It’s really rare that a salad is so good that I actively crave it. I mean, salad is rarely super exciting. However, this Fall Harvest Salad has been on repeat in my house for weeks. It’s got all of my favorite fall flavors in a bowl, it’s easy to throw together, and it’s a filling, healthy meal. Don’t be fooled though – this ain’t your typical lame salad. We’re talking lots of toppings, tender chicken, fresh grated cheese, and a super flavorful champagne vinaigrette. Hungry yet?
Making Fall Harvest Salad
This salad requires a little bit of pre-cooking ingredients and then you can toss everything together and enjoy. I cook everything in my air fryer, which is oven style and lets me crisp up a bunch of things at once. The components that require cooking are the brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and chicken. You can do this in the oven as well, cooking until your sprouts + squash are brown and crispy, and your chicken should be cooked to 165F internal temperature.
Next, while that cools a bit, make your dressing. The dressing combines champagne vinegar (white balsamic or regular balsamic work great as well), olive oil, whole grain mustard, and agave nectar. Super simple, super delicious.
Lastly, you’ll build the salad. You’ll start with a mixed greens base, top with roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash, add shelled pistachios and dried cranberries, and top with the sliced chicken. Then (my favorite part) you’ll grate on some fresh parmesan. It adds a great nutty flavor, which you can totally skip if you’re looking to make this meal paleo, etc. Lastly, drizzle on some dressing, toss it all together, and enjoy!
Store leftover components separately and build out a fresh salad whenever you want one! You’ll want to keep the sprouts, squash, spring mix, parmesan and chicken refrigerated.
Fall Harvest Salad
Equipment
- Air Fryer or Oven
Ingredients
- 8 oz spring mix
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
- salt, pepper, garlic to season
- 1 butternut squash peeled, cut into cubes
- 12 oz brussels sprouts cleaned and halved
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup shelled pistachio
- 1/4 cup parmesan fresh grated
- 1/2 cup champagne vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp agave nectar
- 2 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Peel and cube butternut squash. Clean and cut brussels sprouts in half. Toss with cooking spray, season with salt, pepper, garlic, and air fry at 375 for 14 min until just crispy.
- Spray chicken with cooking spray and season with salt, pepper, garlic, and air fry or bake until internal temp reaches 165F (roughly 375 for 14 min in the air fryer and then check with meat thermometer).
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a shaker bottle (or whisk in a bowl) and shake well to combine. Shake immediately before serving.
- Fill 4 bowls with spring mix. Evenly distribute cooked brussels sprouts and butternut squash over each salad. Top each salad with 1 tbsp pistachios, 1 tbsp cranberries. Slice chicken and top each salad. Grate fresh parmesan over top, and then dress each salad. Enjoy!
- If not serving 4 at once, store leftover chicken, parmesan, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and spring mix in the fridge and assemble when you're ready to eat!
4 thoughts on “Fall Harvest Salad”
Made this for dinner tonight. It was so good!! Light and fresh but still filling.
So glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my fall faves 🙂
I prepped this salad for my lunches this week, and it’s delicious! I love the use of seasonal ingredients, and the dressing was easy and tasty! Definitely looking forward to eating this all week! 🙂
So glad you loved it! I’ve has this salad on repeat for weeks 🙂