Autumn Salad
This Autumn Salad is colorful, fresh, and full of seasonal flavor with kale, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and a light homemade vinaigrette!
A 15-MINUTE SALAD
I absolutely LOVE seasonal salads like this. I could honestly eat salads and soups every day of the week! So I thought I would take some of those seasonal flavors like sweet potato, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries and create a super flavorful salad with the most delicious homemade dressing (that doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors!) Plus it has some great texture with the broccoli and toasted nuts so it really is a filling salad. I think this is the perfect dinner salad (girl dinner anyone?) or a salad to make ahead for your work lunch or for a fall gathering with friends!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
No, you do not have to massage the kale first like you do with regular kale. Baby kale is not as sharp. If you’re using regular kale, I would suggest massaging it first. Here are instructions on how to do that.
You can also add roasted butternut squash, apples, pears, chickpeas, quinoa, sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, or feta cheese if you’re looking for other options to change this up a bit! If you want to add some protein, try some cooked chicken or salmon.
Yes! You can prep all the components in advance and (keep the vinaigrette stored separately.) Just toss everything together with the vinaigrette when you’re ready to eat.
This really is It pairs well with roasted chicken, turkey, pork, or even a cozy fall soup like butternut squash soup or tomato soup. Any of your favorite soups would work nicely too.
You can keep the undressed salad in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the dressing separate until ready to serve.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- avocado oil – you can use olive oil or your favorite oil here.
- red wine vinegar– you can use white wine, rice vinegar or even white – but after some testing, the red wine vinegar gave the best flavor.
- honey – you could also use agave syrup if you prefer.
- Dijon mustard – I really recommend sticking to Dijon here. Don’t try to swap it out for regular yellow mustard. I think yellow mustard would be too vinegary and strong. We are looking for a milder flavor profile here.
- salt and pepper – feel free to add additional seasoning you enjoy. Garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning or some Italian seasoning would all work as well.
- baby kale and baby spinach mix– this is a combination mix that I really enjoy. I grabbed this Kale and Spinach Mix from Walmart (not a paid affiliate link), but any mix will do. If needed, you can buy the two separately and mix them together or just use baby spinach or baby kale by itself if you prefer. You can really use what you enjoy here.
- chopped broccoli – I try to keep these and nice bite-sized. There is nothing worse than digging into a salad and the sizes are ginormous – ha!
- sweet potato– cooked and cubed. To keep this easy, you can grab a bag of steamable sweet potatoes and microwave them. Just be careful not to over-steam them or they’ll turn out mushy.
- dried cranberries – I just pick up a bag of Craisins but you could just use raising or golden raisins if you prefer. If you don’t like them at all, just don’t use them or swap for an alternative.
- pumpkin seeds – sometimes you’ll see this in packaging as “Pepitas”. These can be left out if you don’t have them or don’t like them.
- walnuts– as with all salads, you can remove the nuts if you don’t like them, or swap them out for other choices.
- shallot – try to stick with a shallot rather than a red onion or other substitute if possible. I tried this with both and everyone really loved it with the shallot.
- shaved parmesan – Try goat cheese or feta instead of Parmesan for a twist.
HOW TO MAKE AN AUTUMN SALAD:
In a small bowl, add the vinaigrette ingredients. Mix until combined. Set aside.
To a medium bowl, add the salad ingredients. Drizzle the vinaigrette on top and gently toss.
Serve immediately.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Autumn Salad
Ingredients
Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup avocado or olive oil
- ⅛ cup red wine vinegar (can use white wine, rice vinegar or white – best flavor with red)
- 1-2 Tablespoons honey (or agave syrup, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Salad
- 5 ounce package baby kale and baby spinach mix
- 3 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 sweet potato, cooked and cubed
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup walnuts
- 1 shallot, sliced
- ½ cup shaved parmesan
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 1-2 Tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add 5 ounce package baby kale and baby spinach mix, 3 cups chopped broccoli, 1 sweet potato, cooked and cubed, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 shallot, sliced and 1/2 cup shaved parmesan.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette on top and gently toss. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- This recipe makes 4-6 servings.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
We really loved this. Threw in a few tomatoes from the garden too.