Introducing this roasted fall harvest salad with crispy chickpeas, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a creamy apple tahini dressing. What more could you want?!
I find it super hard to eat salads when the weather becomes cooler because, let’s be honest, eating cold salad leaves just doesn’t hit like it does in summer. Which is why this fall harvest salad has become my go-to fall/winter salad recipe.
This easy fall harvest salad with quinoa is warm, cozy, and loaded with all the fun fall veggies. So you’ll get tons of veggies and greens but feel like you’re digging into a grain bowl instead of a salad.
The base of this salad is dino kale and quinoa, topped with roasted chickpeas and squash, toasted pumpkin seeds, and golden raisins. And if that didn’t sound good enough, everything gets tossed together in a sweet and creamy apple tahini dressing!
All in all, this bowl is balanced, nutrient-dense, and tastes phenomenal!
Ok, ok, enough said. Let’s get into how to make this roasted fall harvest salad.
P.S. don’t be intimidated by the ingredients list, most of it is spices and this salad is actually super easy to make.
What You Need To Make This Roasted Fall Harvest Salad
Use this as your grocery list at the store!!
- Honey butter squash: I found the cutest mini butternut squash at Whole Foods and had to try it. My verdict; honey butter squash is so much better than butternut squash. Mainly because it’s small, so nothing goes to waste. Plus the flavor is much more concentrated and the texture isn’t mushy.
- Chickpeas: I used chickpeas from a can.
- Dino kale: This variety tastes best!
- Quinoa
- Pumpkin seeds
- Golden raisins: I get these at Trader Joe’s, but a good substitute would be cranberries or chopped medjool dates. If you do use cranberries, make sure they’re unsweetened, as most grocery store brands have tons of added sugar and oil.
- Lemons
- Olive oil
- Spices: Such as cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, garlic, and onion powder.
- Kosher salt
What You Need To Make The Harvest Salad Dressing
The dressing for this fall harvest salad is so easy. Everything gets thrown in a blender (or you can use an immersion blender). Here’s what you’ll need.
- Honeycrisp apple: You just need one small apple. Any variety will work, but honey crispy tastes best!
- Tahini: Soom is my favorite tahini, but Whole Foods 365 tahini is also great quality and it’s organic.
- Maple syrup: Trust me on this. I know there is already a lot of sweetness coming from the apple, but the maple syrup adds another layer of flavor to this maple tahini dressing. Plus, maple is synonymous with fall imo.
- Lemon juice
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I use any type of squash? Absolutely! Kabocha squash and butternut squash are the best substitutes.
- How do I make fluffy quinoa? Linking my quinoa tutorial here with all my tips and tricks (be sure to read the caption of the video).
- Is there a substitute for the golden raisins? Chopped Medjool dates or cranberries both work well. Although nothing compares to golden raisins. If you do use cranberries, make sure they’re unsweetened, as most grocery store brands have tons of added sugar and oil.
- How do I toast raw pumpkin seeds? Preheat your oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on the tray and bake them in the preheated oven for 5 minutes until they just turn golden. Keep an eye on them because they burn very fast!
- The dressing isn’t smooth, is this normal? Totally normal! The apple has tiny bits of fiber that won’t blend completely, so the dressing won’t look super smooth. But it’ll taste fantastic!
- Can I meal-prep this salad? Absolutely, just keep the dressing separate until your ready to eat the salad. I recommend warming the salad in the oven as it does tastes best warm, not cold.
Even More Seasonal Fall Recipes
If you like this fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing, you’ll love these healthy fall dishes.
Sharing Is Caring!
If you make this recipe, please leave a review and rating below. And don’t forget to snap a picture and tag me on either Instagram or TikTok (if you’re not already following me, make sure to for new recipes and wellness tips)!
PrintRoasted Fall Harvest Salad
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Description
Introducing this roasted fall harvest salad with crispy chickpeas, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a creamy apple tahini dressing.
