Harvest Wild Rice Salad with Butternut Squash

Wild rice butternut squash salad garnished with minced chives.

5 from 4 votes

Harvest Wild Rice Salad with Butternut Squash

This Harvest Wild Rice Salad if full of autumn flavors! It's made with roasted butternut squash, cranberries, and a maple Dijon dressing.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: autumn harvest salad, wild rice butternut squash salad, vegan wild rice salad,

Servings:

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Christine Rooney

Equipment

Large Baking Sheet
Large Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

For The Salad:

1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
4-5 cups butternut squash cubed, equals 1 small to medium-sized butternut squash
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ cup dried cranberries or dried fruit of choice
½ cup slivered almonds or nuts or seeds of choice, unsalted

For The Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
4 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. Sriracha hot sauce
¼ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Peel The Butternut Squash:

To peel the butternut squash, simply remove the top and bottom of the squash with a sharp knife. This will give you a flat surface on both the top and bottom portion of the fruit, which makes it easier to peel and cut.
Cut the butternut squash in half. Place each half, flat side down, on the cutting board.
Carefully run the knife down the outer surface of each butternut squash half, or peel it with a vegetable peeler. Discard the skins in the compost or trash bin
Cut each half of the squash in half again. Scoop out the seeds and membranes from the bottom portion of the squash with a large spoon, just as you would a pumpkin. Discard the seeds and membranes.
Cut each half of the squash into slices and then cut those slices into chunks. It's important that the squash chunks are relatively the same size to ensure that they cook evenly.

Roast The Butternut Squash:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place 4-5 cups of cubed butternut squash onto a large baking sheet. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over the squash and toss until coated.
Sprinkle 1 tsp. each of garlic power, onion powder, and smoked paprika over the squash along with ½ tsp. each kosher salt and pepper. Toss until completely coated in the oil and spices.
Place the baking sheet in an oven and roast the butternut squash for 24-25 minutes. The squash should be soft, but not mushy and easily pierced with a fork or knife when done.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set aside.

Prepare The Wild Rice:

Place 4 cups of water in a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring the water to a boil.
Once the water is boiling add 1 cup of wild rice.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 55-60 minutes.
Once the wild rice is finished cooking, place it in a strainer to drain any excess water and allow it to cool (yields 3-4 cups of cooked wild rice). The wild rice should be plump and tender, but not mushy.
Alternately, you can make the wild rice in the Instant Pot. See this recipe for detailed instructions to make Instant Pot Wild Rice.

Prepare The Dressing:

To make the dressing, place 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 3 Tbsp. maple syrup, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 4 tsp. red wine vinegar, ¼ tsp. Sriracha hot sauce, and ¼ tsp. each of kosher salt and pepper into a small mason jar.
Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until the dressing has emulsified.
Alternately, the dressing can be made by placing all of the ingredients into a small bowl and stirred with a small whisk or fork until emulsified.

Assemble The Wild Rice Salad:

Place the cooked and cooled wild rice (yields 3-4 cups) and cooked and cooled butternut squash into a large mixing bowl along with ½ cup dried cranberries (or dried fruits of choice) and ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds (or nuts of choice).
Pour the dressing over the salad a bit at a time, stirring it carefully with a large spoon until incorporated.
Taste the salad as you add the dressing and only add as much as you like (you may have a bit of leftover dressing, depending on how much is added).
To Serve: Serve with fresh minced herbs such as chives or parsley for extra color and flavor (optional).

Notes

The dried cranberries can be substituted with dried cherries, figs, apricots, prunes or any kind of dried fruit. You can even use pomegranate seeds in place of the cranberries.

Feel free to swap out the almonds for any kind of nuts. Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts are all great choices. Seeds such as pepitas or sunflower seeds may be used if you have a nut allergy.

You can add feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, or any kind of dry, salty cheese if you’d like to add some richness.

Fresh greens such as spinach or Swiss chard may be added for extra flavor and texture.

Make sure to use wild rice and not a wild rice blend.

Nutrition