When it comes to a salad recipe, I always look for ones that are unique, delicious to the core and far from boring. This pumpkin salad recipe has EXCITING written all over it. Reasons To LOVE It:
gluten-freefulfilling and healthyvegetarian and wholesomeskip the cheese, and you have a vegan salad
There are different components in this pumpkin salad. So let’s have a look at them:
roasted pumpkincooked quinoafresh salad greenshomemade salad dressingtoasted walnuts and almondextras – pomegranate & feta cheese
The Roasted Pumpkin
It is the key component of this salad recipe. Any good roasting pumpkin or butternut squash will work well. I use the yellow pumpkin available here in India. Remove the skin of the pumpkin. Discard the seeds and the veins. Cut it into bite-size pieces. Add onion cut into quarters, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Mix nicely. Preheat the air fryer to 180-degree Celcius. Roast the pumpkin and onion for 15 minutes. Shake the basket once during the process. Roast pumpkin turns mushy when cooked too long. Keep an eye on it while roasting – you want it golden and fork-tender but still holding its shape. You can roast the pumpkin on a stovetop or oven as I do for my roasted pumpkin soup.
Cooked Quinoa
You can cook quinoa in a pot of salted water on the stovetop. Or pressure cook it like rice in an instant pot. Rinse quinoa with water. Boil water in a saucepan. Season it with salt and garlic cloves. Once the water starts boiling, add quinoa. Stir. Cover the saucepan with the lid. Cook quinoa until it becomes soft. Drain all the liquid. Transfer quinoa to a colander and allow it to cool down. You can store it in the refrigerator or use it for the pumpkin salad.
Salad Dressing
A good dressing is like a soul of a salad. It brings out the flavour of the salad. For roasted pumpkin salad, I make a sweet and savoury vinaigrette. You need:
Extra Virgin Olive OilGinger Syrup or JuiceSalt & PepperLemon or Lime JuiceItalian Herbs Seasoning MixGinger Powder or freshly grated gingerHoney or Maple Syrup or Pomegranate Molasses
Add all the ingredients for salad dressing in a jar. Seal it with the lid. Shake until combined. The vinaigrette is ready!
How To Assemble Pumpkin Salad
Arrange salad greens like lettuce, kale, and rocket leaves on a platter. Add a layer of quinoa. Top it with roasted pumpkin, onion, toasted nuts, pomegranate and feta cheese. Drizzle salad dressing and sprinkle chopped parsley. Gently mix the pumpkin salad before eating to combine all the ingredients. Serve immediately.
Storage Suggestion
You can meal prep your pumpkin to make this salad even quicker during busy weekdays. You can also pre-make the pumpkin salad minus the dressing and cheese. Then when the time comes, add the salad dressing and toss it. I don’t recommend prepping salads too far in advance except for the salad jars, as the ingredients don’t tend to hold up that well.
More Pumpkin Recipes
Curried Pumpkin Soup Indian Pumpkin Sabzi Roasted Pumpkin Soup Instant Pot Pumpkin Pasta Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cake Subscribe to our weekly newsletter or follow us on Youtube for video recipes.
