Autumn Pearl Couscous Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash

This Autumn pearl couscous salad is the epitome of  fall! Warm roasted butternut squash bites, tons of sweet cranberries, nutty pecans, all tossed with pearl couscous, and a sweet, citrusy maple dijon vinaigrette.

Talk about the salad of the season.

The gangs all here in this festive Thanksgiving-inspired side dish! Seasonal favorites like, tart cranberries, crunchy pecans, fresh orange juice, and of course, can’t forget the mighty butternut squash! Golden brown little bites of fall’s harvest.

I love discovering new ways of combining ingredients and dressings and pairing them with beautiful colors, textures, flavors, and um.. hello, nutrition? Okay, so I say that about salads all the time!

What gets me the most about this autumn pearl couscous salad is the simple, citrus-spiked maple dijon vinaigrette dressing. It’s easy, it’s homemade with ingredients you keep in the pantry, and it’s way better than the store-bought stuff. Did I mention that it’s just tossing ingredients into a mason jar and giving it a couple of good shakes? Sometimes I catch myself singing “Shake It Off” while shaking the dressing. And it totally makes making dressing just a little more fun.

Let’s reflect on the pearl couscous in this salad for a second. They are small, teeny, tiny little nuggets of toasted semolina flour or wheat flour that closely resembles pasta. I love the chewy, savory, slightly nuttiness of it in the salad as it pairs beautifully with the roasted butternut squash and the dried cranberries.

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Ingredients for autumn pearl couscous salad

• Butternut Squash: feel free to use a squash that’s peeled and cut into cubes from the store if you want to make things easier on yourself! Otherwise, get to hacking down a butternut squash. For best results, I like to use smaller pieces of butternut squash – and ½ – ¾ inches so that they roast up fairly quickly. An average butternut squash is about 2 pounds, so you’ll need about 20 ounces of peeled and cubed squash.
• Olive Oil: you’ll need some to roast the butternut squash and then some more for the vinaigrette.
• Pearl couscous: also sometimes called Israeli couscous. You’ll need about 1 ½ cups of pearl couscous. Cook the pearl couscous according to packaged directions. I typically cook couscous like a pasta in a large amount of boiling water with a tablespoon of olive oil, but most packages direct cooking it like you would rice.
• Baby spinach or shredded kale: I’ve been making this salad for close to 10 years. Occasionally I like to swap the greens in salads to see if they taste better. I’ve tried kale with this salad instead of baby spinach, and it works equally well, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand!
• Seasonings: you’ll need kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. We’ll season the butternut squash before tossing it in the oven to bake and the garlic powder goes into the dressing.
• Red Onion: adds a little bite to the salad and balances out the sweeter ingredients. You can swap the red onion for shallots if you’d like.
• Toasted Pecans: brings nuttiness to the recipe. Pecans and cranberries are a dynamic duo! You can also use sunflower seeds or pepitas if you’re making this for someone with a pecan allergy.
• Dried Cranberries: add color and texture. Feel free to swap these for tart cherries or craisins if you’d like.
• Orange Juice: I like to just grab a fresh orange and use the juice. Feel free to swap this with store-bought apple juice or orange juice as well.
• Dijon Mustard: is the emulsifying ingredient in the dressing. The mustard helps keep the oil and vinegar from separating.
• Honey or maple syrup: I typically use honey for this recipe but maple syrup would be a great substitute for my vegan friends.
• Apple Cider vinegar: adds a tart kick to the vinaigrette.

How to make salad with roasted butternut squash:

1. Roast the squash. Start by preheating the oven and spraying a baking sheet with olive oil. Add the butternut squash to the sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and pop it int he oven to roast for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is golden brown and tender.
2. Make couscous. While the squash roasts, prepare the pearl couscous according to package directions in a small saucepan.
3. Shake the dressing. Grab a clean mason jar and add the olive oil, orange juice, honey, a tablespoon of dijon, garlic powder, ACV, and salt and pepper to the jar. Add a lid and shake until combined. You can also just whisk it together in a measuring cup. Taste and adjust with more seasonings if it needs it!
4. Toss the salad and serve. When the butternut squash is done, let it cool to room temperature or toss immediately if you want to serve this as a warm salad. Add the couscous, butternut squash, shredded kale or baby spinach, red onions, pecans, and cranberries to a large salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and toss to combine.Taste and adjust with more seasoning if it needs it! I recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Roasted Honeynut Squash Risotto
• Cajun Butternut Squash Soup
• Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
• Thai Butternut Squash Red Curry
• Stuffed Butternut Squash with Curried Couscous

Autumn Pearl Couscous Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash

4.98 from 70 votes

This Autumn pearl couscous salad is the epitome of  fall! Warm roasted butternut squash bites, tons of sweet cranberries, nutty pecans, all tossed with pearly couscous, and a sweet, citrusy maple dijon vinaigrette.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 5

Author: Marzia

Equipment

• Sauce Pan Set
• Mixing Bowl Set
• Dressing Whisk

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Ingredients 

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Autumn salad:

• ▢ 2 pounds butternut squash peeled and diced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 ½ cups pearl couscous dry
• ▢ 3 kale or baby spinach shredded finely or chopped
• ▢ ½ cup thinly sliced red onions
• ▢ ½ cup dried cranberries
• ▢ ½ cup toasted pecans

Citrus Vinaigrette:

• ▢ 3 tablespoons orange juice freshly-squeezed
• ▢ 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• ▢ 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ ⅓ cup olive oil

Instructions 

• ROAST: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place the diced butternut squash on a baking sheet, toss in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread squash out in an even layer. Roasted squash for 20-25 minutes total, tossing halfway through or as needed.
• COUSCOUS: While the squash is roasting, prepare the couscous according to package directions.
• DRESSING: Add the orange juice, dijon, garlic powder, honey/maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
• ASSEMBLE: In a large bowl, toss together all the ingredients of the salad with the dressing and serve. Alternately, you can dress only portions of the salad and refrigerate the rest in an airtight container.

Notes

• Gluten-free friends! Try swapping the pearl couscous or a prepared wild rice mix! It's a great swap for this salad.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6th of recipe | Calories: 610kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 28g | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 25g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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