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The flavors in this Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad complement each other so well!
Beetroot and Pumkin are (heavenly) spiced with warm, smoky spices such as cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika, then roasted. These flavorful chunks are placed atop mixed greens, then topped with goat cheese, chopped pecans, and a handful of sliced clementines for a sweet and tangy bite.
The dressing is a Fall inspired mustard vinaigrette. It’s savory with a slight sweetness!
You may also like: Broccoli Pomegranate Salad.
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Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad is a vegetarian side dish. A balanced, fresh, seasonal addition to your holiday spread! The bright, colorful beets and pumpkin make for a beautiful presentation, too.
My husband, Jon, tried the salad one night when he got home from work, and said “Nope, not for me”. It turns out beets aren’t his thing. For me, this meant that, between testing and photographing the recipe and making it several times, I had to eat the salad every day for lunch, with no help from my husband. Within these few weeks, I ate more beetroot and pumpkin than I have in my entire lifetime.
The moral of the story is: did eating it so many times make me want to never eat it again? No. But I will say, I will not make it again until next year. I’ve officially had my fill of Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad…😂
Ingredients: Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin
I like to roast the earthy beetroot and pumpkin with warming, smoky spices. For roasting, you’ll need a sheet baking pan, parchment paper, and the follow ingredients:
- Pumpkin
- Beetroot
- Salt & Pepper
- Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Chili Powder
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Which Pumpkin is Best for Roasting?
If you were wondering which pumpkin is best for roasting, Christine Gallary with The Kitchn authored an informative article: “The Best Pumpkins for Baking and Cooking“. When shopping for pumpkins, she recommends looking for the ones usually generically labeled “sugar pumpkins” or “pie pumpkins.
Furthermore, you may have seen my Instagram story a couple of weeks ago. I was “stealing” a pumpkin from my front porch (lol). It was just a regular old “jack-o-lantern” pumpkin I was using as a Fall decoration. I didn’t plan on carving pumpkins and didn’t want it to go to waste. The large orange pumpkins are considered stringy, coarse, and not as “meaty” as other varieties. Well, I peeled and roasted that baby, and it worked fine! It had a great texture when roasted with olive oil and was delicious with the spices I use in this recipe. Next time I’ll try a different pumpkin mentioned in the above article.
Hopefully, the above information will help you make an informed decision when choosing the best pumpkin for roasting!
Ingredients: Mustard Vinaigrette
The dressing for the Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad is a mustard vinaigrette, which is slightly sweetened with maple syrup, pomegranate juice, and clementine or orange juice. It is perfectly balanced with apple cider vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil! It’s so delicious.
I used freshly squeezed clementine juice because it’s what I had in the house (Jon brings them with his lunch daily), but you can also use juice from a navel orange, etc.
The ingredients you’ll need are:
- Dijon mustard
- Whole grain mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Freshly squeezed clementine or orange juice
- Pomegranate juice
- Maple syrup
- Water
- Fine sea salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Shallot (optional but recommended)
Can beetroot be eaten as a salad?
Yes, beetroot can be eaten as a salad! You can cook beets in several diverse ways. They are quite versatile, and can be roasted, boiled, sauteed, or even pickled.
In this Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad, they’re cooked, but they are equally amazing raw, like in this Raw Beet Salad from Skinny Taste.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to enjoy this nutrient-packed root vegetable!
How to make beet root salad?
Roast the Beetroot and Pumpkin
Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad is easy to make! Just a bit of prep time is needed to cut, peel, and dice the pumpkin then peel and dice the beets.
The skin on some pumpkins (including the one I used) is thick and hard to peel with an old peeler or a knife. I wish I had gotten this vegetable peeler sooner. It works like a charm for pumpkins because it’s wider and sharper!
I first season and oil the diced pumpkin in a large bowl and add that to a parchment paper lined sheet baking pan. Next, I add the diced beets to the same bowl and toss with the remaining seasoning and oil and add those to the other side of the pan.
The reason I don’t mix them together in a bowl is because the intense hot pink hue of the beets will bleed into the pumpkin, taking away its distinct orange color!
Roast the beetroot and pumpkin at four hundred degrees Fahrenheit (two hundred four degrees Celsius) for about forty-five minutes or until fork tender.
Make the Mustard Vinaigrette
For the mustard vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients except for the extra-virgin olive oil in a food processor. Blend until well combined.
To properly emulsify the vinaigrette, slowly stream the olive oil into the other ingredients while the food processor is running. Adding the oil in a steady stream will result in a smooth and creamy vinaigrette!
