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You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dish / Hearty Salads / Maple Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Wild Rice

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Wild Rice

By Traci · Jump to Recipe ·
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my affiliate policy.

Massaged kale with roasted delicata squash and wild rice is paired with maple dijon dressing, walnuts, and pomegranate to create a delicious, fall or winter, main or side salad. This delicata squash salad is make ahead ready too! This recipe is vegetarian or vegan and gluten free.

Kale Pomegranate Winter Squash Salad with Wild Rice in a bowl ready to eat.

This recipe was first posted in 2015 and has been updated, December 2021 with new photography and recipe notes. The recipe remains unchanged.

Table of Contents

  • A Hearty Fall and Winter Squash Salad
  • How to Make Delicata Squash Salad
  • What is Wild Rice?
  • What is Delicata Squash?
  • Substitutions and Variations for Winter Squash Salad
  • A Few Recipe Notes
  • More Fall and Winter Salads to Love
  • Maple Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Wild Rice Recipe

A Hearty Fall and Winter Squash Salad

This delicata squash salad recipe is perfectly suited for make ahead week day lunches or as a gorgeous part of your holiday table. It’s hearty enough to enjoy as a main and is lovely with a slab of sourdough bread. This winter squash salad is full of earthy flavors, texture and with pops of sweet from the pomegranate seeds and roasted squash.

Share as a tossed salad for a less formal approach or composed (as pictured) so the ingredients stand out.

1. Wild Rice In a bowl. 2. Cooked wild rice in a stock pot.

How to Make Delicata Squash Salad

Kale is a fabulous base for this hearty salad with delicata squash. To tenderize the kale, you’ll massage it for just a few minutes to break down the cell walls and it make the leaves a little less chewy. In summary, here’s how to make this winter squash salad (see recipe card for details):

  • First, put the wild rice on to cook (it takes almost an hour).
  • Second, cut, deseed and slice one medium delicata squash (or other). Toss it with olive oil, maple syrup and brown sugar, then roast.
  • Third, prepare the kale, nuts, pomegranate and slice the red onion.
  • Next, make the apple cider vinegar and maple vinaigrette and massage the kale until tender.
  • Last, put all the ingredients together adding a bit of freshly ground black pepper and share.

If making ahead, you’ll store it in the fridge. Before sharing, allow to set at room temperature so that the fats in the oil soften.

Related: If you enjoy the earthy flavors of wild rice, you’ll love my Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup!

1. Deseeding Winter Squash on a cutting board. 2. Slicing delicata Squash on a cutting board. 3. Delicata squash in a bowl with maple and brown sugar. 4. Sliced squash on a sheet pan.

What is Wild Rice?

Wild rice is a seed of the native North American semi-aquatic marsh grass.Three varieties that grow naturally are found in the Great Lakes, gulf coast and central Texas regions. As its popularity increased over time, commercial cultivation made it widely available. Here in the U.S., wild rice is mostly grown commercially in paddy fields in California and Minnesota (DrWeil.com and Whole Grain Council).

Wild rice has an earthy, almost smoky flavor, is chewy and lends a distinct textural experience to any recipe is enjoyed in.

If you’re interested in learning more about cooking wild rice, check out Foolproof Living’s comprehensive blog post on How to Cook Wild Rice.

What is Delicata Squash?

Delicata squash is considered a winter squash, but is available during fall and winter. It has a delicate edible skin that becomes tender and mild when cooked. Delicata’s flesh is slightly sweet, and has a creamy, almost silky texture when cooked. It can be sautéed, steamed, baked, or roasted (my favorite)! Further, it tends to hold its shape well when cooked, so it’s perfect for stuffing.

1. Chopped walnuts on a cutting board. 2. Stem being removed from kale on a cutting board. 3. Pouring dressing over kale in a bowl. 4. Massing kale in a bowl.

Substitutions and Variations for Winter Squash Salad

  • Winter Squash: Just about any thin skinned winter squash will work in this recipe. Try carnival, butternut squash or sweet dumpling. You’ll need to peel butternut squash prior to roasting, but the skin on delicata, carnival or sweet dumpling is edible and tenderizes as it roasts, so there’s no need to peel it.
  • Nuts: I like walnuts in this kale and delicata squash salad, but pecans are quite nice as well.
  • Pomegranate Seeds: They can be a bit of effort to get into. If short on time or motivation, try dried cranberries.
  • Kale: Choose your favorite! Russian red, lacinato kale (aka dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale) or curly kale all work well in this recipe.
Delicata squash salad with kale in a bowl ready to eat.

A Few Recipe Notes

Make Ahead Ready: This delicata squash salad recipe stores well for up to about three days, ideal for meal prep lunch or to get a jump on holiday cooking.
Meal Prep: The wild rice can be cooked ahead and stored for up to two days prior to assembling the salad. The pomegranate seeds can be extracted and stored up to three days ahead.

