This Roasted Butternut Squash, Black Bean And Quinoa Salad is one of the easiest, most flavorful fall salad recipes, full of nutrients and healthy ingredients. Served warm or cold, this delicious salad is also a great make-ahead lunch for work or back to school. Vegan and Gluten-free.
If butternut squash is one of your favorite fall ingredients, I have a fantastic recipe which I think you'll love.
Just like my Butternut Squash Soup or Stuffed Acorn Squash that are a must in fall, this easy Butternut Squash, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad is worth to be added in your recipe rotation.
The festive flavors of butternut squash, black beans and quinoa are perfect in this autumn-inspired salad.
Roasting butternut squash brings out nutty, sweet flavors and browns the edges. Quinoa adds to the nuttiness. Black beans add a bit of a kick.
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Here's Why This Recipe Works
- healthy. Butternut Squash is one of the healthiest squashes. Just one serving of it packs more than 100% of daily requirement for Vitamin A and 40% of the daily requirement for Vitamin C. It's also a great source of Fiber and can help with blood pressure. Add Quinoa with its high Manganese and Iron content and protein-packed Black beans and you have a balanced and nutritious meal.
- Easy. Despite having many ingredients, this Roasted Butternut Squash, Black bean, and Quinoa Salad come together quickly and easily. You can also prepare a part of the salad ahead of time and assemble it just before serving.
- For various purposes. Just like festive vegan Caesar Salad, this Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad recipe can serve you many purposes. It can be a wonderful and balanced lunch or dinner meal. You can also serve it as a side dish for one of your main meals. This recipe looks festive enough to be enjoyed on a holiday table. Think Thanksgiving or Christmas. Don't forget about meal prep too. This Roasted Squash Quinoa, Black Bean Salad keeps well and is perfect for weekly work lunches.
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the specific ingredients for this recipe. For the exact ingredients and measurements, please scroll to the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes
- Butternut Squash. In this recipe, I used a squash that is about 2 lbs. You can weigh it in a store. Most grocery stores have convenient weights to weigh your produce. Or, you can weigh it at home using a portable kitchen scale. To speed-up the cooking process, you can even buy pre-chopped butternut squash.
- Black beans. To make this Butternut Squash, Black bean and Quinoa Salad I used canned black beans. You can make this recipe with dried black beans, however you will have to soak them the night before and then cook until they're tender.
- Quinoa. Any type of quinoa will work here. I used white quinoa but rainbow, black or red quinoa are good as well. Depending on the type of quinoa, the cooking time may vary.
- Pumpkin seeds. I love buying pumpkin seeds from Costco. They're already sprouted which means they retain more nutrients.
- Greens. You can use arugula, spinach, spring mix or just about any greens that you like/have.
🔪 Instructions
- Cut your butternut squash. If you're using a whole squash, lay it flat on the cutting board and cut it in half. Then, cut each piece in half down the center vertically. Scrape out the seeds. Cut squash halves into slices and chop each slice into small ½ inch cubes.
- Bake a butternut squash. Place cubed squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with thyme, cayenne pepper, and salt. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to combine. Bake butternut squash at 400F for about 25-30 minutes stirring halfway through or until tender when poked with a knife. Remove from the oven and let it slightly cool.
Hint: depending on the size of the squash, it might take less time to bake it. At around 20 minute mark, use a knife to poke one piece of squash and see if it needs more baking.
- Prepare the quinoa. Add raw quinoa to a colander and rinse it for a few seconds under running water. Add quinoa to a medium pot along with 1 ½ c of water. Put on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the quinoa with a lid on for about 15 minutes until tender. Fluff quinoa with a fork and let it slightly cool.
- Make a lemon-olive oil dressing. While squash and quinoa are cooking, in a small bowl add fresh lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, Maple syrup, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
- Combine the ingredients for the Butternut Squash, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad. In a large bowl add roasted butternut squash, cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and greens. Drizzle with the lemon-olive oil dressing and mix to combine. Taste the butternut squash black bean salad to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Serve immediately.
Top Tip
To make quinoa more flavorful, you can cook it in vegetable broth instead of water.
Substitutions
Few ingredients in this healthy Butternut Squash, Black Bean Quinoa bowl can easily be substituted.
- Quinoa. Quinoa gives the salad a nice crunch. If you don’t have quinoa on hand, you can use whole-wheat couscous, millet, or short-grain brown rice instead.
- Black beans. Feel free to replace Black beans with Chickpeas or Cannellini beans.
- Dried Cranberries. The tartness of cranberries cut through the sweetness of the squash. If you don't have them, dried cherries or currants make a great substitution. Alternatively, you can use raisins.
- Pumpkin seeds. They're excellent for enriching this butternut quinoa salad with healthy fats and protein. You can use sunflower seeds, toasted walnuts or almonds instead.
Variations
This roasted Butternut Squash Black Bean Quinoa Salad can be customized in variety of ways.
