This salad is pretty enough to earn a spot on your holiday table, with sweet roasted delicata squash, juicy pear, salty feta, and ruby-red pomegranate seeds tumbled over sturdy baby kale, all tied together with a maple-Dijon dressing. It is just as welcome on an ordinary Tuesday. Delicata squash has a thin, tender skin, so there is no peeling. Just slice, roast, and toss. Creamy butter beans and crunchy pumpkin seeds make it filling. Want to make it a meal? Add sliced grilled or rotisserie chicken and you’ve got a satisfying lunch or a light dinner the whole family will reach for. Best of all, it’s full of jobs for little helpers.
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Delicata Squash & Pear Harvest Salad
This salad is pretty enough to earn a spot on your holiday table, with sweet roasted delicata squash, juicy pear, salty feta, and ruby-red pomegranate seeds tumbled over sturdy baby kale, all tied together with a bright maple-Dijon dressing. It is just as welcome on an ordinary Tuesday. Want to make it a meal? Add sliced grilled or rotisserie chicken and you’ve got a satisfying lunch or a light dinner the whole family will reach for. Best of all, it is full of jobs for little helpers.
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 main dishes, 6 as a side
Ingredients
Roasted Squash
- 1 medium delicata squash (about 1 pound)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Maple-Dijon Dressing
- ¼ cup (55 grams) olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch of black pepper
Salad
- 5 ounces (about 6 cups) baby kale or kale blend
- 1 cup thinly shaved radicchio (about ¼ small head)
- 1 (15-ounce) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ripe but firm pear (such as Bosc or Anjou), thinly sliced
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds (arils)
- ⅓ cup (45 grams) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- ½ cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta
Instructions
Roasted Squash
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash the squash, trim off the ends, and cut it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then slice each half into ½-inch half-moons. No need to peel; the skin is tender and completely edible.
- Toss the squash with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread it in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Roast for 20–25 minutes, flipping halfway through, until tender and golden brown on the edges.
Pumpkin Seeds
- While the squash roasts, toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until they start to puff and pop. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Maple-Dijon Dressing
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small jar, put on the lid, and shake until creamy and combined. (Or whisk together in a small bowl.)
Salad
- Place the kale in a large bowl and drizzle with about ½ tablespoon of oil. Massage the leaves with clean hands for 30 seconds, until they soften and darken slightly.
- Add the radicchio and toss.
- Top with the roasted squash, butter beans, pear slices, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds, and feta.
- Drizzle with the remaining dressing just before serving and toss gently.
Notes
Delicata squash is in season from late summer through early winter. Look for one that feels heavy for its size, with cream-colored skin and green or orange stripes.
Slice the pear right before serving, or toss the slices with a squeeze of lemon juice so they don't brown.
Short on time? Many stores sell pomegranate seeds already removed from the fruit.
The squash can be served warm or at room temperature. If it's still hot from the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes so it doesn't wilt the greens.
To make ahead, store the squash, dressing, toasted seeds, and greens separately in the fridge for up to 3 days, and assemble just before serving. The dressing may separate; just give it another shake.
Want to add more protein? Sliced roasted chicken or a soft-boiled egg makes a great addition.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
Language Corner
These language guides are here to support you, not overwhelm you! Pick one word, one prompt, or one concept that feels right for your child and your moment. There is no right or wrong way to use them. The best conversation is the one that happens naturally while you are cooking together.
✦ Word of the Day: Harvest
Harvest (say it: HAR-vest) means gathering crops when they are ripe and ready to eat. It can also mean the season when that happens, usually fall. Squash, pears, apples, and pumpkins are all harvested in autumn, which is why this salad tastes like fall.
Try it: Which foods in this salad do you think are harvested in the fall? Have you ever picked apples, pumpkins, or anything else right from where it grows?
✦ Word of the Day: Delicata
Delicata (say it: del-ih-KAH-tuh) is a type of winter squash. Its name sounds like the word delicate, which means soft or easily damaged, and that's a great clue: its skin is so thin and tender that you can eat it without peeling.
Try it: Can you think of something else that is delicate? What about a butterfly, a bubble, or a flower petal? Why do you think this squash got its name?
✦ Describing Words
This salad is full of different textures and tastes. The kale is leafy and chewy, the squash is soft and sweet, the pear is juicy, the pumpkin seeds are crunchy, the feta is salty and crumbly, and the pomegranate seeds pop when you bite them.
Try it: Take one bite of each ingredient on its own. Can you find one describing word for each one? Which was the crunchiest? The juiciest? The saltiest?
✦ Figure of Speech: Full of Beans
When someone is "full of beans," it means they have lots of energy and are lively and excited. "The kids were full of beans after recess!" It has nothing to do with eating beans, even though this salad really is full of them.
Try it: When are you most full of beans? What about first thing in the morning, after school, or right before bed?
✦ Talk While You Cook
While scooping out the squash seeds: “What does the inside of the squash look like? How does it feel?”
While shaking the dressing: “What do you notice happening to the oil and vinegar when we shake them together? What happens if we let it sit?”
While massaging the kale: “How does the kale feel before we massage it? How about after?”
There are no wrong answers, just good conversation!
✦ Think Like a Chef
A great chef thinks about color, crunch, and balance. This salad has something sweet (pear, squash, maple), something salty (feta), something tangy (vinegar), something crunchy (pumpkin seeds), and something juicy (pomegranate). What if you swapped the pear for apple? The feta for goat cheese? The pumpkin seeds for walnuts?
Try it: Pick one swap and predict how it would change the salad. Would it be sweeter? Crunchier? A different color?
✦ Language Concept: Categories
Sorting things into groups, or categories, helps our brains organize and remember new words. This salad has ingredients from lots of different food groups.
Fruits: pear, pomegranate
Vegetables: kale, radicchio, delicata squash
Beans and Seeds: butter beans, pumpkin seeds
Dairy: feta
Try it: Before you start cooking, lay out all the ingredients and sort them into groups together. Can you think of one more food that would belong in each group?
✦ A Note on Kitchen Safety
Kids can wash the kale, scoop out the squash seeds with a spoon, shake the dressing, massage the kale, sprinkle on the toppings, and crumble the feta, all real cooking skills.
For Parents: delicata squash is firm and can roll, so slicing it is a grown-up job. A sharp knife and a steady cutting board are a must. The hot oven, baking sheet, and skillet for toasting the pumpkin seeds should also be handled by an adult, since toasted seeds can pop out of the pan.
Nicole Jacques Hughes
This salad was so good!