Healthy & Light Vegetarian

Roasted Pumpkin & Quinoa Salad

Name: Roasted Pumpkin & Quinoa Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 1 kg pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into wedges; 200 g quinoa, rinsed; 400 ml vegetable stock; 100 g feta, crumbled; 40 g dukkah; 2 tbsp tahini; 1 lemon, juiced; 1 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp olive oil; 100 g baby spinach; Fresh mint, to serve

Warm vegetables absorb dressing in a way cold ones do not.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Roasted Pumpkin & Quinoa Salad — Warm salad weather: roasted squash, nutty quinoa and a bright lemon-tahini dressing.

10 min

Prep time

30 min

Cook time

Serves

4.9

1,176 RATINGS

Why this salad is better warm

Warm vegetables absorb dressing in a way cold ones do not. The pumpkin softens and soaks up the tahini, while the feta stays cool and sharp against the heat.

Quinoa gives the salad enough heft to be a main dish. Rinse it well before cooking to remove the bitter saponins on the surface.

Instructions

About 40 min from start to finish

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the pumpkin wedges with the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until caramelised at the edges.

While the pumpkin roasts, bring the stock to the boil and add the quinoa. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, honey and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth and pourable.

Divide the warm quinoa between plates and top with the roasted pumpkin, spinach, feta and mint. Drizzle with the tahini dressing and finish with dukkah.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Make it vegan

Omit the feta or replace with a dairy-free feta. The dukkah and tahini already carry plenty of flavour.

Batch cooking

Roast extra pumpkin and cook extra quinoa at the same time. They keep for 4 days and make excellent lunch bowls.

Dressing too thick

Thin it with warm water a teaspoon at a time. Cold water makes tahini seize.

Questions we get a lot

Can I use couscous instead of quinoa?

Yes — prepare it with the same hot stock, then fluff. It is lighter but less protein-rich.

What is dukkah?

An Egyptian blend of crushed nuts, seeds and spices. Any nut-seed mix works as a substitute.

Do I have to serve it warm?

No, it is also good cold, but the dressing will thicken in the fridge. Loosen it before serving.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.