Do you love fall harvest bowls as much as we do? You can get super creative or keep them as simple as you like — this colorful vegan spinach fig salad with roasted pumpkin, parsley, quinoa and a simple oil-free blueberry dressing is the best of both worlds.
Loaded with textures, flavors, color and essential nutrients, it’s everything we want a good lunch or dinner to be! Plus, all of the components are totally customizable to your preferences or food that are available to you.
This vegan spinach fig salad is a delicious 30-minute dinner idea but if you happen to have some pre-cooked grains on hand, it can be even quicker! Feel free to add any nuts, legumes or some avocado to it for increased calories and satiety.
We highly recommend the fruity and simple blueberry dressing to go along with it which can easily be made in larger batches so a scrumptious and convenient salad bowl is never far away with this dressing waiting in the fridge for you!
There is just something so satisfying about discovering beautiful seasonal produce at its ripest and creating new and awesome recipes with it!
That’s how we came across the combination of ingredients for this fall harvest bowl at the very end of summer when berries were still available and the first pumpkin was around. We just love this time of year and the abundance it has to offer!
Here’s why you need to make our vegan spinach fig salad including the blueberry dressing plus all of the swaps you can make.
The Best Vegan Spinach Fig Salad
- All the fall flavors & textures you’ll ever want
- Beautifully colored & versatile
- Rich in antioxidants, minerals & vitamins
- Naturally gluten-free, oil-free & vegan
- Done in 30 minutes
- Super easy to make & highly customizable
- Meal prep-friendly & lunch to-go idea
Juicy and beautifully colored, figs should really be the star of our recipes during the few weeks they are available!
Bursting with essential nutrients such as copper, magnesium, vitamin B6 and vitamin K, they are not overly sweet and may decrease your risk of heart disease or help manage your blood sugar levels.
Combined with the little powerhouses that are blueberries, you get a good amount of healthy fruit in this savory main meal — no worries, eating fruit isn’t the same as loading up on isolated fructose.
Let’s go over how easy it is to make your own vegan fall spinach and fig salad bowl!
How to Make This Spinach Fig Salad With Quinoa
Start by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven. Wash and cube your winter squash, then season it with some salt, pepper and thyme.
Arrange the pumpkin cubes in a single layer on your baking sheet and put it into the oven for around 20 minutes, until soft, golden and fragrant.
If you like, you can add other components like the red onion or even the figs alongside your winter squash to the oven and roast them for a couple of minutes!
In the meantime, cook your preferred grains (in our case, quinoa) on the stove according to the package instructions and set aside once all of the water is absorbed.
Wash and chop the rest of your produce and prepare the simple blueberry dressing in a blender.
Once all of the ingredients are ready, toss them in a bowl and mix with a large spoon or divide them between a couple of smaller bowls if you want to go for side salads.
Vegan Spinach Fig Salad Ingredients
- Winter Squash — choose between butternut squash, acorn or Hokkaido! This orange veggie gets seasoned and baked to golden perfection.
- Quinoa — in our opinion, any good vegan bowl needs to have some type of grain. Feel free to swap for bulgur, farro, millet, rice or buckwheat!
- Spinach — let’s add some healthy greens to this fall salad! Any variety will do, from lamb’s lettuce to romaine, arugula or just a bag of mixed leafy greens.
- Figs — essential for any spinach fig salad but if they aren’t available to you right now, acceptable swaps include pear, grapes, apple or cranberries.
- Red Cabbage — bursting with color & antioxidants, cheap and crunchy!
- Red Onion — more flavor, zing and health-supporting components for the colder months. Feel free to use either raw or roasted onions!
- Fresh Parsley — more flavor and health-boosting properties for our colorful fig salad.
- Blueberries — these get blended into our dressing and can also be used as toppings.
- Soy Yogurt — the creamy oil-free vegan component for our simple blueberry vinaigrette.
Only three more pantry staples and spices are added to these main ingredients. We hope that thanks to our simple swap ideas, you can start making this delicious fall salad without even running to the store once!
If you like cooking with quinoa, find over 40 delicious recipes from breakfast to dinner here which all feature this gluten-free grain!
