This Roasted Vegetable Winter Salad is a salad for people that think salads aren't filling or they think they are boring. It's the salad for people that think they don't like salads! Warm and hearty - perfect for a cold winter day. Roasting vegetables is the best way to cook them in our opinion, and the easiest way to get people to eat more veggies. This is the BEST vegetarian salad.
Winter is all about comfort food, but that doesn't mean that can't include salad. Just make sure the salad is loaded with warm and hearty toppings that will keep you going. This warm salad is comforting, but still light and fresh.
A salad is more than just green leaves after all. Pick you favourite seasonal winter ingredients and put them on a salad. Crispy root vegetables and mixed greens all brought together with an easy dressing and topped with your favourite cheese. You will be making this roasted vegetable salad all winter!
Looking for other winter salad recipes to make? Why not try our Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad, Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad or Easy Lentil Salad.
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Why you will love it
- For salad haters - It is the salad for people that think they don't like salads. Live with a "salad dodger"? This veggie salad WILL change their minds.
- It is healthy comfort food - Comforting roasted vegetables, but still a light salad. It's one of our favourite winter lunch ideas.
- Low in calories - This roasted vegetable salad is under 500 calories for a big filling bowl.
- Easily adaptable - Got some vegetables looking a bit sad in the back of the fridge? Roast them up to make this. We have got lots of ideas for vegetables for salad.
- It can easily be vegan - Just leave the cheese out of this vegetarian salad to make it vegan.
Ingredients needed
- Red onion - You can use shallots for this winter salad, which would give a sweeter flavour. But we love the colour that red onion adds.
- Butternut squash - Such a great winter vegetable for salads. Adds a lovely creaminess and it caramelises nicely when roasted.
- Potatoes - This helps to make this roast veg salad much more filling. You can use baby potatoes or cubed sweet potatoes.
- Carrots - To add some extra colour to this vegetable salad recipe, use a mixture of orange and purple carrots.
- Parsnips - These are amazing when roasted and they add a nice mixture to the roasted root vegetables.
- Oil - Use a good quality olive oil for the best flavour.
- Salt and pepper - Generously season.
- Salad leaves - Anything goes here on this vegetable salad recipe. We used a bag of lettuce leaves, but you could add in some spinach and kale for some extra nutrients.
- Balsamic vinegar - This adds a lovely sweetness to the salad dressing. Use the best quality you can, as the cheaper ones tend to be a bit watery.
- Herbs - We used a mixture of fresh basil, parsley and coriander. So, it's a great way to use up herbs.
- Cheese - We love some feta crumbles on top of this warm salad before serving.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make a roasted vegetable salad - Step by step
One: Chop all the vegetables so they are fairly chunky. Put them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper and mix well.
Two: Put onto a baking tray in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 35-40 minutes.
Three: Make the salad dressing by mixing together the olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper and herbs.
Four: Remove the vegetables from the oven.
Five: Divide the salad between 2 bowls and top with roasted vegetables. Drizzle the dressing on top and crumble over the feta.
Roasted vegetables
I must admit, that these roasted vegetables nearly didn't even make it on to a salad. When they came out of the oven I had to give them a try to make sure that they were done and I just couldn't stop. They are THAT good.
This is quite root vegetable heavy and we used a mixture of potato, butternut squash, carrot and parsnip. You could roast up anything though. Swap the white potato for some sweet potato and add some broccoli and cauliflower or even some radish.
Salad dressing
Now, let's talk about the dressing for a minute shall we? As a dressing as really make or break and salad. We made a dressing that was bursting with fresh herbs, because a dish with this many vegetables needs a good mixture of herbs to go with it.
If you have a few different herbs to use up, then this dressing will help you to do just that.
Remember, we are all about wasting less food at the moment and herbs are one of those things that always go to waste. You buy some for one recipe, only use half, and then they are left to wilt in the back of the fridge. No more! Make this dressing instead.
We mixed the herbs with a good glug of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and seasoned it. Next time I would add a squeeze of lemon juice and some zest too.
What to serve with a Winter Salad
I think this vegetable salad recipe is pretty perfect the way it is, but if you are serving it as a side salad then it would go well with Chicken Skewers, Air Fryer Steak or salmon. If you are having it as a light lunch, then we like some warm crusty bread on the side of it.
We usually serve up small portions of this as a starter to the main dish. However, if we are having it as a main then we would either add some Sourdough Croutons, or serve it with a slice of White Bread or Easy Bagels.
Frequently asked questions
You can roast all the vegetables in advance and then mix them with the salad, dressing and cheese just before serving. It's best not to mix everything in advance, as the salad can get a little soggy.
The vegetables really are the star of this salad, however that doesn't mean that you can't top it with something extra too. You could add a grilled chicken breast or some grilled salmon or prawns on top to give it a protein boost. If you want to keep it vegetarian, then mix some cooked chickpeas in when mixing the salad.
This is best eaten straight after serving, however if you do have any leftovers then they can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to two days.
Extra tips
• Roast any vegetables you have that need using up. Cauliflower and broccoli roast well too.
