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Cheesy Vegetarian

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

I’m here to argue that salad isn’t just for the summer! This roasted butternut squash salad is the perfect salad to enjoy in the autumn or winter, with warm ingredients that make it feel hearty, but still light (is that an oxymoron?).

A portion of roasted butternut squash salad in a bowl with red onion and arugula.

Just like with all of my other salad recipes, this butternut squash salad contains plenty of yummy bits. I’m not here for a bowl that’s 99% lettuce – I need flavour! Texture! Nutrition! And this salad has a bit of everything.

As well as warm roasted veggies, this salad has toasted pine nuts, a touch of lemon, and finely grated goat cheese. As you toss the cheese through the salad, it coats the warm veggies and brings a touch of its tangy, salty flavour to the entire bowlful. Just wonderful.

⭐ How to Serve this Butternut Squash Salad

This salad could function as either a side dish, or as a meal in its own right.

If you’re using it as a side, this recipe would easily serve two people, alongside a tasty vegetarian protein option, or some pasta, or any other meal that needs a little something extra.

Alternatively, it makes a great light lunch – it makes a generous plateful for one person. It’s probably not filling enough to be your main meal of the day, but it was a lovely lunch to munch on while I was working.

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🥗 Ingredients and Substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for roasted butternut squash salad laid out with text overlay.
  • butternut squash – I chopped up about half of a medium-sized fresh squash. You can buy it pre-chopped if you’re short on time.
  • red onion
  • arugula (rocket)
  • pine nuts
  • hard cheese – I used a hard goat’s cheese, but any similar cheese would be great, e.g. a vegetarian parmesan-style cheese.
  • dried oregano (or similar dried herbs – whatever you like best)
  • garlic
  • lemon (I used fresh lemon, but a bottle of lemon juice will also work)

You could easily add extra ingredients to this butternut squash salad, or swap out any of the ingredients you’re less keen on. Since the butternut squash and red onion are roasted together for this salad, any other vegetables that can roast up at the same time would be an easy addition. For example:

  • mushrooms
  • eggplant (aubergine)
  • bell peppers
  • canned chickpeas

You could also add any other raw ingredients that sound good – this really is an adaptable recipe! Some pecans, diced apples, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, or any other fun mix-ins would all work well here.

Becca’s Top Tip

This autumnal salad is great eaten straight away, while the roasted veggies are still warm. However, any leftovers are just as good eaten cold from the fridge the next day!

📹 Recipe Video





Overhead shot of a portion of roasted butternut squash salad in a bowl with red onion and arugula.

🖨 Printable Instructions

A portion of roasted butternut squash salad in a bowl with red onion and arugula.

Print

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Roasted butternut squash salad is a great autumn / winter salad, with goat cheese and pine nuts, and heaps of flavour.
Course Light lunch, Side Dish
Diet Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 246kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 340 g (~ 3/4 lb) butternut squash
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 small red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or mixed herbs)
  • 1 Tbsp pine nuts
  • 1 large handful fresh arugula (rocket)
  • 30 g (~ 1 oz) hard goat’s cheese, finely grated
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
  • Remove the peel from the butternut squash – a peeler usually works well, unless the skin is particularly tough (in which case, use a knife). Cut the squash into bitesized dice (1-2 cm pieces), and lay them out on a baking tray. Toss with some olive oil, and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast for around 15 minutes, until slightly softened.
    Diced roasted butternut squash on a baking tray.
  • Peel and slice the red onion. Cut one end from each garlic clove, but leave them otherwise unpeeled. When the butternut squash has roasted for about 15 minutes, add the onion and whole garlic cloves to the tray, and sprinkle with the dried oregano. Return the tray to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
    Diced butternut squash and red onion on a baking tray.
  • Toss the vegetables, then add the pine nuts, and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes. The squash should be tender and the pine nuts should be just starting to brown.
    Roasted butternut squash, red onion and pine nuts on a baking tray.
  • Remove the garlic cloves from their skins (they should squeeze right out), and mash the cloves a little with a fork. Add everything to a bowl, along with the arugula, grated cheese, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix well to combine.
    Butternut squash salad in a mixing bowl.
  • Serve warm, or store in the fridge until needed, and serve cold.
    A portion of roasted butternut squash salad in a bowl with red onion and arugula and goat cheese.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1side portion | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.7g | Protein: 8.4g | Fat: 14.1g | Saturated Fat: 3.7g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 832mg | Potassium: 730mg | Fiber: 4.6g | Sugar: 5.7g | Calcium: 288mg | Iron: 2mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different kind of squash?

Yes – if you can’t find butternut squash, then any other winter squash will also work, including pumpkin, or even sweet potato.

How should I store any leftovers?

Store any leftovers in an airtight tub in the fridge for up to 3 days. If the warm and cold ingredients are already mixed together, then it’s tasty served cold. If you’ve kept the warm and cold ingredients separate, then you can reheat the warm ingredients before mixing and serving.

Can I make a vegan winter salad?

The only part of this recipe that’s not vegan is the goat cheese. If you’d like to make a vegan salad, you can skip the goat cheese, but make sure you add some extra flavour with a different ingredient instead – such as some fresh herbs, or your favourite vegan dressing.

🥗 Other Salad Recipes

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A portion of roasted butternut squash salad in a bowl with red onion and arugula.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

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Extra Special Tabbouleh Salad with Halloumi

Peach and mozzarella salad with homemade croutons, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds.

