I made a big fall salad last week and it was SO GOOD. It was a little fussy, because I went All Out by roasting a sweet potato and making a batch of crispy quinoa. But the result was well worth the prep work. And it wasn’t difficult prep work; just a little time consuming. I enjoyed it so much, I made it again yesterday, this time omitting the sweet potato and crunchy quinoa. Still delicious.
I started with the basic premise of my favorite fall salad, this mesclun salad with goat cheese and maple glazed pecans. But then I changed nearly everything about it. Except for the dressing. The dressing is so good.
This salad has responsibility spinach plus spicy, feathery arugula which pairs well with the sweet/tangy dressing and the creamy goat cheese. It has pomegranate seeds for a tart, juicy burst of freshness. It has roasted sweet potato for a little meatiness and that nice crunchy, mealy combo of textures. It has crispy quinoa for additional protein and crunch. It has sliced apples for additional tartness and another texture. Finally, it has nuts or seeds for more protein and fat, sweetness, and crunch. Everything about this salad is SO DELICIOUS and screams “There is so much to enjoy about fall!”
Spinach and Arugula Fall Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette (inspired by Once Upon a Chef)
Salad Ingredients:
- Baby spinach (10 oz)
- Arugula (10 oz)
- Pomegranate seeds (2.5 oz) (or you can use dried cranberries or dried cherries)
- Tart apple, sliced thinly (1)
- Goat cheese, crumbled (4 oz)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Pecans (5 oz) (or nuts/seeds of your choice; my favorite are the Sweet & Spicy Pecans from Trader Joe’s)
Optional Extra Salad Ingredients:
- Sweet potato (1)
- Cinnamon (to taste)
- Cayenne (to taste)
- Extra virgin olive oil (1 Tbsp)
- Salt and pepper
- Quinoa (1 cup)
- Water (2 cups)
- Extra virgin olive oil (1 Tbsp)
- Kosher salt (1/2 tsp)
Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- Minced garlic (1-2 tsp, although you will want to measure with your heart)
- Minced shallots (2 Tbsp)
- Salt (1/2 tsp)
- Freshly ground black pepper (1/2 tsp)
- Maple syrup (3 Tbsp)
- Dijon mustard (1 1/2 Tbsp)
- Red wine vinegar (4 Tbsp)
- Vegetable oil (10 Tbsp)
Directions:
1a. (Totally optional step if you like fussiness and have time and inclination.) Prepare the crispy quinoa. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa under cold water for 1 minute. Add rinsed quinoa and two cups water to a small saucepan. Over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the liquid is gone, about 15 minutes. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once quinoa is done cooking, allow to cool slightly. Then pour onto prepared baking sheet. Add olive oil and salt to quinoa and mix through with your hands. Roast for 15 minutes, then stir. Roast for an additional 10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the quinoa is golden and crisp.
1b. (Totally optional step if you like fussiness and have time and inclination.) Prepare the roasted sweet potato. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Wash and peel a sweet potato. Cut the sweet potato in half-inch cubes. (This can be very imprecise.) Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, and cinnamon and cayenne if using. Spread the cubes on the baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until cubes are brown around the edges.
1c. Prepare the salad. Add a handful of baby spinach and a handful of arugula to a large bowl. Add a sprinkling (a tablespoon or two) of each of your toppings: crumbled goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, crispy quinoa, roasted sweet potato, pecans, etc. Top with another handful of spinach and arugula, then repeat until your bowl is full of yummy fall goodness. Slice the apple right before serving and add it to the bowl.
2. Prepare the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a jar, cover and shake until emulsified.
3. Dress and eat. Add dressing to your salad, toss, and enjoy.
Notes:
- I store the quinoa and the sweet potato in separate Tupperware containers in the fridge. They keep nicely for several days, or until your husband eats them because they are delicious even by themselves.
- This recipe makes a large portion of dressing, but I love this vinaigrette so much I like to keep it on hand in the fridge. I use emptied and washed glass salad dressing jars to store my own dressing.
- This salad is endlessly customizable. When I don’t have pecans, I use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds or pistachio nuts. Sometimes I don’t have an apple, so I don’t include one. If the grocery store doesn’t have pomegranate seeds, I’ll use dried cranberries or dried cherries.
What salad do you get really excited about? Are there salad ingredients you need on every salad… or any you REFUSE to eat? I won’t eat a tomato or a beet — really, I’m quite sure — thank you very much, and I really prefer to avoid blue cheese, although occasionally I will tolerate it on a wedge salad.
