Warm autumn vegetable sheet pan salad
Clean, light nutritious, plant-based warm autumn sheet pan salad! Your new favorite quick and easy lunch or dinner.
I could eat a warm sheet pan salad every day if I had to - and still love it.
This one in particular I’ve been enjoying on repeat the last few days.
Made with seasonal autumn/winter favorites like cauliflower, broccoli and butternut squash, and seasoned with kalamata olives, a handful of fresh, miscellaneous herbs and and lemon - this warm sheet pan salad is filled with good-for-you-ingredients and absolutely delicious.
From a health perspective, here’s what I’m loving about it -
-Cauliflower contains a heaping amount of vitamins and minerals. In fact, it contains at least some of almost every vitamin and mineral you might need - it’s that impressive! It’s also high in fiber, which is important for digestion, elimination and helping to prevent chronic diseases.
-Broccoli, too, is a nutritional powerhouse. Like cauliflower it contains a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. It also contains various bioactive compounds that are believed to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Being a high fiber food also means it’s good for your gut health, since it can help with regular elimination of bad bacteria in the colon.
-It includes butternut squash, which is great hydrating vegetable (it contains 87% water in each serving!) and like other orange vegetables and fruits, it’s full of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A, which is important for your immune system.
-Kalamata olives are a great source of healthy fat, iron, calcium, vitamin A and E, and oleic acid, which is believed to improve heart health and contain cancer-fighting properties. They also offer a lot of flavor.
-Warm salads are much easier to digest than raw, cold salads, which in some people, is more likely to lead to bloating, gas and general discomfort. Warm salads are far less likely to cause this kind of irritation.
But that’s not all!
Sheet pan salads like this one are incredibly easy to make, and a great way to get more nutritious, high fiber vegetables into your diet. They also come together quickly, making them a great option for weeknight cooking or a quick lunch.
While the version below highlights a blend of autumn vegetables, you can really use an endless combination of vegetables and spices based on the season, your taste and preferences.
If you like to keep things light and as nutritious as possible, focusing on seasonal vegetables, minimizing oil, and using fresh herbs and citrus is the way to go. You could add a healthy sauce or dressing, but there’s so much flavor to work with already you may find it’s not even necessary!
Check out the full recipe below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Autumn Vegetable Sheet Pan Salad
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Yields: 2-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 small head of broccoli, roughly chopped
1 small head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 small butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into cubes
1 tbsp avocado oil
pinch of salt and pepper
1 handful of chopped kale
2 tbsp pitted kalamata olives,
handful of fresh herbs, such as basil, cilantro and parsley.
1/2 or whole lemon, juiced
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
In a large bowl, toss broccoli, cauliflower and butternut squash in oil, salt and black pepper.
Scatter vegetables on the baking sheet, leaving enough space for them to roast and get somewhat crispy (if the vegetables are too close together, it will cause them to steam instead of roast).
Roast for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack; vegetables should be cooked through and tender with golden edges.
Remove baking sheet from oven, add kale, the roast for an additional 3-5 minutes (or until kale wilts).
Remove from oven, transfer to a small large mixing bowl with fresh herbs, olives and lemon juice. Gently toss and serve!
If you liked this recipe, be sure to sign up for my Weekly Wellness Round Up to receive this type of content and other health and wellness tidbits delivered to your inbox every week!
