Main dishes

Squash Salad with Lentils and Feta - Quick and Comforting

This hearty Fall salad is packed full of flavor from butternut squash, feta cheese, lentil, spinach and onion and topped with a tangy garlic-sour cream dressing. Yum! This recipe is a guest post from Inside the Rustic…

Overhead shot of squash salad with feta cheese, lentils and spinach

This hearty Fall salad is packed full of flavor from butternut squash, feta cheese, lentil, spinach and onion and topped with a tangy garlic-sour cream dressing. Yum!

This recipe is a guest post from Inside the Rustic Kitchen. It has been updated in the years since, but remains a keeper!

This squash salad is incredibly easy to make and is just so comforting. I love to eat this warm but it's just as delicious eaten cold. Make this the day before for a ready-to-go lunch throughout the week or enjoy it for dinner with a glass of vino.

I love Fall ingredients such as squash, lentils, mushrooms, grains, and nuts. This squash salad is a bowl packed full of some of the best Fall ingredients, all topped with a creamy, delicious, garlic and sour cream dressing.

This is proper comfort food!

A close up shot of a squash salad with feta cheese, lentils and spinach and a sour cream dressing

I use butternut squash in this recipe, but pumpkin would work perfectly too. I sprinkled the squash and red onion with some chili flakes (not too much, just enough for a little heat) and paprika and roast that in the oven until soft.

Then I toss lentils with a homemade dressing, feta, spinach and the spicy, warm squash and onion all together into a dreamy salad.

The salad is then topped with creamy cashews and dollops of garlicy sour cream. Oh it's SO good.

Close up of a squash salad with feta cheese, lentils and spinach grey towel in background

More salads to try:

Recipe

Recipe

Squash Salad with Lentils and Feta

  • Yield Servings 4
  • Prep Prep Time 15 mins
  • Cook Cook Time 35 mins
  • Total Total Time 50 mins

Ingredients

  • 15.5 ounce Butternut Squash
  • ½ large red onion
  • ¾ cup Feta Cheese, cut into cubes
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 cups spinach, washed and dried
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 5 ⅓ cup Lentils, pre cooked
  • ⅛ cups cashews
  • Salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4. Chop the squash into medium sized cubes and place on a baking tray. Cut the red onion into rough chunks and add to the tray with the squash. Sprinkle over the chili flakes, paprika, salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of oil, mix with your hands until the squash and onion is coated nicely. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes until soft, set aside.

  2. 2

    Add the garlic to the sour cream with a little salt and pepper and stir, set aside. Put the lentils in a large mixing bowl and add the mustard, lemon and 1 tablespoon oil. Mix until the lentils are coated. Add the spinach and feta to the bowl and the cooled squash and onion, mix until all combined. .

  3. 3

    Serve in large bowls topped with the cashews and dollops of sour cream