Ingredients
Chickpeas & Squash
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 honeynut squash, cubed*
- Olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
Salad
- ¼ cup quinoa cooked according to package instruction**
- 1 head dino kale
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Large pinch of kosher salt or flaky salt
- ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds***
- ¼ cup golden raisins****
Apple Tahini Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp water
- ½ honeycrisp apple
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ¼ tsp kosher salt (use more if needed)
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the chickpeas and squash onto the pan and drizzle over a generous amount of olive oil, followed by the spices. Toss to coat thoroughly. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the chickpeas are crispy and the squash has a slight char.
- Next, cook the quinoa according to package instructions. I linked my quinoa tutorial in the recipe notes below if you want tips on making super fluffy quinoa!
- While the chickpeas and squash bake and the quinoa cooks, make the rest of the salad. Remove the stalk from the kale leaves and finely mince the kale, the smaller the better. Add the chopped kale into a large serving bowl, drizzle over the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Using your hands, massage the kale until it’s shrunk in size by half. Set aside.
- To make the dressing, simply add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender if you want to minimize clean up which is what I prefer to do.
- To assemble, add the cooked quinoa, roasted squash and chickpeas into the bowl of kale, along with the toasted pumpkin seeds and golden raisins. Drizzle over a generous amount of the dressing and toss to combine. Adjust salt and dressing to preference and enjoy this salad immediately!
Notes
*Kabocha squash and butternut squash are the best substitutes for honeynut squash. In total, you need 1 cup of uncooked cubed squash.
**Linking my quinoa tutorial video here with tips and tricks for fluffy quinoa.
***To toast raw pumpkin seeds, preheat your oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the pumpkin seeds out on the tray and bake them in the preheated oven for 5 minutes until they just turn golden. Keep an eye on them because they burn very fast!
****Chopped Medjool dates or cranberries are both great substitutes for the golden raisins. If you do use cranberries, make sure they’re unsweetened, as most grocery store brands have tons of added sugar and oil.
Alyssa K says
Great salad! I usually don’t make recipes that don’t have reviews, but this one was worth the risk. I ended up chopping the remainder of the apple and added it to the salad. My husband enjoyed it too!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Awww so happy to hear you both enjoyed it! Thank you so so much for leaving a review, means the world!
Brandy says
This was sooo good. We are in full on fall weather where I live so I was wanting something cozy, clean and flavorful. This was it!!! It’s definitely the flavor of fall. My husband is not a salad person because “he’s always hungry after”; however, he enjoyed this one because it was hearty and filled him up.
I substituted butternut squash because I already had one that needed to be used but otherwise followed the recipe exactly- will definitely make again.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
So happy you both liked the recipe (ultimate compliment that a non-salad lover like it too haha). Thank you so much for sharing Brandy!!
Caroline says
Delicious! Dressing was a breeze to make in the Vitamix. Next time will add some goat cheese as well!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
OMG GENIUS IDEA TO ADD GOAT CHEESE!!! So happy you liked the recipe, thank you for sharing Caroline!!
Pluto says
How many cups is the kale in total?
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Depends on how big the bunch I buy is, but I’d guess about 5-6 cups (loosely packed)
Catey Brannan says
This is ridiculously good! We put the apple in the salad and added pomegranate seeds. I love it so much and can’t wait to make it again. Even just the dressing is so tasty! Thanks for this!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Awww so happy to hear you liked it Catey! The pomegranate addition sounds amazing!!
Ann says
I used butternut and curly kale, because that’s what was in my CSA, and chopped-up apple instead of raisins, because I’m drowning in apples from my CSA and prefer those to raisins. Dried figs would be good, too. I also toasted the squash seeds instead of pumpkin seeds–no sense throwing them away. When I run out of those, I’ll probably use my maple/cayenne toasted walnuts because I love those in salads. Do you peel the apple you put in the dressing? I didn’t, and it was fine–not smooth, but tasty. I’ll probably add a bit more maple syrup; I like my salad dressings a little on the sweet side.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Love that you were able to use your CSA produce!!!
I typically don’t peel the apple, but I do have a high-speed blender (my Vitamix) which does make the dressing pretty smooth.
