This Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing features seasoned, roasted root vegetables, fluffy quinoa, peppery arugula, juicy raisins, maple bourbon goat cheese, and buttery, herby walnuts. It seems so simple but is bursting with big, bold flavors. It is the perfect, stunning addition to your Thanksgiving table.
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The Perfect Salad/Side for Thanksgiving
I love a good, flavorful salad for a Thanksgiving side. This year I am making this roasted root vegetable salad finished with a creamy lemon tahini dressing. It adds freshness and color to a table full of rich, decadent dishes but also surprisingly packs big, bold flavors.
The star of this dish is the humble root vegetable. Root vegetables are vegetables where the edible part grows underground. Each root vegetable has a distinct set of nutrients and health benefits. I used golden beets, sweet potatoes, onions, and parsnips. I dice the veggies in uniform bite size pieces and season them with garlic powder, salt, herbs, and a touch of cinnamon and roast them in the oven until perfectly cooked (browned and slightly softened) and their natural sweetness comes out.
The salad also features fluffy, nutty quinoa cooked, peppery arugula, a creamy, delicious maple bourbon goat cheese, toasted, herby walnuts, and juicy, sweet raisins. Then it is finished with this rich, bright and creamy lemon tahini dressing. This salad is easy to whip together but looks and tastes impressive. It is savory, sweet, crunchy, herby, luscious, and elegant- it is a delightful combination of flavors.
What you need to make this salad
This salad does involve quite a bit of chopping, but it is so worth the effort, I promise! The addition of multiple root vegetable adds more, unique flavors and makes the salad look elegant and pretty for your Holiday table.
- root vegetables, I used golden beets, sweet potatoes, onion, and parsnips. I like the combination of flavors and textures these veggies bring to the salad. You could also use carrots or regular, purple beets too! I recommend dicing them into uniform shapes so they roast evenly at the same time. It also makes them easy to eat in the salad.
- goat cheese, I found a maple bourbon kind of my local grocery store and it adds so much depth of flavor the dish. The sweet maple and rich, bold bourbon flavors pairs so well with the other hearty, fall inspired flavors in this dish. But if you cannot fin this flavor, you can also use an herbed or honey flavored goat cheese as well.
- arugula, I love the peppery, fresh bite it adds to the salad to cut through the other rich flavors plus it adds a burst of bright green color.
- toasted walnuts, the walnuts are toasted and seasoned with butter, brown sugar, salt, and fresh herbs. These add beautiful crunch and sweet, herby flavor.
The dressing!
Every good salad needs a crave worthy dressing to add that extra “wow” to the dish and tie all the flavors together. This creamy, tangy lemon tahini dressing does just that! It combines earthy, nutty tahini with bright lemon juice, tangy dijon mustard, sweet robust maple syrup, and rich olive oil. It’s magic!
How to build this salad
- roast the veggies, drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, garlic powder, and cinnamon and toss until all the vegetables are coated and seasoned. Roast at 375 degrees or until to the vegetables are slightly browned on the outside and fork tender.
- whip up the dressing, simply stir all the ingredients together and thin out with ice cold water until reach desired consistency.
- toast and season the walnuts, during the last few minutes of the vegetables cooking, add the walnuts to the oven to toast slightly, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and add to a bowl along with melted butter, brown sugar, sea salt, and herbs and toss until the brown sugar melts and al the seasonings hug to the walnuts.
- build the salad, if making for Thanksgiving or a gathering, neatly arrange all the ingredients in a large, shallow serving bowl so your guests can see each individual ingredients (this also makes for a pretty presentation). Drizzle with dressing and toss when ready to serve.
- meal prep, this salad works well for meal prep. Simply prepare all the components of the salad and create individual servings in meal prep containers and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Other side dish ideas
- Fall Inspired Charcuterie Board
- Miso Maple Brussel Sprouts
- Melting Sweet Potatoes with Maple Bacon Brown Butter
- Pomegranate Fall Harvest Salad
Enjoy!
This Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing is a a fall dream salad that will have all your guests at Thanksgiving raving about it! It’s combines beautifully roasted and seasoned root vegetables with creamy, tangy goat cheese, toasted, herby walnuts, sweet, juicy raisins, hearty quinoa, and peppery arugula for a flavorful but elegant side for your Thanksgiving table (or just the perfect salad to make all season long!)
Roasted Root Veggie Salad with Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing
This Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing features seasoned, roasted root vegetables, fluffy quinoa, peppery arugula, juicy raisins, maple bourbon goat cheese, and buttery, herby walnuts.
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 3 golden beets peeled and diced
- 1 large parsnip peeled and diced
- Olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 red onion chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- Sea salt
- 1 cup quinoa cooked according to package instructions
- 2 cups argula
- 6 oz bourbon maple goat cheese plain or honey works too
- 1/4 cup raisins or chopped dates
Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Splash Worcestershire sauce optional
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 3-4 tablespoons cold water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add all the vegetables to a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and add seasonings and toss until combined. Roast for about 25 minutes, turning with a spatula a couple times during baking.
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While the veggies roast, cook the quinoa. I like to cook mine in bone broth or regular chicken/vegetable broth for extra flavor.
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Roast walnuts for about 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to a bowl with the melted butter, brown sugar, fresh thyme, and sea salt (to taste) and toss until butter and brown sugar melts.
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For the dressing, combine the tahini through dijon mustard in a small bowl. Thin out with cold water as needed (the cold water also helps emulsify the dressing and makes it smooth and creamy). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
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Add all of the ingredients to a large, shallow serving dish. When ready to serve, add desired amount of dressing and toss until all the ingredients are well combined.
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Serve and enjoy!