• Mix up the salad greens by adding some spinach and kale.
• Keep the vegetable salad vegan by skipping the feta, or using an alternative.
• Add some extra texture to this salad by sprinkling some seeds on top before serving.
• Next time I would add some lemon juice and zest to the salad dressing too.
• Give the warm salad a protein boost with some chickpeas or grilled chicken.
• Add some pomegranate on top for an extra burst of colour and flavour.
• For some sweetness, thinly sliced apple is a really nice addition to to a winter salad.
More veggie packed recipes
If you’ve tried this Roasted Vegetable Winter Salad, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Roasted Vegetable Winter Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables
- 1 Red onion
- 1 Butternut Squash - small
- 10 Baby potatoes
- 2 Carrot
- 2 Parsnips
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
Salad
- 4 Handfuls of Watercress/Rocket (arugula) salad mix
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Fresh basil - finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Fresh coriander (cilantro) - finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Fresh parsley - finely chopped
- 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 30 g (0.25 cups) Light Feta - (or dairy-free equivalent)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6
- Chop 1 Red onion, 1 Butternut Squash, 10 Baby potatoes, 2 Carrot and 2 Parsnips so they are fairly chunky. Put them in a bowl with 1 tablespoon Olive oil and 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper and mix well.
- Put onto a baking tray into the oven for 35-40 minutes.
- Make the salad dressing by mixing together 1 tablespoon Olive oil, 2 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar, 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper, 2 tablespoon Fresh basil, 2 tablespoon Fresh coriander (cilantro) and 2 tablespoon Fresh parsley.
- Remove the vegetables from the oven.
- Divide 4 Handfuls of Watercress/Rocket (arugula) salad mix between 2 bowls and top with roasted vegetables. Drizzle the dressing on top and crumble over 30 g Light Feta.
Recipe Tips
- Roast any vegetables you have that need using up. Cauliflower and broccoli roast well too.
- Mix up the salad greens by adding some spinach and kale.
- Keep the salad vegan by skipping the feta, or using an alternative.
- Add some extra texture to this salad by sprinkling some seeds on top before serving.
- Next time I would add some lemon juice and zest to the salad dressing too.
- Give the warm salad a protein boost with some chickpeas or grilled chicken.
- Add some pomegranate on top for an extra burst of colour and flavour.
- For some sweetness, thinly sliced apple is a really nice addition to to a winter salad.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! I love "winter salad," but am excited to try with some of the ingredients that you use instead!
Suzanne says
This looks so good! I love how do-able the dressing is! It comes from stuff that is easy to keep on hand!
Cassie Larson says
Would pomegranates pair nicely as a garnish?
Dannii says
Yes, they would.
Emma says
Can I ask did you serve this roasted veg salad cold or hot?
Dannii says
I serve the vegetables hot on the greens.
Andi says
We roasted some chickpeas along with this and it was such a good salad. Not boring and I was full after it too.
Callum says
I make a big batch of these roasted vegetables on a Sunday night and have some with roast chicken and the rest for salads through the week. They are so simple, but really tasty. Can’t fault this recipe.
Jayne Pearson says
You just solved my conundrum of what to serve with Greek-style lamb cutlets when our neighbour comes over at the weekend. This looks so delicious. No parsnips here though :( so might have to sub with celeriac. Have only just discovered this blog - looking forward to a browse. Thanks for the recipes.
Pol Geys says
Thank you so much for this recipe! Since I'm trying to lose fat, im on the look for healthy food that I actually like. I tried my best searching for these kind of recipes but didn't find one in a long time. I eat vegetables but I never really thought of them as something delicious, especially not when its a salad. Since I've found this recipe I eat it once or twice a week, and I'm even looking forward to eating it. I looked at some other recipes you made and they're awesome too. One week I even ate one of the recipes everyday. Thank you so much for making my life a lot healthier.
Kind regards,
Pol
Luke - The Handy Squad says
Fantastic blog! I've been trying to eat a lot healthier recently and this blog will continue to make me try new things. Fantastic! Luke
Simon Claes says
Hello,
First, I want to say thank you for all your recipes. I have been trying now for so long to make my food healthier but did not really know how to do that. I never know which vegetables fit together. When I try something it usually does not taste very good. Thanks to these tips, I eat much healthier. I never thought that vegetables could be so tasty. Thank you very much!
Simon Claes
Amy | The Cook Report says
Adding roasted vegetables is one of the only ways I can make myself eat a salad in the winter so this looks perfect for me!
Adrianne says
I love all of the vegetables in this salad! Winter salads are the best, aren't they as you can make hearty roast vegetable ones which don't wilt in the fridge!. Yum, I look forward to trying this.
Nathan Wyper says
I love these kinds of salads, hearty and healthy at the same time! Looks delicious!
Patty says
Very much like this kind of salad mixing veggies and greens, sounds healthy and flavorful, can't wait to try it!
Jen says
I love the flavor that roasting the vegetables adds. I'm going to surprise my husband with this for dinner. Thank you!