This pumpkin and feta salad is a delicious fall meal. Seasonal vegetables like pumpkin, broccoli, and celery, paired with yummy feta cheese and roasted walnuts and topped with homemade balsamic dressing.
Fall is in the air, you guys! I love the change of seasons, I love the cool air, I love the falling leaves, I love the autumn garden, I love hunting season (and processing deer meat)… The list goes on and on because it’s such a fabulous time of the year…
However, I have to admit that most of all I love pumpkins. There is just something about the shape of a pumpkin that does something to the soul, do you agree? It’s so round and orange, it’s so full of delicious seeds (that I roast with garlic and cumin and that are very healthy!) and its flesh is so filling and creamy… I think it’s the ultimate vegetable because it’s both beautiful (as in, to decorate the house with!) and delicious and stores so well.
Pumpkin and Feta Salad Recipe…
The only thing that is wrong with pumpkins is the fact that the bugs love them just as much as I do. But how can you blame them? It hasn’t been the best pumpkin season in the garden, but rest assured that it’s not going to prevent me from making…
- Low-Sugar Pumpkin Bread
- Lentil Pumpkin Salad
- Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin and Beetroot Salad, or all the other delicious pumpkin recipes.
Today, I want to share with you this delicious roasted pumpkin and feta salad. My mother and I kinda brainstormed it over the phone one day and I thought it sounded delicious. So I tried it and oh my… It was more than I expected!
Table of Content…
Ingredients…
- Pumpkin – use whatever pumpkin you can put your hands on. The smaller sugar, pie pumpkins are usually a bit more creamy and flavorful but even a carving pumpkin is fine here.
- Broccoli – we’ll use a few broccoli florets.
- Celery – a lot of the celery flavor is in the leaves. Use the center of the celery stalk, where the ribs are young and there are more leaves.
- Feta cheese – I usually use my homemade feta cheese. If you get feta cheese at the store you can get the crumbled feta or the block and crumble it yourself.
- Walnuts – I think they fit best for this salad, however, if walnuts are not your favorit, you can replace them with any kind of nut.
- For the dressing – I love making my own balsamic dressing for this salad. To make the dressing, I use olive oil, honey, mustard (I use grainy), balsamic vinegar, and salt. Feel free to follow the recipe for my dressing or use any other dressing that you like, homemade or store-bought.
Kitchen Tools…
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
- Baking sheet
- Oil spray bottle (or just a kitchen brush)
- 1 cup measuring cup – you don’t really need this… I write the measurements in cups since I have to give you an idea of how much I am using. So for example, 2 cups of broccoli, but really, it’s a salad and nothing has to be exact. Feel free to just eyeball it.
- Large mixing bowl
- Smaller serving bowl
- Half-pint jar
- 1 tablespoon measuring spoon
How to Make Pumpkin and Feta Salad…
Step one – roast the pumpkin.
- Start by cutting around the stem of the pumpkin and remove it.
- Clean the stringy mess that is inside the pumpkin. Make sure to keep the seeds and roast them because they are very healthy.
- Keep cutting the pumpkin into smaller pieces.
- Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet, drizzle each piece with olive oil and use a brush to brush it well (or spray the oil). Season with salt and black pepper.
Note – remember that we are only going to use 2 cups of cubed pumpkin so if you’re planning to use the rest of the pumpkin in sweet recipes you might want to roast some of it without the seasoning and the oil. - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and roast the pumpkin for around 30 minutes or until it’s soft (stick a fork in it to check if it’s soft).
- Take the pumpkin out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Use your knife to remove the skin from each piece and cut it into smaller pieces.
- Set the pumpkin peices aside to cool completely.
Step two – roast the broccoli.
- Cut 6-7 florets off of the broccoli head into smaller pieces.
- Set on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Spread the broccoli so it’s in one layer.
- Roast in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 6-7 minutes if you like your broccoli still crunchy, or a little longer if you like it softer.
- Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Step three – roast the walnuts. Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F, chop the walnuts (if they are not already chopped), place them on a baking sheet and roast for two minutes. Take out of the oven, move the walnuts around a bit. Place back in the oven for two more minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Step four – chop the celery. Wash the celery well and chop it.
Homemade Balsamic Dressing…
Step five – make the dressing. Before we put this pumpkin and feta salad together, let’s make a homemade balsamic dressing for it. Of course, you can use store-bought dressing (balsamic or any other), however, it’s pretty easy to make so I usually make my own.
- To a half-pint jar, add olive oil, honey, mustard (I use grainy), balsamic vinegar, and salt.
- Close the jar and shake well.
Serving Pumpkin and Feta Salad…
Step five – add the vegetables to a large bowl.
- Add the celery, broccoli, and pumpkin into a large mixing bowl and toss together.
Note – If you are the only one who is eating this salad, you can scoop as much as you want into a smaller bowl and dress only the smaller serving. Then, use a plastic food wrap to cover the larger bowl and place it in the fridge. It will last for days so you can come back the next day and scoop another smaller serving into a smaller bowl and so on. If you are serving this to a crowd, you can go ahead and dress the whole amount. - You can use any salad dressing that you’d like. I usually dress this salad with the homemade balsamic dressing that I shared above.
