Fall Bliss Butternut Squash Salad with Cider-Cinnamon Vinaigrette

This butternut squash salad brings fall to the table! With tender butternut squash, crisp apple, cranberries and walnuts, all topped with cider-cinnamon dressing, it's got it all.

I feel like I've said this before, but I'm gonna say it again. I CANNOT spell vinaigrette. I mess it up. Every. Single. Time.

I just want it to start with the word 'vinegar.' Is that too much to ask, really? Instead it starts with 'vinaigr.' Please tell me...what in the hell is 'vinaigr?'

I would really love to know. But you can't tell me. No one can. You know why? Because it's NOT A THING. It's a made up, fake, substitute word for vinegar because someone decided it would be funny to have me spell the name of my salad dressings wrong forever and ever.

And I'm not even a bad speller. I made it to the spelling bee in elementary school. The one that got me? Conscience. Couldn't get that 'i before e except after c' thing right to save my life.

The first time I made this butternut squash salad, I randomly threw it together from stuff in the fridge and pantry. But I've found myself continuing to make it every couple of weeks now that fall is here, because the flavors are just so perfect! 

I called it Fall Bliss Salad because that's how I feel when I eat it. Butternut Squash Salad just doesn't convey the happiness that this salad brings me.

Fall is my favorite eating season. All the seasonal flavors of squash, cranberries, spices, & warmth make me feel all cozy inside.

Also, seeing as how my favorite vegetable is brussel sprouts, it feels a bit more seasonally appropriate to be eating those weekly during the fall than in summertime (although that doesn't stop me!)

When I was little I hated vegetables. Now, I usually choose my entree at restaurants based on the veggie sides that come with it, because they end up being my favorite part of the meal. That's how I feel about this butternut squash salad.

Each time I made this butternut squash salad, I changed up the dressing a little bit. I'm pretty sure the first time I made it, I just drizzled some olive oil on it and called it good - I had just gotten home from a doozie of a workout, and all I was really concerned with was getting food in my face, stat.

The next time, I added some vinegar (vinaigr?) but it was still missing something. Today, I got the dressing just right - a basic 2:1 vinaigrette ratio, combined with some spiced cider, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

Bliss rolled in quick on the heels of that.

Pro Tip #1: Don't overcook your butternut squash. 

You want this fork tender. If you overcook it, it will get mushy, and when you eat it on the salad with the apples, the texture difference will be weird.

If you dice your butternut squash before cooking, try to get them all about the same shape and size, then roast in a single layer on a baking sheet. (This is the method I recommend.)

If you cook your squash before cutting it up, just make sure not to over bake it and end up with a squishy outside, otherwise you won't be able to get it out of the skin while keeping it in cubes.

Pro Tip #2: Don't overdress your salad. 

Less is more! Go easy on the dressing. There's a lot of flavor already in the salad, and you want to compliment it, not drown it out. You can always add more, but you can't take it off.

Drizzle your salad with your vinaigrette, or your vinegarette (<--that's how it SHOULD be spelled!), and revel in the delicious cider-cinnamon-y spices and perfect fall flavors.

This would be a great side salad for Thanksgiving dinner!

On a salad kick? Try my Eat the Rainbow Salad, Raw Broccoli Salad, Summer Peach, Onion and Arugula Salad, or these 5 Perfect Springtime Salads!

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