Try this Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing for your next Sunday lunch! Terrific as a side or as a meal, this is a really magical combination of flavours.
Make-ahead winner: Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad
I want to regale you with tales of how I always make this Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad for lunch with the girls. How perfect it is for a lazy weekend get together because it’s make ahead and a crowd pleaser because it’s got enough oomph to be a meal in itself whilst still being healthy and gluten free too. (Who else needs to cater for varying diets at get togethers??)
I’ve even recommended this to numerous friends who have come to me asking for ideas for make ahead lunch recipes.
But truthfully, I have never made this for my friends. I can’t ever embellish about what I’ve made for friends because weirdly, some of them actually read my blog and they would call me out. Some of these friends are serious corporate types, jet setting around the world, taking important meetings and working on top secret projects. It amuses me no end that in between reading board papers and information memorandums, they read my posts as I dribble on about whatever deliciousness I’m sharing on that day and Dozer antics. Te he he!!!
Today’s deliciousness -> This Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad that I’ve never made for them.
This is a really terrific combination of flavours, and I think of this as quite a classic salad. I’m sure I picked it up from a Women’s Weekly magazine many years ago.
The roasted pumpkin is sweet and juicy, the feta adds pops of salty creaminess, the pine nuts add a warm, earthy crunch, the freshness from spinach, all lightly dressed with a Honey Balsamic Dressing. You really don’t need that much dressing for this salad, just enough to coat the baby spinach. Plus, I don’t know if it’s just Aussie baby spinach, but dressing just never sticks well to baby spinach.
So I really mean it when I say this salad is light on the dressing!
I know pine nuts are quite expensive so are a bit of an indulgence, but you don’t need much. You can substitute it with other nuts, but if you’re making this to impress guests, it’s worth using pine nuts. No other nuts have that same soft, creamy crunch and the distinct flavour of…. well, pine nuts. 😉
This is not a difficult salad to make but I have a few tips that I’ve picked up over the years, like roasting the pumpkin so it’s golden but still holds its shape rather than turning into mush.
I usually serve this at room temperature but it’s great warm too. Also, rocket lettuce (arugula for those on the other side of the pond) works well with this if you want a bit more of an edge to it. I like using baby spinach because the flavour and texture is quite soft, unlike other lettuces that are really crunchy.
Good way to kick off a new week, with a healthy salad! Giving myself a pat on the back. 😉 – Nagi x
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad recipe video! PS That pumpkin Dozer gets at the end is raw. RAW. 😳
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Roast Pumpkin, Spinach and Feta Salad
Ingredients
Pumpkin:
- 600 g / 1.2 lb pumpkin (after peeling), cut into 3cm / 1.25″ cubes (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Dressing:
- 2.5 tbsp / 50 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper
Salad:
- 1/4 cup / 35g pine nuts (Note 2)
- 150 g / 5 oz baby spinach leaves (4 handfuls)
- 60 g / 2 oz feta , crumbled (or more!!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C/430F (standard) or 200C/390F (fan/convection).
- Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 – 10 minutes until golden but not mushy. (Note 3) Loosen pumpkin with egg flip (it can adhere as it cools), then if serving salad at room temperature, leave to cool.
- Shake Dressing in a jar. Taste and adjust to taste. I like it a bit sharp because it balances out the flavours in this salad.
- Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and it smells nutty. Remove pine nuts from skillet as soon as it’s ready.
- Place Spinach in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of dressing then toss.
- Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then GENTLY BRIEFLY toss just to disperse the feta. (If you toss vigorously, the feta can make it look messy).
- Transfer to serving plate. Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts. Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing (dressing doesn’t stay on baby spinach well, so worth drizzling at end). Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Contemplating whether this meatless meal is worth begging for.
Hi nagi, thinking if this for Xmas. What feta do you use? I believe some can be too salty or too soft
Hi Jan, any kind of feta would work here, you could use greek or danish. I do like the smooth creamy feta though 🙂
Made this tonight for dinner. Also added roasted beetroot. Very simple but very delicious!!!
YUM! I absolutely love roast beetroot!
I make this with sweet potato and Maggie Beer’s Vino Cotto dressing – so yummy. Will try the honey balsamic dressing tonight!
Loved it
YESSSS!!! 🙌
Making this right now (well, my husband is, to take on a last minute 2 day fishing trip)… We didn’t even have to make a trip to the supermarket first, because I had half a block of feta and a bag of baby spinach already! No pinenuts unfortunately but subbed in some dry toasted pumpkin seeds, I’m sure they will be fine. Honey balsamic isn’t a combo I’d tried before but it’s delish, I added a few drops of hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon and he has the seeds and dressing in little ziplock baggies to chuck in the top of the bowl so he can assemble it all fresh tomorrow.
I’ve made a very similar one with roasted beetroot before but pumpkin is cheaper and less messy, so WINNER! 😀
Thanks!
Perfect idea Chris!!
I LOVE THESE SALADS!!!
Me too Stacy!
Delicious!!!! Love it so much!!! i have many times now!
Perfect!!
Delicious and simple but I had to go and buy another pumpkin as mine turned to mush. So I did the 2nd batch for only 20 mins and on fan bake at 20 mins. Probably could’ve done it for 17 or 18 mins to be perfect.
Went down well at Pot luck dinner tonight, thanks
Hi Erin, Sorry you had issues here, were you using a fan forced oven?
I love this dressing. I have a fanforced oven, followed the recipe, 200 C, for 20 minutes = absolute mush! So should I have left it half the time?
This was DELICIOUS! I made this last night and it was so quick and easy to make. LOVE your recipes 🙂
Thanks so much for the feedback ☺️
This was so fantastic. Thanks for sharing it.
You’re so welcome Suzanne!
I used to demand a friend bring this salad. Recently, I made it myself and took it to BBQ. Now people demand I bring it! Lucky for something so tasty, it is super simple to make! I substituted walnuts for pine nuts…yum’
Delicious & super easy to make!
Thanks so much for your great recipe and other options. Its Christmas morning and I had no pine nuts in date. The almonds and macadamia swap was a life saver.
This recipe is pure genius! So easy, delicious and low in calories. My whole family love this salad. It has become to go to meal on the night we all eat at different times, I just hold the dressing until I serve. Thank you.
Love the salads, living in Australia much better choice than a hot Christmas dinner. Even though my husband doesn’t agree😃
Hi how do u get the honey to mix properly it just clumps?
I love that Dozer got a treat at the end! My dog Tucker (passed away on Thanksgiving), used to love the veggie scraps, especially tomatoes and frozen green beans. This salad looks terrific and a good way to use that butternut squash looking back at me from my fruit bowl! (I purposely fill the bowl with lots of fruits and veggies to remind me to diversify from rice, potatoes and pasta.) Squash/pumpkin is also great as veggie tacos–just season with taco spices instead of salt and pepper and toss in any other veggie you want and slap a tortilla around it! Thanks again for another winning recipe Nagi!
very good recepie
Terrific to hear Taher! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it – N x
I have my fingers crossed that this will be just as nice using chopped walnuts as I have no pine nuts and can’t get out to purchase. Will let you know!
Oh, it will be fabulous! I use other nuts all the time, pine nuts are expensive so I save them for guests! 😂