Autumn Chopped Salad

This autumn salad has everything you want from a chopped salad with a fall seasonal twist. It has roasted sweet potatoes, diced apples and pears all tossed in a mix of kale and romaine. Crumbled blue cheese and pumpkin seeds finish this crisp fresh salad. that’s a recipe to bookmark for Thanksgiving.

This recipe is also in a roundup of my 20 favorite Thanksgiving salads.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Chopped salads give you something tasty and different in each bite. Two kinds of lettuce are better than one in this recipe with bitter lacinato kale and and light crisp romaine.

This fall salad is perfect for weekday lunches and holidays like Thanksgiving. So many fruits and veggies are in season right now. That’s why I include sweet potatoes, apples and pears. I roast the sweet potatoes and keep the apples and pears raw, just dicing them.

You’ll enjoy the combination of savory and sweet ingredients. The best fall salads have an variety of tastes and textures, and this salad recipe does that with fruits and vegetables.

The Ingredients

These are the ingredients for this fall salad:

• Sweet potatoes: The recipe calls for 2 medium sweet potatoes, which is about a pound. You can use cubed butternut squash instead.
• Apples: The crisper the apple, the better. Just think about the crisp, fresh lettuce. Some of my go-to varieties include Pink Lady and Honeycrisp.
• Pears are more mellow than apples. I love how they go together as the sweet elements in the salad.
• Romaine: I use hearts of romaine for their crisp fresh bite to push that lightness in the salad.
• Kale: I like lacinato kale because of its deep green color and its pleasant bitterness. It is ok to substitute with curly green kale if you prefer something less intense.
• Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, add crunch. You can substitute with chopped walnuts or pecans.
• Blue cheese offsets the sweetness of the fruit. If blue is to much for you, swap it with goat cheese or feta cheese.
• Scallions add subtle green onion flavor. You can use 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions for a substitute.
• Parsley gives the salad something herby and fresh.
• Sherry vinaigrette: The dressing is a simple mix of sherry vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, whole grain mustard, honey or maple syrup, kosher salt and black pepper. You can substitute with apple cider vinegar.

How To Make This Autumn Chopped Salad

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Roast the sweet potatoes. Toss them with oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Spread them into a single layer. Roast until tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 25-30 minutes.

2. Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the garlic, mustard, honey, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

3. Combine the salad ingredients in a big bowl including romaine, kale, scallions, apples, pears, pumpkin seeds, blue cheese, parsley and roasted sweet potatoes.

4. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad. Toss everything to combine.

More Fall Salad Recipes

Fall Harvest Salad
Apple Cabbage Salad
Roasted Squash Salad
Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad
Pecan Apple Salad

Looking for more salad inspiration? Check out my seasonal salad guide with recipes and tips on ingredients, meal prep and more.