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This vibrant fall salad is the perfect way to embrace autumn. It's with loaded healthy, seasonal ingredients and a fabulous pumpkin dressing.
It seems where ever I go, there are new recipe inspirations coming my way. This delicious fall salad was inspired by my daughter, Cait. We had fun hanging out with her family in Memphis last week and, as usual, she served lots of delicious food.
One evening it was a healthy dinner with grilled chicken and a beautiful green salad. I loved the whole meal but I couldn't get enough of the vibrant, flavorful salad. It had baby kale, chickpeas, clementines, red grapes, quinoa, and pistachios. When we got home, I couldn't wait to make my own version of this fabulous fall salad. And now, I'm happy to share it with you!
I decided to use my Maple Pumpkin Vinaigrette to dress my salad. The recipe includes pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and a drizzle of maple syrup for a touch of sweetness. I keep a jar of this dressing in my fridge all fall long. It's full of vibrant flavor and gives a nice seasonal touch to salads at this time of year.
I think you love having this fall salad in your seasonal arsenal. Serve it as a side or transform it into a delicious, healthy dinner by adding rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, shrimp or salmon. It makes a lovely lunch or serve it with some warm crusty French bread or this Ridiculously Easy Focaccia Bread for a casual dinner.
Café Tips for making this Fall Salad with Pumpkin Maple Vinaigrette
- Use whatever greens you find freshest and prettiest at the market. Cait used baby kale. I used baby arugula and some watercress that was calling my name as I strolled recently, through my local market. Baby spinach would also be delicious as would a nice field green mix.
- You'll have more dressing than you need for this fall salad. But no worries! The Pumpkin Vinaigrette is delicious drizzled over any greens and/or fall produce. It's also wonderful drizzled over chicken, pork and seafood.
- If you want to make this salad more hearty add a cup of cooked quinoa (here's a post on how to cook perfect quinoa). You could also use barley, farro or wild rice.
- Yay, pomegranates are starting to show up at the market! Intimidated by removing the arils from pomegranates? Here's a step by step tutorial on how to do it with no mess, no fuss, no water!
If you're interested in keeping things fresh and healthy once all the wonderful summer produce has disappeared, check out our Favorite Fall Salads post. There are so... may delicious seasonal ingredients to take advantage of - check out these recipes and you won't even miss the homegrown tomatoes, sweet corn and summer berries!
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Fall Salad with Pumpkin Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 8 cups arugula or other greens
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 3 medium clementines, peeled, halved and sliced ÂĽ inch thick
- 1 cup red grapes, halved
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup chickpeas
- ½ cup salted, roasted pistachios
- ÂĽ cup pomegranate arils or seeds
- chopped fresh mint, optional
- Pumpkin Maple Vinaigrette
Instructions
- Place salad greens and mint (if using) in a medium-size bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the Pumpkin Maple Vinaigrette. Toss gently to coat leaves with dressing.
- Add clementines, red grapes, red onion and chickpeas. Toss again. Turn salad out onto a serving platter and drizzle lightly with more dressing. Top with pomegranate arils and pistachios. Serve extra dressing at the table.
Notes
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Lovely, Lovely salad. OMG amazing with the pumpkin vinaigrette.. Definitely a keeper.
Thanks for letting us know, Donna!
When I saw this recipe I was not sure I could serve this. Pumpkin puree in a salad dressing? Never say never. The combination of salad ingredients & the pumpkin maple dressing was amazing. The maple syrup in the dressing was a nice compliment to the arugula which sometimes can taste bitter to me. Adding the mint is a must for extra flavor. Pomegranate arils are not in our markets yet so that was the only thing missing. My husband gave this a 5 thumbs up!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing your results, Candace!
Delicious! Wondering if making for dinner again tonight is too soon? 🙂
Ha! I don't think so, Tracy!
I am in Australia. As mandarines are not in season, I substituted sliced firm (just ripe) mangoes. The result is so delicious. I served this with grilled prawns (shrimps) and scallops on the side. i am inspired by your creativity.
That sounds wonderful, Marina! Thanks for sharing 🙂
What a beautiful salad! And the pumpkin maple vinagrette sounds delicious!
Thanks so much!
What a tasty mix of fall flavors and I'd love to have a few bottles of the vinaigrette on hand.
Beautiful. Gorgeous! Your salad is fabulous. I thought the chick peas were hazelnuts, which would be good too! But I really love the vinaigrette. To me, that's what makes a perfect salad, having a perfect dressing.
Thanks so much, Mimi! I'm with you, I love a good salad dressing too!
Perfectly fall!
Beautiful salad, Chris! I love all the flavors of fall and this would be a perfect start to a Thanksgiving feast!
So much good stuff in this salad! And that vinaigrette is to die for. We could eat this for dinner, but this would also be a great starter for a dinner party. Terrific recipe -- thanks.
I love these flavors, what a gorgeous autumn salad!
So beautiful! So much colour and flavour going on and a perfect side for a simple protein. Will be making this!
I love arugula salads and bet it was perfect with a piece of chicken. All these flavors and textures in one beautiful salad! Salads are not just for summer 🙂
This is gorgeous, Chris! I'm stuck in a salad rut and need to break out. You've inspired with this this delicious autumnal salad!
What a gorgeous fall salad Chris! That pumpkin maple vinaigrette is pushing all my buttons! It sounds delicious.
A pumpkin vinaigrette is such a wonderful idea, I love your creativity Chris, I'm definitely going to try this!
Such a lovely Fall salad! And that maple vinaigrette sounds just as marvelous 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Chris.