I am kinda sorta attempting to complete NaBloPoMo, with the full expectation that life will make it impossible any day now. If you want to follow along, or join the fun, check out San’s blog here.
This is my ideal kind of salad . . . if I had the patience for it, which I don’t these days. But this salad is exquisite. Thank you for sharing. I plan to make it for friends in the future.
It’s so delicious, Mira! And it can honestly be pretty un-fussy if you want it to be. With the exception of the sweet potatoes and quinoa — and the dressing, I guess — it can be a matter of opening containers and dumping things together.
That salad sounds good. If I remember the next time I’m menu planning/despairing about what to eat the next week, I will try it.
I don’t think I have any must-include ingredients for salads. I do not care for bell peppers of any color (though I will tolerate them if someone else is cooking and they are chopped super fine).
It’s really a good one, Steph! I know several people who despise bell peppers, but green peppers are one of my all-time favorite veggies.
The whole salad looks delicious but the maple vinaigrette is calling to me, quite loudly. Thanks for the recipe.
It is truly a thing of beauty, Ally. I hope you try it, and soon!
The one ingredient that I refuse to eat…is quinoa! Not because I don’t like it, but there’s something about it that my body doesn’t like. It literally gives me stomach pains.
Blue cheese is overrated, but good as an accent in a salad every now and then. Especially if that salad has bacon. I don’t hate beets but they’re not a common ingredient in my world so I don’t have them very often.
I’m also obsessed with maple dijon dressing and I haven’t had it since this summer. That’s on me and easily fixable. I adore roasted sweet potatoes as well. I need to roast up a big batch of them for the freezer.
Wow that’s beautiful! I love most of the ingredients except I don’t eat goat cheese. I’m also weird and really don’t eat any salad dressings… I always put some kind of salsa on my salads.
This looks amazing. I’m going to make it, but sadly will have to figure out a different dressing. My husband couldn’t have the maple syrup. Maybe I’ll use our stand-by balsamic vinaigrette.
Oh, this sounds delicious. It sounds similar to a salad we make on Thanksgiving- ours has radichio, asian pear, toasted nuts… I can’t remember the whole thing but it’s REALLY good. The dressing sounds similar as well. Kudos to you for making this on a regular day- I don’t make fancy salads like this other than holidays.
The beauty of a salad like this is that it’s fully customizable. My daughter makes a similar one but with kale and fresh peaches (instead of apples) She serves the salad over quinoa. (or some other grain that I can’t remember the name of) I love goat cheese and candied nuts of any kind!
BOOKMARKING THIS. This is 10000000% up my alley and I never, ever think of making crispy quinoa and WHY DON’T I? This looks delicious, I am putting it on the roster for this very week, this very week, Suzanne!
We switched places. You made a big salad and I did sheet pan Saturday because I could not bear to eat a salad this week. I make boring salads, though. Rotisserie chicken, chopped peppers and cucumbers, some shredded cheddar cheese and a dressing, usually a Greek vinaigrette. That salad does look amazing though!!
Wait…arugula. Arugula makes everything inedible. I refuse to believe that YOU, with all your food specificities, eat nasty ARGUGULA. I cannot bear the thought.
This salad looks delish. I was roasting quiona in the oven for ages because I included it in the protein balls that I used to make. I stopped making them, deciding that there were other healthy snacks I could eat. But – I kept the crunchy quiona in the freezer because it was such a pain to make. I would prep a big batch and then I’d have it when I needed it.
I eat a cobb salad every day. I wouldn’t say I’m excited about it, because I prep them in advance and sometimes they taste less than great after a few days in the fridge. But they are an easy lunch for me. I get excited about eating big salads in a restuarant that someone else has prepared, espeically if it is a salad I would never prepare for myself.
Ooooooooh yesssss— this looks so good. I actually think roasted beets would be an awesome addition— but not for you LOL
That salad looks amazing. I will definitely keep that recipe and try it. I make a huge salad every day for lunch & add nuts, feta, a hard boiled egg and avocado. So yummy. I also make the same salad dressing but without the garlic & shallots. That all I’ve used for years. So good!!
Oooh, crunchy quinoa. Yumm. And arugula. (I love it, apparently NGS does not, LOL.)
I love eating salads but hate making them 😉 This looks amazing!!
That salad looks amazing! I love feta so I try add it wherever I can.