Make this fall Special with this Roast Pumpkin and Spinach Salad that is incredibly tasty, flavorful, and rich in vitamins A, C, iron, calcium, proteins, and good fats. Could you resist a palatable Pumpkin Salad garnished with peanuts and sesame?
Trust me, this healthy vegan salad won't disappoint you and would help you meet your weight-loss goals.
This Roast Pumpkin and Spinach Salad is a gluten-free vegan salad that has bold flavors of sesame, spinach, bell peppers, onions, and radish and is topped with peanuts. This pumpkin salad is loud in fall flavors, though can be made for thanksgiving or any celebrations throughout the year!
The humble pumpkin is amazingly rich in Vitamin A and is a low-calorie high fiber fruit. Similar to the taste of butternut squash, this roast pumpkin salad recipe is super easy, healthy, and gathers in no time. Roasting pumpkin along with other vegetables makes them more flavorful.
Since a kid, I had loved pumpkin but it is not easy to make my own kid have it. This vibrant-colored salad was a great hit in the family.
Why Would You Love This Recipe?
- Blending Flavors of spicy bell peppers, mild sweet pumpkin, and tender and sweet spinach.
- Smothered with a layer of spicy mustard oil brings an amazing taste to this salad.
- Vegan and Gluten Free
- Can be Made Nut free (skip peanuts)
- Kids Friendly
- Weight-Loss Friendly- Can you believe one serving is just 119 calories!!
- Rich in Vitamin A and C.
- Minimal Ingredients.
- The Best Pumpkin and Spinach Salad Ever!
Ingredients
This recipe uses ingredients that are easily available or in your pantry. For the measurements, you may check the recipe card.
- Pumpkin- Both orange and green pumpkin work best for this recipe. Butternut squash would also work well. You may deseed and peel the pumpkin and chop it into large yet thin chunks. The seeds may also be roasted and used for garnishing. I have roasted the pumpkin and other veggies in OTG. You may air fry them or microwave them or simply roast them on the stovetop. Time would vary as per your choice.
- Bell Peppers- I have used red bell peppers. It adds vibrant color and mildly sweet flavor. You may use any of the peppers like yellow, green, or jalapenos, though jalapenos may add heat to this salad.
- Spinach- Roughly chopped fresh curly spinach leaves work great. You may use Kale, Arugula, or lettuce too. I avoid having spinach leaves raw and have roasted them for about 3-4 min. They curled and squeezed little water and had rich green color added to this salad.
- Onion- Red onions work best. White onions or spring onions would be great as a substitute.
- Radish- I love having radish in salads. These crisp white beauties add much-needed spiciness. You may also use red radish, turnips, or beets.
- Lemon Juice- Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds tangy flavor to this sweet salad.
- White Sesame- adds a mildly sweet and nutty aroma and flavor to this salad. You may roast them or garnish them as is. You may also use hemp, black sesame, or flax seeds.
- Peanuts-adds crunchy texture to this salad. I have used salt-free peanuts. If you are using salted ones, add less salt to the salad. You may also add pecans, cashew, walnut, red beans, or chickpeas.
- Mustard Oil-In India, we commonly use mustard oil to roast vegetables like brinjal or make dry veggies like Lady Finger and Bitter gourd using it. Mustard oil is a strong oil and not everyone may like its taste and flavor. You may use olive oil, sesame oil, or avocado oil as well.
- Salt and Black pepper- Top your salad with salt and black pepper for balancing the flavors.
Variations
- Add another ingredient- Feel free to add green beans, carrots, zucchini, potato, or any vegetable of your choice.
- Add Cheese- You may add feta or any soft cheese to this salad. If you are using non-vegan cheese, then this recipe won't be vegan.
- Add Protein- You may add proteins like egg, sausage, or ham to this salad but then it won't be vegan.
- Add another garnishing- If you like sweet notes, drizzle some maple oil or honey over the salad. Note that In India we believe in "NOT Heating" Honey. So, we add it to salads when they attain room temperature and are not hot so that honey doesn't change its temperature.
Storage Suggestions
For the leftovers, store them in a dry container with a lid in the refrigerator for about 2 days. Since spinach is water-rich, it would make the salad soggy and I recommend having it fresh. Freezing of this salad is highly discouraged.
Expert Tips
- While roasting the veggies, keep an eye that they don't overcook and flip them once.
- Grease the baking tray with oil before placing the veggies.
- Preheated OTG takes less time to roast vegetables as compared to an oven or air fryer. The time mentioned may vary if you are using those for roasting.
- The bell peppers and radish are a bit crunchy. If you don't like them crisp, roast more for about 5 min or till soft.
- If you wish to add spinach raw, you may wash it thoroughly and keep it in a colander for draining excess water, or else the salad would be runny. When I baked spinach, it did leave the water and I avoided it adding to the mixing bowl.
Detailed Recipe
The recipe for this spinach and pumpkin salad is super easy and totally adjustable as per your taste.
Step 1 Wash, Chop, and Bake
Wash all the veggies and chop them as desired. I have chopped pumpkin, radish, and bell peppers into thin large wedges. Onions are sliced. Spinach is roughly chopped.
Take a baking tray and place all veggies on it. Spread little oil over them along with sesame.