You can now fold in the minced shallot if you want to. I’ve made the mustard vinaigrette with and without them, and I love it both ways.
Assemble the Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad
In a large bowl, add the mixed greens, scoop the roasted beetroot and pumpkin on top, and speckle the salad with half or more of the goat cheese, chopped pecans, and thinly sliced clementines.
On the side, serve the remaining goat cheese and chopped pecans (just in case anyone wants a little extra), along with the mustard vinaigrette!
I hope you, your family, and your friends enjoy my Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad recipe this Fall/Winter/Holiday season! Happy holidays. 🦃😊🎄
As always, I’d love to hear from you all! About your experience with this dish, any alterations you may have made and loved (or didn’t love), or just life and cooking in general. Please leave a review/comment/question below, reach out via email, and/or stay connected with me on social media, which I have linked below. Take care! – Jenna 🖤
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Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad [with Mustard Vinaigrette]
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Beetroot and pumpkin are spiced with cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika, then roasted. Mixed greens, goat cheese, chopped pecans, and clementines complete the salad. Mustard vinaigrette is served on the side.
Ingredients
ROASTED BEETROOT AND PUMPKIN:
- 4 heaping cups pumpkin, peeled and diced
- 3 heaping cups beetroot (about 6 beets), peeled and diced
- 1 1/4 teaspoon each fine sea salt, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, divided
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE:
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed clementine or orange juice
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1–2 tablespoons shallot, finely minced (optional)
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:
- 5 ounces mixed greens (I use baby spinach, arugula, chard mixture)
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/2 cup pecans (I also like to serve extra on the side), chopped
- 1 clementine, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Roast the Beetroot and Pumpkin: Halve, remove insides, cut lengthwise, peel with a vegetable peeler, then dice your pumpkin (see video: how to peel a pumpkin). Wash, peel, then dice the beetroot. Place the diced pumpkin in a large bowl and toss it with 3/4 teaspoon each salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and smoked paprika, and 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Dump it onto one side of a parchment paper lined sheet baking pan. Next, add the diced beets to the same bowl and toss with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of each seasoning, and 1 1/2 tablespoon oil. Dump the beets onto the other half of the sheet baking pan. Preheat your oven to 400° F (204° C). Roast the beetroot and pumpkin in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until softened and fork tender.
- Make a mustard vinaigrette. For the mustard vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients except for the extra-virgin olive oil in a food processor. Blend until well combined. To properly emulsify the vinaigrette, slowly stream the olive oil into the other ingredients while the food processor is running. Adding the oil in a steady stream will result in a smooth and creamy vinaigrette! You can now fold in the minced shallot if you want to. I’ve made the mustard vinaigrette with and without them, and I love it both ways.
- Assemble the salad and serve. In a large bowl, add the mixed greens, scoop the roasted beetroot and pumpkin on top, and speckle the salad with half or more of the goat cheese, chopped pecans, and thinly sliced clementines. On the side, serve the remaining goat cheese and more chopped pecans (just in case anyone wants a little extra), along with the mustard vinaigrette. Enjoy!!!
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side Dishes, Salads
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad
What an amazingly beautiful and colorful salad ! It looks so different from anything else , and delicious and healthy. Perfect for the fall! I can’t wait to make it!
★★★★★
Thanks Mom! And thank you for the white salad bowl and wooden spoons in these photos. 🖤🖤🖤
This recipe looks delicious! I’m glad salads don’t have to be just lettuce based
★★★★★
I agree, Selene! They would certainly get boring after awhile. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
Your presentation is always on point. Pumpkin and Beetroot are a unique combination. Even though I am not a big fan of salad dressings, I would rock with your Mustard Vinaigrette. Awesome recipe, Jenna.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for your positive feedback, Kevin! Beetroot and pumpkin along with the spices used, is certainly a great combination. I’m glad to hear the mustard vinaigrette sounds good to you. Enjoy! 😊
Such a wide variety of healthy flavors and I have to say that I would never have thought of putting some of these together. I’m curious about what it tastes like.
The flavors come together so nicely! A little spiciness, sweetness, tanginess, acidity. It’s so yummy! Definitely worth a try. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your feedback, Susan!
looks really good
I’m glad you think so, Jimmy! Thank you.
I give this 5/5, look so yummy although haven’t tried it, I’m sure it will taste really good. I’m saving it to try it.
★★★★★
Hi, Fransic! Im so glad you’re loving the look/sound of my roasted beetroot and pumpkin salad. Please let me know if you decide to try it. Thank you for leaving your feedback! ☺️