This roasted vegetable fall salad is so easy, so delicious and makes leftovers for the whole week! I ate this salad for 3 days after we had it for dinner, and didn’t get sick of eating it once. This recipe is packed with fiber, protein and plant diversity and comes together in a flash, definitely the recipe you wanna have around the holidays to feel festive but not not overly full.
I love a good crouton and have done these sourdough ones on my roasted white bean and blueberry salad but I love them here as well, and I love the benefits of sourdough. The fermentation process that helps the bread to rise is like a hella lot of microbes doing their thing and that thing is good for your gut health. Don’t take my word for it, you can read up on it here and find out why it’s one of this gastroenterologist top food choices for a healthy microbiome. Disclaimer, it is still bread don’t serve yourself a portion full of just croutons, wink, wink..been there, done that.
Another food that made the top of that list was peanuts and here you have dressing that not only contains ginger and apple cider vinegar, it’s also got peanut butter. It also tastes bomb. How many dressings can say that?
Think about all the times you’ve gone out to a restaurant and ordered what you thought was a healthy salad only to realize the abundance of calories and poor nutritional content of the dressings heaped on your veggies.
I love a good dressing, but I hate finding out that 99% of the time they are made with canola oil for it’s neutral flavor. This might be great for taste but it’s terrible for your body as canola and other vegetable oils contain PUFA’s that when eaten in excess can contribute to metabolic disease. Check the bottle of your dressings the next time you’re at the market and see what oils are being used. I’ve begun to steer clear of seed oils whenever possible. You can read more about those here.
Salad hardly even feels like a recipe to me, but you do want to make sure the flavors complement each other and provide you with a feeling of satiety especially if you want to enjoy this a meal (which I did for days, yes I know I said that already but – truth)
The recipe is packed with vegetable ALL STARS :
- Kale which is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet with vitamins A, C, K, B6, manganese, magnesium, copper, calcium and potassium
- Brussel Sprouts which have antioxidants that help to protect against oxidative damage in the cells as well as vitamins K, A, C, folate, manganese and potassium
- Sweet Potatoes contain 4 grams of fiber and 2 grams of protein as well as beta carotene
- Apples are high in fiber, vitamin c & k as well as potassium. They also contain polyphenols which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
- Barley is healthy whole grain that contains fiber, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium, it’s delicious toasted in this salad and lends an almost nutty crunch to each bite
- Sourdough contains lactic acid bacteria as well as prebiotics
- Cranberries are also high in antioxidants and contain phenols and anthocyanins that may also carry anti-inflammatory properties
Not only is it a rainbow on your plate, we’re packing some serious antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and protein in this salad. It looks beautiful as a holiday side dish and is super easy to make for a weeknight night dinner. I seriously think the food might be my favorite part of fall, the weather just makes you want cozy roasted veggies and salads that are warm and vibrant and filling.
I hope you enjoy this salad combination and would love to know if you decide to make it this season!
Fall Harvest Roasted Veggie Salad with Honey Peanut Dressing
Equipment
- Sheet pan
Materials
- 1 bunch Kale
- 3 cups Brussel Sprouts usually one bag
- 2 large Sweet Potatoes
- 2 Apples I used Red Delicious but use what you have
- 1 cup Barley
- 1/4 cup cranberries unsweetened, dried
- 2 cups sourdough croutons About 3 slices of bread, torn and prepared
- 4-5 tbsp Avocado Oil for roasting vegetables
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil For croutons
- 2 tbsp Salt Always approx use the amount you prefer on your veggies
- 1.5 tbsp Pepper
For the Honey Peanut Dressing
- 2 tsp Peanut Butter Creamy Natural
- 2 tsp Honey
- 1.5 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/3 cup Mac nut Oil Sub light Olive or Avocado if you can't get Mac Nut
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and set the racks to one in the middle and one 2 underneath, then line 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper for easy clean up.
- Cook the barley according to package directions and drain any excess water.
- Wash and chop your kale and sweet potatoes cutting into even bite size pieces, cut the ends off your brussels and slice into thirds, I like to do this to get more surface areas for crisping.
- Spread the sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts on a sheet pan and drizzle with avocado oil and salt and pepper. On the other sheet pan do the same with the kale and barley.
- The sweet potatoes and brussels will take longer to roast so place them in your preheated oven on middle rack and roast for 20-25 mins tossing mid way.
- Make the sourdough croutons by tearing or cubing your sourdough bread. Heat your 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and cook 5-7 mins until toasty season with salt and pepper, set aside on paper towels
- After 20-25 mins add the Kale and barley on the lower rack and continue to roast both pans of vegetables for another 15-20 minutes until the kale is just wilted and starting to crisp on the edges, the barley should still be chewy but a bit toasted. By this point the brussels and sweet potatoes should be nicely browned and crispy on the edges, keep an eye on your sweet potatoes as not all ovens are the same and you don't want to burn your potatoes.
- Wash and cube your apple and measure out your dried cranberries
- Whisk all the ingredients for your honey peanut dressing together in a small bowl or large pyrex measuring cup
- Remove the roasted vegetable from the oven and arrange in large bowl or platter, top with the apples, croutons and cranberries, drizzle the dressing over top and enjoy!