- Add the feta cheese and walnuts and dig in!
What to Serve This Salad With…
This salad is very filling and can be a whole meal on its own, however, if you feel that you want to add something next to it, here are a few ideas…
- Zucchini and Corn Fritters
- Fried Chicken Meatballs
- Delicious Spinach patties
- Mediterranean Zucchini Casserole
Frequently Asked Questions…
I don’t think that you can find cubbed canned pumpkin in the store and, of course, you can’t use pumpkin puree… However, if you can your own pumpkin (cubbed) you can definitely use that!
Most definitely. Add hemp hearts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds or any other kinds of seeds. You can also add nuts like almonds or pecans. Make it your own, there are no roles. Add whatever you feel like adding.
My favorite is feta, but you can replace it with gorgonzola or goat cheese (hard or soft) if you’d like. You can even fry paneer cheese and add it hot right out of the pan.
If you are not a big fan of celery, feel free to replace it with spinach, chard, arugula, kale, lettuce… Really any kind of greens will do just fine!
This pumpkin and feta salad is a regular fall meal for me. It’s filling and healthy and delicious. I love that I can make a large bowl of it and stick it in the fridge, then come back to grab an individual portion for my lunch. This way it lasts me for a few days! I sure hope you’d give it a try.
More Recipes to Try…
- 47 Fresh Savory Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Seed Butter Recipe
- How to Freeze Pumpkin Puree
- Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- How to Make Apple Chips in the Oven
Pumpkin and Feta Salad
Roasted pumpkin and feta salad with broccoli and celery. Topped with roasted walnuts and dressed with homemade dressing.
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted pumpkin cubes (instructions on how to roast below)
- 2 cups roasted broccoli (instructions on how to roast below)
- Some olive oil, salt, and black pepper for seasoning the roasted vegetables.
- 2 cups chopped celery (use the center of the celery and try to get as many leaves as you can)
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped and roasted walnuts (instructions on how to roast below)
For the Dressing...
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Step one - roast the pumpkin. Start by cutting around the stem of the pumpkin and remove it. Clean the stringy mess that is inside the pumpkin. Keep cutting the pumpkin into smaller pieces.Place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet, drizzle each piece with olive oil and use a brush to brush it well (or spray the oil). Season with salt and black pepper.
Note – remember that we are only going to use 2 cups of cubed pumpkin so if you’re planning to use the rest of the pumpkin in sweet recipes you might want to roast some of it without the seasoning and the oil. - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and roast the pumpkin for around 30 minutes or until it’s soft (stick a fork in it to check if it’s soft). Take the pumpkin out of the oven and let it cool a bit. Use your knife to remove the skin from each piece and cut it into smaller pieces. Set the pumpkin pieces aside to cool completely.
- Step two – roast the broccoli. Cut 6-7 florets off of the broccoli head into smaller pieces. Set on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper. Spread the broccoli so it’s in one layer. Roast in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for 6-7 minutes if you like your broccoli still crunchy, or a little longer if you like it softer. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Step three – roast the walnuts. Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees F, chop the walnuts (if they are not already chopped), place them on a baking sheet and roast for two minutes. Take out of the oven, move the walnuts around a bit. Place back in the oven for two more minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Step four – chop the celery. Wash the celery well and chop it.
- Step five – make the dressing. To a half-pint jar, add olive oil, honey, mustard (I use grainy), balsamic vinegar, and salt. Close the jar and shake well.
- Step six - put it all together. Add the celery, broccoli, and pumpkin into a large mixing bowl and toss together.
Note – If you are the only one who is eating this salad, you can scoop as much as you want into a smaller bowl and dress only the smaller serving. Then, use a plastic food wrap to cover the larger bowl and place it in the fridge. It will last for days so you can come back the next day and scoop another smaller serving into a smaller bowl and so on. If you are serving this to a crowd, you can go ahead and dress the whole amount. - You can use any salad dressing that you’d like. I usually dress this salad with the homemade balsamic dressing that I shared above but you can use store-bought as well.
- Add the feta cheese and walnuts and dig in!
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions…
- Can I use canned pumpkin?
I don’t think that you can find cubbed canned pumpkin in the store and, of course, you can’t use pumpkin puree… However, if you can your own pumpkin (cubbed) you can definitely use that! - Can I add other kinds of nuts or seeds?
Most definitely. Add hemp hearts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds or any other kinds of seeds. You can also add nuts like almonds or pecans. Make it your own, there are no roles. Add whatever you feel like adding. - What other kinds of cheese will work in this salad?
My favorite is feta, but you can replace it with gorgonzola or goat cheese (hard or soft) if you’d like. You can even fry paneer cheese and add it hot right out of the pan. - What can I replace the celery with?
If you are not a big fan of celery, feel free to replace it with spinach, chard, arugula, kale, lettuce… Really any kind of greens will do just fine!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 915mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 17gProtein: 7g
Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.
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