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    Home » Recipes » Vegan Recipes

    Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

    Published: Oct 21, 2020 · Modified: May 12, 2023 by Dianne · This post may contain affiliate links

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    close up of Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette with text overlay
    two bowls of Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette overhead with text overlay
    Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette with text overlay

    Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette is full of the flavors of fall! It's made with apples, walnuts, pecans, and pumpkin – all of the foods I love the most in the autumn months. Enjoy it as a main dish for lunch or side dish for dinner. It's the perfect starter for Thanksgiving, too! This easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.

    two bowls of Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette with text overlay

    Fall Harvest Salad

    Fall usually means giving up cooling salads in favor of heartier, warming meals like soups and stews. But with this recipe you can have your salad and eat it too. 

    close up of Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

    This Harvest Salad is based on a dish that I used to order at Salad Works in the fall months, many years ago. The menu item contained meat, but I would ask to get it with mushrooms, instead. It was a sad day in December when I went in for lunch and found that they only served it in September, October, and November. Rather than sulk about it, I went to the store, bought ingredients, and made my own salad at home!

    one bowl of Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

    Pumpkin Vinaigrette Salad

    This salad is full of all of the flavors of autumn — apples, pumpkin seeds, cranberries and pecans — but the real star is the pumpkin vinaigrette dressing! Made with pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil, it can be used as a marinade for tofu and tempeh, or a dressing for roasted vegetables, in addition to being poured all over salads. 

    pouring dressing

    When buying pumpkin for this recipe, make sure you get puree,  not pumpkin pie filling, which is made with cinnamon and nutmeg and would taste kind of weird here.

    two bowls of harvest salad overhead
    carrots, mushrooms, apple, corn, lettuce, pecans, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, and pumpkin

    How to Make a Harvest Salad

    This recipe couldn't be easier to make!

    • First you toss together all of the salad ingredients.
    • Then you mix together all of the dressing ingredients.
    • Finally, you toss everything together!
    making salad

    How to Toast Nuts

    This salad would taste really great with pecans and pumpkin seeds straight out of the package, but toasting them really kicks the flavor up a notch. It's super easy to do, too. You can toast your nuts one of two ways:

    • To toast your pecans on the stovetop, place a large, dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently until they are golden brown. It should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
    • To toast your nuts in the oven, preheat it to 400°F degrees. Spread the pecans out in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake them for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them, because they can go from not-yet-done to burnt-to-a-crisp in the blink of an eye.
    two bowls of Harvest Salad

    How to Customize Your Harvest Salad

    Feel free to play with your salad ingredients and make it your own.

    • You can use any type of lettuce or even kale.
    • Sliced pears can be used instead of apples.
    • Just about any type of nut can be used instead of pecans.
    • To make it nut free, you can use sunflower seeds instead of pecans.
    • If you'd like a to use a different dressing, give my Maple Mustard Dressing a try.
    two bowls of harvest salad with pecans, cranberries and mushrooms
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    harvest salad square

    Harvest Salad with Pumpkin Vinaigrette

    Dianne
    This receive serves 4 people as a side or 2 as a main.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 servings
    Calories 298 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    For the Salad

    • 1 large head romaine lettuce chopped
    • 2 carrots shredded or julienned
    • 4 to 6 mushrooms sliced
    • 1 apple sliced
    • ½ cup corn kernels
    • ¼   cup pumpkin seeds toasted
    • ¼ cup dried cranberries
    • ¼ cup toasted pecans chopped

    For the Dressing

    • ½ cup pumpkin puree
    • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons water or vegetable stock
    • 3 or 4 fresh sage leaves
    • 1 clove garlic minced
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

    Instructions
     

    • Toss all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
    • Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
    • Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine.
    Calories: 298kcal
    Tried this recipe?Tag @diannewenz on Instagram!
    harvest salad square

    Other Fall Salad Recipes You Might Enjoy Include:

    • Holiday Kale Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
    • Farro Salad with Apples and Pecans
    • Apple-Pecan Tempeh Salad
    • Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Maple Mustard Dressing
    « Vegan Butternut Squash Casserole
    Spinach Mushroom Lasagna (Vegan) »

    About Dianne

    Dianne Wenz is a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Vegan Lifestyle Coach, Plant-Based Diet Nutrition Specialist, and Plant-Based Chef, as well as the author of Truly Healthy Vegan Cookbook.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenna

      September 21, 2012 at 8:15 am

      My eyes got all big when I read the words "pumpkin vinaigrette". I must make this dressing ASAP! Especially since I finally found pumpkin purée at the store.

    2. Jessica Caneal

      September 21, 2012 at 8:31 am

      This looks delicious! I love the idea of continuing to incorporate salads into Fall, by adding some Fall flavors and more seasonal veggies/fruits. One of my favorite things to add to salads is roasted butternut squash with chipotle chili powder and maple syrup. I was actually thinking that some cayenne pepper might also go really well when added to the dressing in this salad! And I love sage!

    3. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma)

      September 24, 2012 at 9:49 am

      Wow, just perfect for fall! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! We had some fabulous entries this week! Our gluten free blogger directory is growing too! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 See you next Friday! Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    4. Dianne

      September 24, 2012 at 10:12 am

      Thanks, Cindy!

    5. Rachel @ My Naturally Frugal Family

      October 03, 2012 at 1:33 pm

      Oh my yummy eats today indeed. I can't wait for tomorrow's post, I love a good cookbook (especially when it might have tips for vegan cheese) 🙂

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    Hi! I'm Dianne Wenz, a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I empower my clients to build new habits so they can reach their healthy living goals. I love to show others how easy it is to live a vegan lifestyle as well as how to cook deliciously easy plant-based meals. Contact me today to learn more and to schedule a complimentary breakthrough session!

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