How to Make Oil-Free Blueberry Dressing
If you’re familiar with our recipes, you know that all of them are whole food plant-based and free from added oils. Don’t get us wrong, we do love our nuts and seeds, so no shortage of healthy fats here!
Especially when it comes to salad dressings, it can be tough to find easy recipes that are oil-free yet enjoyable.
While you could top this vegan spinach fig salad with some dairy-free tofu ranch, vegan honey mustard or drizzle with tahini and lemon juice for a super quick dressing, we’d like to show you how you can create an easy blueberry dressing with everyday vegan staples.
By the way, we suggest you always have frozen berries around because they are cheaper, don’t go bad in a matter of days and well, you can have berries all year that way!
So, whether you use fresh blueberries or thawed frozen ones, simply place them in a blender jar (can be a super cheap model, too) and add some balsamic vinegar, soy yogurt water, salt and pepper.
This is the basic version to which you can add a spritz of maple syrup if the dressing is too sour, or go crazy on added herbs and spices.
35+ Oil-Free Vegan Salad Dressings →
Tips for This Fall Harvest Bowl
This recipe is semi meal prep-friendly because it contains both warm and cold ingredients. If you don’t mind baked pumpkin that’s cooled down, it makes for a good packable lunch.
Just make sure to add the blueberry dressing right before serving the salad to avoid a soggy mess!
It’s also delicious alongside some vegan bread, creamy vegan mac and cheese or a warming lentil soup.
Delicious Fall Harvest Bowl Add-Ins
If you’re not keen on some of the ingredients or happen to have any of the following plant-based goodness on hand, feel free to add them to your vegan fall harvest bowl!
- Kale
- Brussels sprouts
- Beetroot
- Carrots
- Romaine lettuce
- Cranberries or pomegranate
- Avocado
- Apple or pear
- Grapes
- Walnuts or pecans
- Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
- Tahini
- Croutons
- Farro or bulgur grains
- Lentils or chickpeas
- Arugula
- Green onion
- Vegan feta
- Grilled tempeh or tofu
More Vegan Bowls & Salads
There are so many delicious plant-based salads that you can make! Here are some of our favorite recipes we highly recommend you try next:
- Quinoa Veggie Bowl
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Sweet Potato Arugula Salad
- Roast Pumpkin Feta Salad
- Creamy Vegan Potato Salad
Vegan Spinach Fig Salad With Blueberry Dressing
Delicious vegan fall salad with spinach, figs, quinoa and roasted pumpkin that’s colorful, nutritious and easily customizable. Ready in around 30 minutes (including the simple oil-free blueberry dressing), you can add whatever grains, legumes and fall produce you have on hand to this scrumptious dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw butternut squash, peeled and cubed (450 g)
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup raw quinoa, rinsed under cold water (170 g)
- 4 cups baby spinach (120 g)
- 3 medium figs, sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced (140 g)
- ½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped (30 g)
For the Dressing
- ½ cup fresh blueberries (75 g)
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy yogurt
- 2 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Toss the butternut squash cubes with dried thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper, then transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Roast for around 20 minutes until the butternut squash is tender and lightly golden-brown.
- While the squash is roasting, cook quinoa according to package directions. Once cooked, set aside.
- Put all of the ingredients for the dressing in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- Let’s assemble our vegan fall harvest bowls! Place the cooked quinoa at the bottom and layer with fresh spinach, figs, onion, red cabbage and parsley.
- Toss to combine and top with roasted butternut squash. Drizzle with the creamy blueberry dressing and garnish with more fresh blueberries if you like! Enjoy fresh.
Notes
- You can use any winter squash you like for this recipe.
- Feel free to roast the onion and figs alongside your butternut squash if that’s your preferred texture and taste!
- If the blueberry dressing isn’t sweet enough for you, feel free to add a drizzle of maple syrup.
- Find many more ideas for add-ins in the article above.
- This vegan spinach fig salad is best enjoyed fresh but can be stored separately from the dressing overnight for a quick lunch to-go.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 390Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 275mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 20gSugar: 33gProtein: 12g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed. Just focus on whole plant-based foods and eat until satiety!
Alena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.
Did you try our vegan spinach fig salad? Which components did you use? Share with us in the comments below, rate our recipe and don’t forget to Pin this recipe here. You can also tag us on Instagram, we’d love to see your creations.