Cameron says
LOVE this! The spice blend on the squash is incredible.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Yaaay, thrilled you like it! Thank you so much for sharing a review Cameron!!
Q says
Looks amazing! I’m allergic to apples – any substitute suggestion for the dressing?
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Pear would taste amazing (I’d use about 1/2 a medium-sized pear).
Karen Moorhead says
I loved this salad! This is the first time I made tahini dressing and I’ve wanted to for a while. I really loved the whole combo, as did my boyfriend.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Awwww so happy you both liked it; thank you so much for leaving a review!! 🙂
Alexa says
I loved this recipe! I was happy to find organic honeynut squash at my local Meijer. I used dates instead of the raisins and it was fantastic. Made great leftovers as well. I will be making again.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Yaaay! Thrilled you liked it Alexa, the dates sound amazing, will have to try that!!
Christina says
My new favourite recipe! I swapped the squash for sweet potato and the kale for spinach – soo delicious! Super filling too and doesn’t feel like you’re eating salad 🙂
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Thrilled you liked it Christina!! Legit my sole goal with salad bowls like these is to make them feel like you’re not eating a salad 🙂
Meghan Oliver says
This looks delicious, I will be making it tonight.
Should this be served when the quinoa is warm?
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
I love adding in the quinoa when it’s still warm; it wilts the kale slightly so it’s easier on your digestion. Plus, it makes the salad super cozy!!
Allyson Clark says
Loved this recipe and will definitely make again! Like others have commented I chopped up the other half of the apple for the salad which was a great addition. I also used farro instead of quinoa because my husband’s teeth can’t handle quinoa. This recipe made more than enough for 4 servings for us. Very delicious!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Thrilled you both liked it, thank you so much for sharing a review Allyson!!
Amanda C says
This was fantastic. I made 1 cup of quinoa so we’d have more leftovers. I can’t wait to make it again.
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
So happy you liked it Amanda (can confirm that this salad tastes even better as leftovers). Thank you so much for sharing a review!! 🙂
Maya says
Just made this recipe and I am so pleased with the result! I made a few changes (added some chicken to the squash and chickpeas, used hummus instead of tahini and apple sauce instead of the apple as it was all I had available) and it turned out great. I like heating the quinoa and chickpeas mix and add the dressing and kale salad when serving. Delicious!!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Thrilled you liked this Maya – thank you so much for sharing a review! 🙂
SA says
Can the dressing be made a few days earlier?
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Yep, it should last up to 4-5 days in the fridge. It’ll naturally separate but just give it a good whisk!
S says
My wife shared this recipe with me and I made it last night. I have to say, this was great! I followed the spirit of this and made a few small adjustments based on what I had on hand.
– Made about double the dressing, which was enough for a total of 3 servings
– Used hummus instead of tahini
– Used a lime instead of lemon (just what I had and I do love lime)
– Added some fresh goat cheese
– Didn’t have raisins
– Had baby kale on hand, skipped the oil massage 😆
– Had butternut squash on hand
Again, this was great. I also was just about to skip the apple but I can say, don’t do it! Just wanted to share my thanks!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
So happy you were able to adjust and make this with what you had on hand – definitely one of my favorite things about this salad is how versatile it is!
Thank you so much for leaving such a wonderful review, appreciate it! 🙂
Juliet Garcia says
This delicious salad is so hearty and filling! I had a fresh bunch of kale on hand but I substituted Macintosh apple, sweet potato, cannellini beans, and bulgur wheat for the honeycrisp, squash, chickpeas, and quinoa. So yummy!! Will definitely be making this again!
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Yaaay, so happy you liked it Juliet. Love that you were able to use what you had on hand!! Thank you so much for leaving a review, means the world!
Sierra says
So yummy! Put pomegranate seeds and feta cheese on top just for fun 😋 I will 100% make this again
Yasmeen Mariyah Ali says
Oooh the pomegranate and feta sounds so good with this! So so happy you liked the recipe Sierra, appreciate you leaving a review! 🙂