- spices. To give this recipe even more flavor, try adding ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin, and/or ¼ teaspoon of chili powder. In addition, my recipe contains only a small of Cayenne pepper. Give this salad a spicy kick by increasing the amount of Cayenne pepper to ½ or ¾ tsp.
- vegetables. Even though butternut squash is the star ingredient in this fall salad, you can also add other vegetables like 1 of avocado, 1 cup of red bell pepper or 1 cup of roasted parsnips.
- toppings. For some extra greens, top the squash been salad with chopped green onion or cilantro.
Storage
Leftovers of this roasted Butternut Squash, Black Bean and Quinoa Salad should be stored covered in the fridge where it will last for about 4 days.
It's not recommended to freeze this Black Bean and Squash salad.
If you're using a large butternut squash and have leftovers of uncooked squash, it's ok to freeze it. Portion cubed squash in the freezer safe bags (I like these ones) and freeze for up to 9 months. Defrost butternut squash in a refrigerator until thawed complete.
The same you can do with the leftovers of cooked quinoa. Add it to a freezer bag and freeze for about 6 month. Defrost in a fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend to peel the squash. Although you can bake butternut squash with the skin on, it will make more sense if you're baking a whole squash and then stuffing it.
The skin on the butternut squash is rather tough. Since we chop the squash into small pieces, peeling it will ensure that they will cook evenly and there're won't be any chewy chunks of skin on each piece.
If you have a Y-shape vegetable peeler, it will get the job done. My personal favorite way to peel the butternut squash is to use a Swivel veggie peeler.
Absolutely. Roasted butternut squash and quinoa can be cooked 4 days in advance. The lemon-olive oil vinaigrette can also be prepped in advance and then stored in a fridge for up to 1 week.
How to serve Butternut Squash Bean Salad
This healthy black bean quinoa salad can be served as a main dish alongside a light but filling soup, like Asparagus soup or even Miso Soup.
Or, you can serve this salad as a side dish. It pairs well with such recipes as Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Stroganoff.
To round up a fall inspired feast, don't forget to add an apple dessert. I recommend my delicious French Tarte Tatin.
Similar Recipes
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Recipe
Roasted Butternut Squash, Black Bean And Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 1 (2 lb) butternut squash
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ c white quinoa
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans rinsed and drained
- ⅓ c dried cranberries
- ¼ c pumpkin seeds
- 1 c mixed greens like spinach, arugula or spring mix
For the lemon-olive oil vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Cut the butternut squash
- If you're using a whole squash, lay it flat on the cutting board and cut it in half. Then, cut each piece in half down the center vertically. Scrape out the seeds. Cut squash halves into slices and chop each slice into small ½ inch cubes.
Bake a butternut squash
- Place cubed squash on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with thyme, cayenne pepper and salt. Drizzle with the olive oil toss to combine. Bake butternut squash at 400F for about 25-30 minutes stirring halfway through or until tender when poked with knife. Remove from the oven and let it slightly cool.
Prepare the quinoa
- Add raw quinoa to a colander and rinse it for a few seconds under a running water. Add quinoa to a medium pot along with 1 ½ c of water. Put on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook the quinoa with a lid on for about 15 minutes until tender. Fluff it with a fork and let it slightly cool.
Make a lemon-olive oil dressing
- While squash and quinoa are cooking, in a small bowl add fresh lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, Maple syrup, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
Combine the ingredients
- In a large bowl add roasted butternut squash, cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and greens. Drizzle with the lemon-olive oil dressing and mix to combine. Taste the butternut squash black bean salad to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Quinoa. Quinoa gives the salad a nice crunch. If you don’t have quinoa on hand, you can use whole-wheat couscous, millet, or short-grain brown rice instead.
- Black beans. Feel free to replace them with Chickpeas or Cannellini beans.
- Dried Cranberries. The tartness of cranberries cut through the sweetness of the squash. If you don't have them, dried cherries or currants make a great substitution. Alternatively, you can use raisins.
- Pumpkin seeds. They're excellent for enriching this butternut quinoa salad with healthy fats and protein. You can use sunflower seeds, toasted walnuts or almonds instead.
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
Sosyke says
this is fantastic! very tasty and nutritious! I love the dressing as well!
Iryna Bychkiv says
Thank you for sharing! I'm happy you enjoyed this recipe!:)
Cathy R says
Such an easy, delicious dinner recipe. I substituted barley and topped it with a poached egg for extra protein. Every one of Iryna’s recipes that I’ve made have been fabulous!!!
Iryna says
Cathy, thank you so much for your kind words and a 5-star rating!!! I'm so happy you like my recipes!
K says
Absolutely loved this, can't wait to make it again. I totally forgot to add the black beans before serving, but it was delicious anyway. Will use the dressing on other salads! I used walnuts in place of the pumpkin seeds bc it is what I had on hand.
Iryna says
K, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm very happy you liked this recipe!
Mashka says
Very balanced taste. I love it!