This spiralized Curried Butternut Squash Salad full of apples, dates, and pecans delivers spicy-sweet flavor in a healthy, Paleo, and vegan-friendly dish!
You don’t have to wait until fall to enjoy butternut squash! This most popular member of the gourd family is typically available year-round in most grocery stores. I love the slightly sweet yet earthy flavor and brilliant yellow-orange color of its flesh. I’ve roasted butternut squash whole, cut it into cubes for casseroles, and boiled and blended it into a creamy soup—but spiralizing it might be my favorite method of prep!
My first foray into spiralizing came about when a friend brought me zucchini from her garden. I got tired of the same old sautéed zukes and wanted to try a new way of enjoying their late-summer goodness. Before long, I was hooked on zoodles in everything from pasta sauce to pesto sauce—even doused in salad dressing and served ice cold!
This curried butternut squash salad recipe takes my latest obsession to new heights. It includes not one but three spiralized ingredients! The pecans add a little crunch, and the Medjool dates sweeten the deal. Plus, this dish combines savory and sweet flavors that might seem contrasting, but come together in a delicious harmony of tangy, zesty, earthy, and fruity notes for a deeply satisfying experience.
Is This Curried Butternut Squash Salad Healthy?
Absolutely! This butternut squash salad is packed with nutrient-rich, whole-food ingredients. It’s high in vitamins A and C, potassium, fiber, and healthy fats, while remaining moderate in calories and free from grains, dairy, and processed foods. The salad is both vegan and Paleo-friendly, making it suitable for a wide range of dietary preferences. The only thing to watch is the sodium content. You can dial that down by omitting the sea salt. Overall, it’s a vibrant, flavorful, and nourishing salad that’s perfect for a healthy lifestyle.
Spiralizing 101
Maybe you spiralize all your veggies all the time. If so, you could probably teach me a thing or two about this modern kitchen miracle. But if this is your first time transforming produce into noodles, I’ve got some basic tips. First, make sure you’re using firm, fresh fruits or vegetables. If they’re too soft, they’ll disintegrate into mush. Also, make sure the blades for your spiralizer are sharp so they’ll make nice, clean cuts. And if the produce you want to spiralize is more than three inches wide, cut it in half to make your work easier. Finally, have fun with it! Try all the different blades that came with your machine to see what kind of noodles they turn out. I’ve suggested the wide-noodle blade for this recipe, but it really doesn’t matter if they’re angel-hair thin, wide and flat ribbons, or cute little curlicues!
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Store leftover butternut squash salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing it because the raw veggies will be too mushy after thawing.
Serving Suggestions
This curried butternut squash salad can be a light, refreshing meal all by itself. But it can also be paired with lots of other tasty dishes! Meat eaters can top it with an Herby Air-Fryer Chicken Breast or Asian Instant-Pot Pork Tenderloin for a truly satisfying meal. Pescatarians might enjoy this salad with spicy Blackened Salmon or crunchy Fried Shrimp. For vegans and vegetarians, pair it with this flavorful Roasted Chickpea Recipe or some delightfully crispy Air-Fryer Falafel.
Create a vegan- and Paleo-friendly noodle party by pairing this salad with other spiralized specialties, like Coconut Curry With Almond Butter, Sweet Potato, And Apple Noodles, Zucchini Noodles With Raw Tomato Sauce, and Vegan Coconut Sweet Potato Curry With Sweet Potato Noodles.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash about 3 pounds
- 2 large Granny Smith apples
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- Fresh pepper
- 1/4 cup pecans finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped and packed
- 1/3 cup Medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Chop off the bulbous end of the butternut squash, as well as the top stem, leaving just the straight middle part. Peel or cut off the skin and chop the squash in half, so it's easier to spiralize.
- Using a large or ribbon noodle blade, spiralize the squash into thick noodles. Place them in a very large bowl.
- Cut the apples in half and core them. Slice off a little of the domed part of each apple half so that it becomes a flat disc. Don't cut too much, or the apple will split when spiralizing. Spiralize each cut half using the same large noodle blade. Place apple noodles in the bowl with the squash noodles.
- Cut the ends off of the red onion so they're flat, and remove the papery skin. Spiralize the onion using either the same large noodle blade or a smaller noodle blade, if that's easier. Add them to the bowl with the other noodles.
- Toss the noodle combo with the olive oil, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, ginger, curry powder, allspice, and a few good twists of pepper. Really toss them around to make sure they're evenly coated in the spice mixture.
- Transfer the noodles to a large baking or casserole dish, being sure to scrape up all the dressing from the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the chopped pecans.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Stir the mixture around, then continue baking until the squash noodles are fork-tender, and the apples and syrup have begun to caramelize, about another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and immediately stir in the parsley and dates.
- Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
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