Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Green Goddess Dressing

By Melissa Clark

Published Jan. 25, 2023

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Green Goddess Dressing
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(452)
Comments
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This colorful salad of sweet, soft roasted squash and crisp, bitter greens finished with a creamy, tangy green goddess dressing is an elegant mix of contrasting flavors and textures. The squash is good both warm and at room temperature, so feel free to roast it ahead of time. Some bitterness is nice against the sweet winter squash, but if you want to mellow radicchio’s bite a bit, you can soak the pieces in ice water for 10 to 30 minutes, then drain and dry before adding to the salad. Just taste before you soak; you’ll want a little bit of its bitterness. The dressing will keep for at least three days in the fridge. Serve it over other salads, or as a dip for cut-up vegetables and chips.

Featured in: 4 Winter Salads That Are Anything but Sad

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

    For the Squash

    • 2½pounds butternut squash, peeled, trimmed, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
    • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    • 1tablespoon honey, plus more as needed
    • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground black pepper

    For the Salad

    • ¾cup whole-milk plain yogurt
    • ¼cup chopped parsley leaves and tender stems
    • ¼cup chopped basil leaves and tender stems
    • 3tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed
    • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
    • 2scallions, sliced
    • 1ripe Hass avocado, pitted and cubed
    • 1jalapeño, seeded (if desired) and diced
    • 1garlic clove, smashed and peeled
    • 1small head radicchio, cored and cut into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups)
    • 4cups crisp salad greens (such as Little Gem lettuce, baby romaine, frisée or a combination), torn into bite-size pieces
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

263 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 754 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place squash on a rimmed baking sheet, and toss with oil, honey, ¾ teaspoon salt and a lot of black pepper. Spread squash into an even layer, and roast until tender and caramelized, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through. Taste a squash cube and add more salt, pepper and honey if it seems flat.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, make the dressing: Place yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, oil, scallions, avocado, jalapeño and garlic in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth and uniformly green, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste and season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice as needed. It should taste bright and tangy. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    To assemble the salad, in a large bowl, combine radicchio, salad greens and roasted squash. Pour enough dressing over salad to lightly coat it, and toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and a little more lemon juice, if you’d like, and serve immediately, with more dressing on the side.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
452 user ratings
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Comments

er

Dressing was perfect. Very rich and filling with a great depth of flavor. I added roasted pecans for more bulk and it played very well.

chairsin

Melissa has done it again! This delectable green goddess dressing paired with little gem lettuce, radicchio and roasted butternut squash was just what I needed and craved to go with ribs tonight. How did she know I was searching for a green goddess dressing with avocado? (which I know was not in the original recipe). Definitely a new go to dressing recipe - I can see using the leftovers to dress tomatoes and black beans to go with cauliflower tacos on the menu this week.

Lesley

We omitted the basil, doubled the parsley and substituted kale - very versatile recipe! The dressing is a repeater!

Andy

My dressing is not bright and tangy. Followed recipe exactly. Added salt & pepper and more lemon juice. How much salt are people adding? I added about a ½ tsp Morton kosher.

CT cook

wonderful almost-main-course salad! If you don't keep buttermilk on hand, use my Mother's trick of putting a little fresh lemon juice in milk and letting it sit awhile. Or use plain yogurt (perhaps thinned with a little EVOO if it's 0% fat).

Lisa

It’s a heart fall salad with a tasty, beautiful dressing. The dressing was too thick, as a pudding like other reviews. I added double the EVOO and more lemon juice, and finally added water. It was still thick after 1/2 cup of water but I didn’t es t to dilute the flavors. All in all a very tasty salad.

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