Salad of the Week: Winter Harvest Bowl

This week’s Salad of the Week is a cozy, winter-inspired bowl built from simple ingredients — many of them fresh from my Tower Garden — using the same Salad Formula I rely on every day.

If you’re new here, each Salad of the Week follows a consistent framework: leafy greens, a few key add-ins, and a simple oil-free dressing that brings everything together. The ingredients change with the season, but the structure stays the same.
As always, feel free to swap ingredients in or out based on what you have, what you grow, or what you enjoy.

What Makes This Salad Special

• Tower-grown lettuce and herbs as the fresh base
• Comforting winter ingredients like roasted squash and quinoa
• Sweet seasonal notes from apples, beets, and dried fruit
• Beans for extra fiber and staying power
• An oil-free walnut-balsamic dressing that ties it all together

It’s warm-meets-fresh, filling without being heavy, and perfect for colder months.

This Week’s Bowl: Winter Harvest

Leafy Lettuce

Use a mix of tender leafy greens you enjoy — romaine, leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, or spring mix all work beautifully here.

Cruciferous Greens & Veggies

• Shredded red cabbage

Alliums (Onion Family)

• Thin-sliced scallions

Plant-Based Protein

• ½ cup cooked quinoa
• ½ cup cooked beans (chickpeas, white beans, lentils, or black beans)

Amp Up the Volume

• Roasted butternut squash cubes
• Roasted or shredded beets
• Chopped apple
• Dried cranberries or raisins
• Fresh thyme or parsley
• Toasted pumpkin seeds

Walnut-Balsamic Vinaigrette (Oil-Free)

This is one of my go-to simple dressings — lightly sweet, balanced, and perfect for hearty winter bowls.

• 3-4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup raisins or 3–4 Deglet Noor dates, pitted
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic (or ¼ tsp garlic powder)
• ¼ tsp thyme, dill, or oregano

Blend until smooth and creamy.

How I Build the Bowl

1. Fill a large bowl with chopped greens.
2. Add cabbage and scallions.
3. Layer quinoa, beans, and warm roasted squash.
4. Add beets, apple, dried fruit, herbs, and pumpkin seeds.
5. Drizzle with dressing and toss gently — just enough to bring it together.

Prep Ahead Tip

I prep most of these toppings in mason jars on Sundays and line them up on a tray in the fridge. When everything’s ready to go, building this salad takes about 60 seconds — which makes eating this way all week feel easy and realistic.

Serve With (Optional)

This week, I paired this salad with a simple roasted carrot soup for a cozy, plant-rich side.

Pairing a daily salad with a simple soup like this is an easy way to add warmth, variety, and more plants—without complicating the meal.

Notes & Variations

Easy swaps

• Roasted sweet potato instead of butternut squash
• Pear instead of apple
• Slivered almonds or chopped walnuts instead of pumpkin seeds
• Red onion instead of scallions

Easy add-ins

• Broccoli sprouts or sunflower sprouts
• Shredded carrots
• Pomegranate seeds
• Extra fresh herbs

Prep note

If you’re new to roasting squash: I simply cube butternut squash, spread it on a lined baking sheet, and roast at 400°F until tender and lightly caramelized, about 25–35 minutes. Let it cool slightly before adding to your salad.

This Winter Harvest Bowl was such a satisfying way to use what’s in season — warm, fresh, and full of texture without being complicated.

If you build your own version, I’d love to hear what you added.

And if you’d like to learn the simple framework I use to build salads like this every day, you can grab my free Daily Salad Formula guide here:

👉 https://verticalhydroponicgarden.com/free-recipes

Next week, I’ll be sharing a new Salad of the Week using the same framework — just different ingredients.