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A bowlful of chickpea pasta salad with black olives and arugula.

Chickpea Pasta Salad with Pesto (20 Minute Meal!)

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Cheesy Vegetarian

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

Ahh, gnocchi! Adorable little potato dumplings that taste like little pillowy clouds – soft and fluffy, like little hugs for your mouth. I adore gnocchi cooked with all sorts of flavours, and this easy air fryer recipe involves:

  • crispy gnocchi cooked in a creamy pesto sauce
  • roasted vegetables that are sweet and tender
  • gooey little pockets of mozzarella cheese
  • a layer of rich tomato sauce to bring it all together

Doesn’t it just sound irresistible?! It couldn’t be easier to make, and the classic Italian flavours are just incredible.

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables with mozzarella and pesto.

If you’re a regular reader here on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian, you might know that I’m not a fan of boiling gnocchi, and I usually cook it in a frying pan (see my instructions for frying gnocchi!). However, lately I’ve been experimenting with different methods – like baked gnocchi, and oven-roasted gnocchi. This time, I thought I’d use the air fryer!

❓ Why Cook Gnocchi in an Air Fryer?

I use my air fryer several times a week, and I love it. An air fryer is essentially just a mini oven, so whatever you can cook in an oven, you can cook in an air fryer instead (and vice versa) – but it’s a lot quicker when there’s a smaller space to heat up.

Cooking this pesto gnocchi in an air fryer means you can turn it on, leave it to do its thing for a while, and return to perfectly cooked gnocchi. It’s a lot less labour intensive than cooking the gnocchi in a frying pan, and it’s quicker than using the oven. Best of both worlds!

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🥗 Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for air fryer gnocchi laid out with text overlay.
  • gnocchi – any shop-bought gnocchi will work. I haven’t tested this recipe using homemade gnocchi, but I imagine that would work well too (though you’ll probably need to boil the gnocchi first).
  • vegetables – I used mushrooms, red onion and a yellow pepper. Any similar Italian-style veggies will work well.
  • pesto – I used a creamy basil pesto, but use whatever you like the sound of.
  • fresh mozzarella cheese
  • tomato sauce – choose your favourite tomato-based pasta sauce, or use your own homemade tomato sauce! It’s worth choosing a good quality sauce for this recipe.

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t have an air fryer, you could cook this recipe in a regular oven instead, or in a frying pan on the stovetop.

📹 Recipe Video





🔪 Equipment

My air fryer is the Ninja Foodi MAX air fryer, which I really love, and I use it several times a week. I love how it has two separate baskets, so you can cook small or large meals easily. One of the baskets was enough to cook this air fryer gnocchi.

Here’s the one I have on Amazon:

Ninja Dual Air Fryer

Ninja Dual Air Fryer

I love the two separate zones in this air fryer!

If you’re in the UK or Canada, click the link to see a local product.

$169.99

Buy on Amazon

A bowl of air fryer gnocchi on tomato sauce.

🖨 Printable Instructions

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables on tomato sauce.

Print

Air Fryer Gnocchi with Pesto and Mozzarella

Air fryer gnocchi, with creamy pesto sauce, gooey pockets of mozzarella, and roasted veggies. This vegetarian meal is so easy!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 663kcal
Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp pesto (I used a creamy basil pesto)
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 120 g mushrooms (~ 6 medium mushrooms)
  • 1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
  • 1 red onion
  • 500 g (~1 lb) gnocchi
  • 250 g (~ 9 oz) fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces
  • 340 g (~ 1 cup) good quality tomato pasta sauce

Instructions

  • Add the pesto and a splash of water to a mixing bowl, and mix well to thin out the pesto a little. This will help it to coat the gnocchi nicely.
    Watered down pesto in a mixing bowl.
  • Chop the mushrooms, pepper and red onion into bitesized pieces, and add them to the bowl, along with the gnocchi. Mix well to coat everything in the sauce.
    Gnocchi and raw vegetables coated in pesto in a mixing bowl.
  • Transfer the mixture to your air fryer, and cook at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Stir the gnocchi, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
    Crispy gnocchi and vegetables in an air fryer.
  • When the gnocchi and vegetables are nicely crisped up, add the torn up mozzarella cheese to the air fryer, and cook for 2 more minutes, until the cheese has melted.
    Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables topped with melted mozzarella.
  • Heat up the tomato sauce – I warmed it in a bowl in the microwave, but you could use a pan on the stovetop instead, if you prefer. Serve the crispy air fried gnocchi on top of the hot tomato sauce.
    Air fried gnocchi and vegetables served on tomato sauce.

Video





Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 99.5g | Protein: 34.4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6.3g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 1237mg | Potassium: 1265mg | Fiber: 6.2g | Sugar: 10.6g | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 10mg

💭 Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare this recipe in advance?

You could easily mix up the gnocchi / vegetables / pesto in advance, then store the mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to air fry, just before serving.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

I generally reheat any leftovers in the microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, you could also reheat in the air fryer or in a frying pan, but bear in mind that the sauce will dry up a bit if using these methods, so you may need to mix in a little water to freshen it up.

How should I serve air fried gnocchi?

This recipe can be served on its own, without any additional side dishes. However, if you’d like to serve something on the side, a simple salad would be a great addition.

🥔 Other Gnocchi Recipes

Vegetarian Air Fryer Recipes
Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables on tomato sauce.

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

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The post Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

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