.83 from 17 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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8 Comments

  1. Jeff Herman says:

    5 stars
    I enjoyed reading this recipe Karen. I have a question. Each year we host a happy hour featuring tapas style food from a country. This year we have selected Argentina. I am cooking for 30 people and need to do a bit more prepping in advance. Will the salad be compromised at all if I were to roast the vegetables the night before and refrigerate until the following day? If not, how about if I roasted them 4 hours before?

    1. Hi Jeff – that a fun idea! Yes, you could roast the vegetables the day before but they taste much better warm or at room temperature. You could reheat them at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes before serving. Otherwise they’d be fine roasted 4 hours ahead. I hope you enjoy!

  2. I made this last night and it was so good. Substituted delicata squash for butternut. Nice welcoming fall salad! Voted for you too, Karen! 🙂

  3. Mike Wargo says:

    do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe?

    1. Hi Mike – I don’t calculate nutrition breakdown for my recipes, but you can use an online calculator.

  4. 5 stars
    This is my absolutely favorite kind of salad! We will be making it soon at our house! XO