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If you could put fall on a plate, it would be this hearty farro salad with butternut squash and maple vinaigrette (once you try this homemade dressing, you’ll never reach for store-bought again). Toss it all together or layer it in jars for a week of meal prepped lunches!
Serve it with my pumpkin pasta bake or white bean & gnocchi soup for the coziest autumn meal.
save this recipe!Adding grains to a salad is the ultimate hack for a more filling meal. Farro is like a slightly chewy rice, and it’s just the best with squash. (Plus, it’s high in fiber and holds up well, making this a great meal prep fall salad.)
you’ll Have this on repeat all fall
- Low effort, high reward: This is one of those salads that’s simple enough to make for meal prep but impressive enough to be a Thanksgiving side salad.
- Customize it: The beauty of a fall grain salad is that you can match it to what you have and like. Don’t have dried cranberries? Use golden raisins!
Reader rating
“Absolutely delicious! I layered in 4 jars as you suggested and am on my third meal. The flavor combination is so good and I plan to use the dressing with other salads in the future.” —Sandy
Meal prepping?
Toss your apples in lemon juice or apple cider vinegar first. This will prevent them from browning. Then equally distribute the ingredients into 4 quart-sized jars in this order: vinaigrette, cooked farro, apple, cooked butternut, walnuts, dried cranberries, goat cheese, kale. These will last in the fridge for 5 days. Just flip onto a plate and shake everything out when ready to enjoy!
Key Ingredients for this fall harvest salad
Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Butternut Squash: Look for medium-sized ones where the base is about the size of a softball. Honeynut squash will work too. You can buy pre-chopped butternut squash to save time.
- Farro: This hearty grain cooks just like rice. We tested this with wild rice and quinoa, and both work well in this salad.
- Kale: Baby, curly, and lacinato kale all work well.
- Apple: I love tart Granny Smiith for this salad, but any variety will work!
- Goat Cheese: This is the best creamy cheese and is higher in protein than most other soft cheeses! I also love feta cheese in this salad.
- Dressing: This is a quick mixture of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Fall Farro Salad With Butternut Squash And Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups cubed butternut squash, from ½ of a large or 1 small butternut
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, 30 mL
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 cup uncooked farro, cook in veggie broth for more flavor, 200 g
- 6 cups chopped kale, 6 oz, 170 g
- 1 apple, diced
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese, 4 oz
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, 60 g
- ½ cup dried cranberries, 60 g
Apple Cider Maple Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 60 mL
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 60 mL
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup, 30 mL
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 30 g
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
Instructions
- Butternut: Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Transfer 4 cups cubed butternut squash to an unlined baking sheet, then drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender and caramelized at the edges.
- Farro: Cook 1 cup uncooked farro according to package instructions (if you have vegetable broth, cook the farro in that instead of water!). Once tender, drain off excess liquid.
- Vinaigrette: Whisk together all Apple Cider Maple Vinaigrette ingredients.
- Assemble: In a large bowl, toss together cooked butternut, cooked farro, 6 cups chopped kale, 1 apple (diced), 1 cup crumbled goat cheese, ½ cup chopped walnuts, and ½ cup dried cranberries. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to coat everything evenly. Enjoy!
Notes
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I printed so many of your recipes to try this weekend, but have settled on this salad. I am really excited to try this one! Sweet potato *and* cranberries *and* goat cheese?
Yesssssssss 👏👏👏!
Yay! I’m so thrilled to hear it, Janae. Happy eating!
Absolutely delicious! I layered in 4 jars as you suggested and am on my third meal. The flavor combination is so good and I plan to use the dressing with other salads in the future.
So glad you enjoyed it Sandy, thanks for the review
This recipe was a hit although I confess I loosely followed it.
I swapped out ingredients to use what I already had at home, eg. I used spinach instead of kale, kamut instead of farro, an avocado instead of an apple and used avocado cashew cream dressing because I had some left over in the fridge.
It was super filling and satisfying! Thank you for the basic idea! We really enjoyed it!
So glad you enjoyed it Irene, thanks so much for sharing what worked for you!
This salad is amazing. I would pay $20 for this in a restaurant….it does require prep but every minute is worth it. The balance of sweet and sour is perfect. I used orzo and mixed with the baked butternut squash, used feta with the kale and mixed nuts and cranberries with blender then put all together with amazing dressing! I had never had kale so I had to look up how to prepare. Learned to “massage”the kale. So good
I’m so thrilled to hear that you loved it, Sandra. Happy eating!