Amazing Roast Pumpkin Feta Salad (With Chorizo)

Full of umami flavour, this warm roast pumpkin feta salad is studded with tasty chorizo and drizzled with a sweet and tangy honey balsamic vinaigrette. It will make your taste buds very happy! Ready in around 40 minutes, it makes a great easy midweek meal. It also takes simple entertaining to next level delicious!

Why you’ll love pumpkin feta salad

✔ AMAZING umami flavors. This is what gives this roast pumpkin salad recipe its incredible depth of flavor:

• deliciously caramelized roasted pumpkin (butternut squash will work too)

• peppery slices of pan-fried chorizo

• tangy feta cheese

• crunchy toasted pine nuts

✔ It’s a WARM salad, which makes it great for any time of year.

✔ So versatile. It’s perfect for a quick midweek meal, or for an easy lunch for guests.

✔ A crowd pleaser. Thanks to the strong umami flavours with a perfect balance of sweet, peppery, tangy and crunchy, this healthy salad never fails to impress!

Pile all the delicacies on top of some fresh salad leaves and lightly drizzle with a sweet and tangy honey balsamic vinaigrette. All these things by themselves are pretty tasty, but put them all together and you transport yourself directly to food heaven!

Am I making you hungry yet? I hope so.

About the ingredients

Pumpkin: Any kind of pumpkin works in this recipe (butternut pumpkin, kabocha, delicata, and more…). Chop it into small 2 to 3cm chunks so that it doesn’t take too long to roast. Or buy ready-chopped!

Olive oil: For roasting the pumpkin. Any kind you happen to have although I often use a light olive oil rather than extra virgin for cooking.

Chorizo: You could say chorizo is the ‘magic’ ingredient that takes this pumpkin and feta salad from good to heavenly. In case you don’t know, chorizo is a type of Spanish pork sausage. Sometimes you have to peel some paper or thick skin off the chorizo before slicing it, sometimes not. But don’t worry, that part will be pretty obvious!

See if you can find a whole sausage for this recipe. If you can’t find one in the supermarket, try a European style deli.

Feta cheese: I like Greek or Greek style feta, but any will be fine in this recipe. This also adds to the incredible umami flavour, so don’t skip it.

Pine nuts: For a bit of crunch. If you can buy them ready toasted, great, if not no worries – it’s easy to do that yourself.

Green salad: I usually buy a ready washed bag of fresh salad. Mixed leaves, baby spinach, arugula/rocket, watercress, or whatever looks great to you. Buy it just before you’re going to make the salad so that it’s at its freshest.

Herbs: I like to use either dried or fresh thyme in this roast pumpkin salad recipe while roasting the pumpkin, but you can substitute with any other herbs you have – fresh or dried.

An extra scattering of fresh herbs over the top just before serving is nice, too. Try basil or mint.

How to make it

Peel and chop your pumpkin if not using ready chopped. Scatter over a baking sheet. Toss through olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until soft (but not mushy) and starting to caramelize. (photos 1-3)

Meanwhile, slice chorizo thinly and pan fry in a dry frying pan. 5 minutes should do it! Set aside, then lightly toast your pine nuts in the same way. Shake often to get them evenly toasted. (photos 3-6)

When you’ve got all your salad components ready, spread out your salad leaves on a large share platter. Sprinkle over:

• the warm roasted pumpkin

• the pan fried chorizo 

• crumbled feta cheese

• the toasted pine nuts (photos 7-11)

Then make the dressing. Quickly whisk together equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a little honey. Drizzle some dressing all over the pumpkin feta salad. (photo 12)

How to make balsamic vinaigrette

I’m not a big fan of complicated salad dressings. It might have something to do with the fact that I lived in Greece for many years, where a large drizzle of excellent quality extra virgin olive oil suffices…

But I DO think it’s worth taking a couple of minutes to make a honey balsamic vinaigrette for your delicious pumpkin, feta and chorizo salad!

This is how I make mine:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (good quality!)

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey (feel free to substitute with maple syrup)

Most other recipes for balsamic vinaigrette are much more complicated than this, with Dijon mustard, garlic, herbs, salt & pepper etc. Nothing wrong with adding these things of course, but I think this particular salad recipe is flavorful enough and doesn’t need any added extras.

Tip: A simple balsamic glaze is an even faster alternative! Alternatively, try this 5-minute honey lime vinaigrette!

How to serve it

• We usually eat this delicious warm salad with some fresh toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and salt (we do this a lot – it’s delicious!). Or if you can find a little extra time to try this easy Italian focaccia bread. I don’t think you’d regret it.
• I also like to add a bit of Greek yogurt on the side. 10-minute tsatziki sauce would work well too. These are purely optional, though!
• If you wanted to make this into a more filling meal, serve with meat on the side. How about barbecued? Or try these simple baked chicken thighs.
• Just want potatoes? These tiny French roast potatoes are so easy and classy! Got an air fryer? You might prefer to make these smashed air fryer potatoes instead.

Variations

Nuts or seeds. You can easily replace the toasted pine nuts for toasted nuts like almonds, walnuts, or seeds such as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. Toasted pumpkin seeds would also be perfect, don’t you think?

Red onion: Add a little thinly sliced red onion to the fresh greens.

Different herbs. Play around with different dried or fresh herbs. Sprinkle a little chopped fresh rosemary over the pumpkin cubes as they roast instead of thyme. Or add a mixture of dried herbs such as rosemary, sage, marjoram and thyme.

Sprinkle fresh basil, mint or coriander over the top before serving.

Grains: Mix in cooked quinoa, farro, brown rice, pasta or couscous to make your warm pumpkin salad heartier.

Roasted vegetables. As well as roasted pumpkin, any delicious roasted veggies will taste great sprinkled onto this salad. If you have leftovers, it’s a no-brainer. If you don’t but you want to try this idea, here’s a recipe for Mediterranean roasted vegetables.

Cheese. I love this salad with feta sprinkled on top, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses such as blue cheese, goat cheese or even shaved parmesan.

Replace or add to the chorizo. Try grilled or rotisserie chicken, crispy bacon (great if you have an air fryer), pancetta, salami, pepperoni or different types of sausage, sautéed shrimp or thinly sliced steak to ‘make the salad your own’.

Spices. Sprinkle spices over the pumpkin before roasting. Interesting options could be paprika, cumin, or za’atar.

More main meal salad recipes

• Our favourite easy tuna salad  (We eat this all year round as a quick, healthy midweek meal)
• How to make a Greek salad (A very important life skill)
• Another feta salad recipe! This beetroot, walnut and feta salad is incredibly delicious, and no turning on the oven since it’s made with ready-cooked beetroot.
• Blueberry spinach salad (with bacon and avocado) (You won’t believe how delicious it is with its incredible blueberry dressing)
• Pesto pasta with vegetables (a perfect side dish or take-along party dish enjoyed either hot or cold)

Or take a look at all of my yummy salads!