I have a small baking tray and I baked the veggies in two batches. Spread them evenly on a baking tray with some gaps flipping after a few mins. It takes about 15 minutes max. with (10 min) preheated OTG. My guess is the oven takes a little longer than OTG. We just wish to have a little crunchy veggie here.
Those who don't wish to use the oven may roast directly on a stove burner.
Step 2 Mix the Baked Veggies
The baked veggies look so radiant. The pumpkin has totally melt-in-mouth mushy texture while the radish and peppers are a bit crunchy.
Once roasting is done, you may take a large bowl and mix everything well. Add sesame, lemon juice, a little salt, black pepper, and peanuts. Feel free to add honey or maple syrup.
Step 3 Serve It!
The Pumpkin Spinach Salad is ready. Serve it with soups or slices of bread!
What to Team with this Pumpkin Salad?
You will love this salad as a light lunch and can be had with:
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this salad is good for 3 days in the refrigerator in areas with winter.
Yes, for busy people making this salad in advance is really an option. You may roast the veggies and store them in tight-lid containers in the refrigerator and mix them with spices the next day.
Well, I avoid using raw pumpkin or greens in the salad. That's why spinach is also cooked for a few minutes in this recipe. However, one may definitely steam pumpkin. Since pumpkin becomes too mushy after one whistle in a pressure cooker, you may either hot boil in a large pan for about 10 min (that gives a crunchy texture to pumpkin) or make a mashed pumpkin salad.
Yes. Make sure to wash the spinach carefully. Being an Indian, my instinct is to cook everything and I totally get you. If you like raw spinach, feel free to add them at the last step of mixing.
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Roast Pumpkin Spinach Salad {Gluten Free Vegan Salad}
Equipment
- Chopping board
- OTG/Oven
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 250 gm Orange peel Pumpkin can use any pumpkin that is locally available
- 1 cup sorted, chopped, washed spinach Kale is a substitute
- 1 large red bell pepper use any bell pepper
- 1 large radish
- 1 medium onion
- 2 teaspoon Sesame
- 8-10 piece peanuts can use pecan/walnut/almonds
- ½ teaspoon mustard oil Can use olive oil
- a pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Gather all the veggies. Make sure to wash them under running water.
- Chop the pumpkin and bell peppers in small and thin wedges, onion and radish in long slices, Spinach in long thin strands. Place them on baking tray with gap and apply little oil and spread sesame over it.
- I roasted in preheated (10 min at 100°) OTG at 250° for 10 min. Since I had one tray and the small one, I had baked in two batches. You may do it in one go. Just be careful with spinach as it would be done sooner than others. You may take it out after 5 min.The Oven might take a bit longer than OTG.
- The pumpkin and onion would be a bit soft after roasting.
- The bell peppers are a bit crunchy after roasting. Spinach has lost some water and appears dark. You may have it raw if you like it that way.
- Take a large bowl and start adding roasted veggies to it. Top them with sesame, peanuts, lemon juice, and a little salt.
- If you wish to add maple syrup or honey, add it here. Remember to add honey when the salad is not so hot and has attained room temperature.Enjoy this crunchy nutty Roasted Pumpkin Spinach Salad!
Notes
- While roasting the veggies, keep an eye that they don't overcook and flip them once.
- Grease the baking tray with oil before placing the veggies.
- Preheated OTG takes less time to roast vegetables as compared to an oven or air fryer. The time mentioned may vary if you are using those for roasting.
- The bell peppers and radish are a bit crunchy. If you don't like them crisp, roast more for about 5 min or till soft.
- If you wish to add spinach raw, you may wash it thoroughly and keep it in a colander for draining excess water, or else the salad would be runny. When I baked spinach, it did leave the water and I avoided it adding to the mixing bowl.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 small bowl | |
| Servings: 2 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 119 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 4.8g | 6% |
| Saturated Fat 0.7g | 4% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 38mg | 2% |
| Total Carbohydrate 17.6g | 6% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.8g | 14% |
| Total Sugars 6.3g | |
| Protein 5.4g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 89mg | 7% |
| Iron 2mg | 13% |
| Potassium 611mg | 13% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
- You may add raw spinach, raw radish to this recipe. Make sure to wash spinach thoroughly.
- If Oven is to be used, increase the time by 5-10 minutes for those steps where OTG is mentioned.
- This recipe can be easily scaled up to double or triple.
You may also like:
More Healthy Veg Salads:
- Mashed Potato Salad with Green Mung Beans {Vegetarian, Weight-Loss, No-Mayo}
- Roast Pumpkin And Spinach Salad {Vegan, Gluten Free}
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad {Creamy, Vegetarian}
- Veg Salad Recipes for Weight Loss {Healthy and Low Calorie}
- Kala Chana Salad | Kala Chana Chaat {Vegan Gluten Free}
- Veg Greek Salad Recipe | Easy Weight-Loss Salad with Feta
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Amol Sharma says
First try of a pumpkin recipe (roast pumpkin salad), and I'm a convert 😀 Turned out yummy and healthy, was a hit with family and friends.
Deepti says
Thanks Amol for sharing this! I am so glad to know that salad turned out well for you!