One of my favorite nourishing recipes to make and eat is a roasted veggie-based salad where greens are absolutely not required. Today I’m so excited to share an exclusive recipe sneak peek from Don’t Think About Dinner(!!!!) that’s can hands-down be the star of your Thanksgiving meal. This hearty Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potato, and Beet Salad is loaded with all the roasted, crunchy good stuff and tossed in a creamy maple-tahini dressing that’s both seasonal and lightly sweet.
It’s easy to make ahead and travel with if you’re not hosting, just pop it in the oven to reheat before serving, then mix with the dressing. And speaking of, when it comes to serving it’s really a choose your own adventure—I love to serve it warm with crumbled goat cheese on top, but you can also add chickpeas, feta, or rotisserie chicken for more.
You’re getting over 125 easy, nourishing, delicious recipes like this one in Don’t Think About Dinner—have you ordered your copy yet?! Now is the perfect time to gift the book to someone you love: preorder now (on sale on Amazon and Target, or order a signed copy for no extra charge), download the free gift tag below, and give the gift of thinking less this year 💖
Better yet, gift someone a ticket to the Don’t Think About Dinner Book Tour (which includes a signed book!) and give them the tag. You can gift an experience and a book!!
I hope you enjoy this recipe sneak peek, let’s get cooking!
Creating a sustainable kitchen is something I’ve been focused on for the last few years, especially when it comes to the tools I reach for every single day. Material Kitchen’s new MK Free Board has officially become my new go-to for easy cleanup and working with messy ingredients like raw meat. It’s 100% plant-based—made from a blend of clay and biodegradable biopolymers—and it’s lightweight, dishwasher safe(!!!), and sturdy. I love how much prep space it gives me: I can chop, slide things over, keep going, and skip the whole prep bowl shuffle, then toss in the dishwasher to make life easier. AND the slim design means it tucks away into the cabinet easily.
If you’re refreshing your kitchen tools or have a meal prepper on your holiday gift list, start with the MK Free Board and get it 15% off (or 25% off when you order 3). Browse my other MK favorites here, sitewide sales are up to 35% off right now!!
roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potato, and beet salad
serves 4 | prep time: 15 minutes, plus 15 minutes resting | cook time: 30 minutes
gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan
FOR THE SALAD
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups shaved Brussels sprouts (about 7 ounces)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and medium-diced (about 3 cups)
2 medium beets, peeled and medium-diced (about 1 ½ cups)
1 cup roughly chopped unsalted raw walnuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
⅔ cup dried cranberries
FOR THE MAPLE-TAHINI DRESSING
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
*yields about 3/4 cup of dressing
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and
black pepper. Add the Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, beets, walnuts, and
oil and mix well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared sheet pan.
Bake until the vegetables are fork-tender and browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on the sheet pan for 5 to 10 minutes.
Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth.
Transfer the cooled vegetables to the bowl, add the dried cranberries, and toss with the dressing until everything is evenly coated.
To serve, spoon the salad onto four plates.
Store it: Refrigerate the salad and dressing in separate sealed containers, up to 4 days for the salad and up to 7 days for the dressing. Dress the salad right before serving.
Reheat it: Heat the salad on a sheet pan and bake in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes to bring the veggies back to life (alternatively, microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes), then toss with the dressing.
Goood to know: Feel free to up the protein by adding crumbled goat cheese or feta, chickpeas, or shredded rotisserie chicken.
Recipe Notes:
Walnuts add a delicious crunch to this dish and get roasted from the start with all the other veggies and seasonings. Fun tip: store your walnuts in the freezer to keep them fresh and prevent them from going stale or bitter once opened.
Top with crumbled cheese like feta or goat cheese to add a creaminess to each bite. A dairy-free option like vegan feta or even blue cheese would be delish!
Prepping ahead? Leave the dressing off until you’re ready to enjoy, adding it too soon will make things a bit soggy.
Bulk it up by adding sliced chicken sausage or make some quick chicken or turkey meatballs and add them to the sheet pan to bake.
I asked our community for their best Thanksgiving hosting tips this week. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re hosting for the holiday:
“Make everything you can ahead! And accept help from others that offer to bring something.” Jenn: Accepting help is so important! I’m trying to remember that this week.
“Set the table the day before and lay out all serving dishes and utensils labeled with post-its.” Jenn: Doing this! I can’t wait for you to see my tablescape!
“Make a list of things you can prepare Tuesday and Wednesday (i.e. deserts!)”
“Brine the bird, prep the sides while it cooks, then cook sides while it rests. Clean as you go.”
“Cook ahead so you can warm stuff in the oven and not have a million dishes to do on the day of.” Jenn: Wednesday is going to be my big prep day, so hopefully I can do this!
“Make some traditional sides and do something surprisingly different for the main meal.”
“Roast your turkey in an electric roaster to free up oven space.”
“Cook two smaller turkeys instead of one huge one.”
“It’s okay if not everything hot.” Jenn: Yes!! I think people stress too much about this.
“Give yourself grace!” Jenn: A good one to end on. Remember the memories are most important, not how impressive your house, table, or food is ❤️
📣 ICYMI: gift guides are out and updated with current sales
& get my Amazon Black Friday picks here.
what I’m prepping
Cheesy Potato Egg Casserole — If you have guests coming in the next week, or just need a quick and easy breakfast to prep, this casserole checks all the boxes. More inspiration for breakfasts to feed a crowd here if you have company coming.
Rosemary Cider Short Ribs and Sweet Potato Mash — This month’s bonus recipe is one of my most favorite! It’s seasonal, rich, perfect for a holiday meal. I’m making a similar variation for an upcoming holiday dinner party with friends.
what I’m loving
Hosting prep — For the first time I’m hosting my entire family for Thanksgiving! I finished getting all the dishes and table setting necessities like these glasses and matching silverware. These gingham napkins might be my favorite though. Lots more kitchen goods in the holiday gift guide!
Cargo pants — If you told Jenn 10 years ago that she’d be wearing and loving cargo pants I definitely would be laughing. These Quince pants are quickly becoming a staple. I’ve been wearing mine with this $40 sweater or a denim button down (it gives Chessy from Parent Trap vibes in a good way!!)
what I’m recommending
At home pizza party — I love a pizza party and even did homemade gluten-free crusts for the one we had last week! Proud of myself for facing my fear of yeast!! The pizza oven I used is currently 30% off for Black Friday, truly so easy to use and the pizzas came out perfect.
Conform — This book rec came from Caroline Chambers and Molly from What To Cook and I’m only halfway through but fully obsessed and look forward to my reading time every night!! Highly recommend! —Kate Eats Goood
This dish is on my list to make this next week!
I made this yesterday because this is a great fall/winter recipe Jenn. One thing, I think you can easily cut the salt in half in both the dressing and the veggies and you wouldn't even notice the difference. Otherwise, thanks for the new recipe!