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Harvest Fall Salad with wild rice, roasted sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, and shredded chicken. Tossed in a Caramelized Shallot Dressing, this autumn-inspired salad is nutritious, filling, and make-ahead friendly.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Harvest Fall Salad
- Seasonal Favorites. Loaded with star seasonal produce (sweet potato, Brussels sprouts, and pomegranate), this salad offers peak season nutrition and flavor.
- Make-Ahead Friendly. This salad can be enjoyed warm, chilled, or closer to room temp, making it the perfect meal prep contender. (Same goes for this Chicken Cashew Salad.)
- Allergen-Friendly. As written, this loaded fall salad is gluten free, dairy free, and soy free. You can also make it nut free by swapping the pecans for pumpkin seeds (pepitas). Serving to vegetarians? Swap the chicken for a can of chickpeas!
The play of flavors and textures in this Harvest Fall Salad is also outstanding. We have the chewiness of wild rice, crunch of pecans, and juicy pop of freshness from the pomegranate arils.
The ingredients are simple and healthy, so you can feel good about enjoying this lineup on repeat.
It’s undeniably delicious and will instantly turn your lunch hour from drab to fab.
And if you love fall salads like this, also check out this Roasted Squash Salad, Persimmon Salad, and Thai Butternut Quinoa Salad.
How to Make Harvest Fall Salad
In addition to being a wonderful weekday contender, this harvest salad also feels special enough to grace a holiday table.
You can do much of the prep work ahead of time. (I also lean on rotisserie chicken to further streamline the prep!)
The Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: My go-to spud this time of year, sweet potatoes offer candy-like sweetness once roasted. Alternatively, you can use butternut squash.
- Brussels Sprouts: I like to thinly slice or shred my sprouts to expedite cooking. You can also purchase bags of pre-shredded Brussels sprouts.
- Wild Rice: Due to its hearty texture, wild rice takes longer to cook than most other rice varieties. However, the final result is always worth the extra stove time.
- Chicken: I like using shredded rotisserie chicken for ease. If you’re making this salad vegetarian, you can use chickpeas instead.
- Pecans: For richness and crunch. If making the salad nut-free, use pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead.
- Pomegranate: For a pop of freshness and extra nutrients. Pomegranate arils are an excellent source of vitamin C.
- Shallots: Caramelized shallots create a DREAMY dressing. They become borderline sweet once sautéed, which adds lovely aromatic flavor.
- Vinegar: I prefer using sherry vinegar in the dressing, however balsamic vinegar also works well.
- Garlic: For aromatic goodness.
- Rosemary: For extra woodsy herbal flavor
- Dijon Mustard: Dijon has a creamy texture, spicy taste and smooth finish. It’s a lovely component of the shallot dressing.
- Honey: A little sweetness helps balance the acidity of the vinegar in the dressing.
For a complete list of recipe ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
The Directions
Step 1: Roast Sweet Potatoes on a large baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Add Brussels Sprouts to baking sheet, and roast for 10 more minutes.
Step 3: Sauté Shallots in a skillet until caramelized, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in garlic during the final minute.
Step 4: Prepare Dressing by blending shallots, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, rosemary, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Step 5: Assemble Salad by combining wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, pecans, pomegranate in a large bowl.
Step 6: Add Dressing and toss to combine. Serve warm.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- Make-Ahead. You can prepare the dressing 1 to 3 days ahead. Just store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can also boil the wild rice in advance.
- Store. Refrigerate leftover salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy leftovers chilled, or closer to room temperature.
More Fall Salad Recipes
Autumn Delicata Squash Salad
Autumn Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
Arugula and Persimmon Salad
If you give this Harvest Fall Salad a try, snap a picture and tag #dishingouthealth so I can see your beautiful creations! Also, follow along on Pinterest and Facebook for the latest recipe updates.
Harvest Fall Salad with Caramelized Shallot Dressing
Equipment
- Large rimmed baking sheet
- Medium Saucepan with Lid
- Small or medium sized skillet
- Small blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry wild rice blend
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 12 to 16 oz.), peeled and cubed
- 12 oz. shredded/shaved or thinly sliced Brussels Sprouts
- 3 to 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 2 heaping cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
Caramelized Shallot Dressing
- 5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.Prepare wild rice blend according to package instructions in salted water until tender. Set aside.
- Toss sweet potatoes in 1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes.Toss sweet potatoes and add Brussels sprouts to baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper; toss to coat. Roast for 10 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare Caramelized Shallot Dressing: heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a small or medium skillet over medium heat. Add sliced shallots and sauté for 2 minutes. Slightly reduce heat and continue cooking until shallots are nicely caramelized, about 6 more minutes. Stir in garlic during final minute. Remove pan from heat and allow to slightly cool.
- Transfer caramelized shallots, garlic, and residual cooking oil to a small blender or container for immersion blending. Add remaining 3 Tbsp. olive oil, sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, rosemary, salt, and pepper; blend until smooth.
- Assemble salad by combining cooked wild rice, roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts, shredded chicken, pecans, and pomegranate arils in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to combine. Serve warm or closer to room temperature.
Notes
- Make-Ahead. You can prepare the dressing 1 to 3 days ahead. Just store in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can also boil the wild rice in advance.
- Store. Refrigerate leftover salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy leftovers chilled, or closer to room temperature.
Nutrition
I calculate these values by hand to ensure accuracy, however expect up to a 10% variable depending on food brands.
Gorgeous salad, makes for a wonderful fall lunch.
Delish! This will become one of our favourite cold weather salads for dinner. Very filling and I think perfect for company. The recipe was easy to follow and we devoured it.
So happy you enjoyed it, Sharon! Thank you for leaving a review!
Made the salad for lunch today, followed exactly the recipe except I didn’t have any nuts to put in, so I topped it with pumpkin seeds also didn’t have wild rice so I made crispy basmati rice and placed it on just a handful of romaine lettuce. Very good.
Amazed by salad!
So good!
Delicious!!! We will be making this again with turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving
This was so yummy! Really nice flavor combinations. I did walnuts instead of pecans because that’s what I had on hand. Cold leftovers tasted good as well. 🙂
So tasty!!!! I used red wine vinegar instead of sherry vinegar and still tasted great.
I also used brown rice instead of wild rice.
Wow this was excellent!! Always happy to find a lettuce-less salad to take for lunches during the week. I’ll make a double batch of the dressing next time to have on hand!
Tastes like fall! Love all the flavors-especially the caramelized shallot dressing that brings it all together. Not sure why it’s taken me so long to leave a comment, but this is my favorite recipe source and I haven’t found a recipe on your blog that I don’t like! Definitely keeping this one in rotation! 🫶🏼