More Fall and Winter Salads to Love

  • Roasted Beet and Apple Salad
  • Brussels Sprouts Citrus Quinoa Salad
  • Winter Jeweled Salad
  • Sweet Potato Black Bean Chipotle Quinoa Salad
Delicata squash salad with kale in a bowl ready to eat.
Print Recipe

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Wild Rice Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 20 minutes
Servings:6 Servings
Calories:337kcal
Author:Vanilla And Bean
Massaged kale with roasted winter squash and wild rice is paired with maple dijon dressing, walnuts, pomegranate, onion and parsley to create a delicious, fall or winter, main dish salad. This recipe is vegetarian, gluten free and vegan.
**There is some overlap in cooking and prep time, so the recipe comes together in about an hour.

Ingredients

For the Salad:

  • 1/2 cup (50 grams) Whole Walnuts
  • 3/4 cup (360 grams) Long Grain Wild Rice
  • 4 cups (950 grams) Water
  • 1/4 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds (815 grams) Delicata Squash or Sweet Dumpling or Carnival Squash about one to two squash depending on size. (I use one delicata for this recipe).
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 bunch (245 grams) Russian Red Kale about eight stems
  • 1/2 cup (65 grams) Purple Onion thinly sliced into half moons (about half a purple onion)
  • 1 cup (140 grams) Pomegranate Arils about one Pomegranate
  • 1/4 cup (15 grams) Parsley chopped
  • 1/2 cup (50 grams) Parmesan Cheese optional, shaved or shredded

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup (45 grams) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • Pinch of Salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit (204 Celsius).
  • While the oven is preheating, place the walnuts in a shallow baking dish and toast in the preheating oven for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until the nuts are toasty and fragrant. Cool, rough chop and set aside.
  • Bring the water and salt to a boil. In a medium sauce pan bring the water and a heavy pinch of salt to a boil. Meanwhile rinse the rice. Once the water is boiling, add the rice. Reduce heat to medium and gently simmer, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes. When done, the rice will be chewy yet tender with many grains split open. Drain any remaining water and set aside in the refrigerator to cool.
  • While the rice is cooking, trim ends of squash using a large chef knife. Cut lengthwise in 1/2 and remove and discard seeds. The skin stays on for this squash as it tenderizes as it cooks (it has a nice texture). Cut squash into 1/2 moon shapes at about 1/4 inch -1/2 inch thickness (be consistent in how thick you cut so that they roast up evenly).
    Use a spoon to smooth the scooped out edges. Dice the remaining pieces that are not 1/2 moon shapes into cubes about the same thickness as the moon shapes. Place in a bowl and sprinkle olive oil, brown sugar, maple syrup and ground nutmeg over the squash. Toss with hands. Place on a parchment or silpat lined sheet pan making sure each piece is flat and roast in oven for about 25 minutes turning squash about half way through cooking. Roast until slightly caramelized. Remove from oven and cool.
  • Destem the kale. Ribbon the leaves and then cut into 1 inch – 2 inch pieces. (This is the point where I wash the kale in a salad spinner). Place in a large bowl.
  • Make the dressing: In a small bowl, add the olive oil, mustard, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and pinch of salt. Whisk well until an emulsion is formed.
  • Pour 3 tablespoons of dressing over the kale. Set a timer for two minutes and using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale. Kale is tough, so don't worry about bruising the kale, just go for it! The leaves will be nice and tender after massaging.
  • Toss the kale with the cooled wild rice, walnuts, onion, pomegranate arils and parsley and then lay the cooled squash over the top of the salads. Pour the remaining dressing over salad or to taste.
  • Serve cold with a few grinds of pepper and optional shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese.

To Store:

  • Store in the fridge for up to three days. Allow to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving so the olive oil can soften a bit.

Notes

This salad holds up well in the fridge for a few days. If serving the day after it’s made, keep the squash in a separate covered container and assemble when ready to serve.
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 513mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 1733IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 1mg
Made It? Leave a comment below! The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications and/or helping other commenters. On Instagram? Take a snap of your make and share, tagging @VanillaAndBean #VanillaAndBean!

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  1. Avatar for MaryAnn | The Beach House KitchenMaryAnn | The Beach House Kitchen

    December 4, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    What a great fall and winter salad Traci! So nice and hearty and so flavorful. A total meal in a bowl with perhaps a glass of wine to go along with it!

    Reply
    • Avatar for TraciTraci

      December 5, 2021 at 11:01 am

      I’m all in for the wine with this Mare!

      Reply
  2. Avatar for Liz @ Floating KitchenLiz @ Floating Kitchen

    December 4, 2021 at 5:43 am

    You know delicata is my favorite! What a pretty jewel-toned salad for Winter!

    Reply
    • Avatar for TraciTraci

      December 5, 2021 at 11:01 am

      I know! I spied your potato delicata kale salad and am smitten!

      Reply
  3. Avatar for CarolynCarolyn

    November 9, 2020 at 11:00 am

    This salad is delicious! I had never glazed squash before and which was tasty and a bit of a crunch on top of the salad. Used Parmesan- did not have pecorino

    Reply
    • Avatar for TraciTraci

      November 9, 2020 at 3:31 pm

      SO happy to hear you enjoyed the salad, Carolyn! Isn’t the squash so nice? Parmesan sounds delicious. Thank you for coming back and leaving a note!

      Reply

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I’m Traci and this is my blog. So Glad You Stopped By!

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