Baked Cabbage Salad with Winter Romesco

I have been making a lot of baked salads this winter (it’s my calling!) but this baked cabbage salad with winter romesco has a special place in my heart. First, it has my two favorite vegetables, savoy cabbage and delicata squash, both thinly sliced and made to be the absolute perfect texture for a baked salad. Second, this salad makes a “winter romesco” – which is a riff on traditional romesco, where we opt out of the tomatoes, add in a bit of cooked onion and sage, and really lean into the warm, zippy, spicy flavors of the sauce.

The other thing to love about baked salads is how easy and efficient they are. This is one of my ultimate weeknight meals because while the cabbage and squash are roasting, you can use that time to make the romesco, the crunchy toppings, and prep your toast. It’s a quick meal that ends up feeling luxurious, plus it’s great for leftovers. What’s not to love? I hope by now I have you all on Team Baked Salad for life 😉

Ingredients you’ll need for this cabbage baked salad

• 1 small savoy cabbage
• 1 medium delicata squash
• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
• 1 small yellow onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup fresh sage
• 1/4 cup pecan halves
• 2 tbsp pepitas
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, from the jar
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp each Diamond Crystal kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
• 2 slices thick sourdough bread

Let’s talk about why I use cabbage and delicata squash in this recipe

Both of these vegetables do a fantastic job of cooking down in the oven to a texture that is both soft, but has some bite to it. Cabbage gets crispy on some pieces and holds its structure, which I love, and since you can eat the skin of delicata squash, I love that that yields another layer of textural interest to the salad. You can absolutely sub these out for other options (see the substitutions list below), but these are my favorite vegetables for this baked cabbage salad!

How to prepare the cabbage and delicata squash in this baked salad

This recipe is all about timing, so it makes sense to start with the roasted vegetables first. That way you can make the sauce while everything is baking!

So set the oven to 400°F. Then remove the core from the cabbage and thinly slice it. Scatter on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with about a teaspoon of olive oil, and season with a small amount of salt and pepper.
Cut the delicata squash in half and remove the seeds. Thinly slice into half-moon pieces. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet and toss with salt and pepper.
Roast the cabbage and the squash in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until some cabbage pieces are browned and crisp and the squash is roasted and browning on the bottom!

How to make the winter romesco sauce

Make the sauce (and the toppings!) while the cabbage is roasting. This will make it so that everything is done at the same time for this baked cabbage salad.

In the dry pan, add the pecans and pepitas and cook until they are toasted and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and set half in a bowl for the topping, and half in a small blender.

Put 1-2 tbsp of oil in the pan and let it come to temperature. Add half of the garlic and let it “fry” quickly, getting brown and crispy. Repeat this process with half the sage leaves, frying until they are crispy. Remove and add to the toppings bowl.

Then cook the onion for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the remaining garlic and sage, cooking until the garlic is soft and the sage is aromatic, another 2-3 minutes.
Blend all of this with the roasted red peppers, red wine vinegar, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and season with salt, pepper and vinegar as needed!

What is romesco, and how is this sauce different?

Romesco is a tomato-based sauce that is traditionally eaten with seafood. It originates from Tarragona, the Spanish region of Catalonia. It’s typically made from tomatoes, garlic, nuts like pine nuts or almonds, and bell peppers. Occasionally thickeners are added, such as stale bread, but this varies from recipe to recipe and region to region. Most romescos are rich and red in color, and I definitely took a few liberties when developing this one, but it still yields a similar result.

This romesco is red pepper based, because in winter tomatoes aren’t that widely available. I added sage for hearty winter aromatics, as well as an onion for thickness, instead of the traditional bread. Another layer of flavor here comes from pecans and pepitas as the nut based, as opposed to almonds.

There are many changes, but it makes this sauce an easy winter staple!

How to bring this whole recipe together

Season the toppings bowl with a pinch of salt, and roughly chop up the ingredients.
When the cabbage is out of the oven, dress it with the romesco sauce right on the pan (add as much or as little as you prefer!) Pour in the delicata squash and mix again.

To serve, pile the salad on top of a toasted piece of sourdough with a thick smear of ricotta. Add the roasted pepitas topping and serve!

Looking for ingredient substitutions?

The best part of this recipe is it is highly customizable and substitutable! Here are a few of my best subs and replacements for ingredients:

• Cabbage – can be replaced with kale, broccolini, or swiss chard.
• Delicata squash – can be replaced with almost any of her squash cousins, just remember to thinly slice them!
• Roasted red peppers – I don’t love replacing these, but if you are in a pinch, sun-dried tomatoes will work 🙂
• Red wine vinegar – can be subbed for sherry or balsamic vinegar
• Any of the nuts and seeds can be subbed with similar nuts or seeds! Think sunflower seeds, pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.
• Don’t like ricotta? You can sub it for cottage cheese, or cashew cream if you are plant-based!

More of my favorite salad recipes

This might be my current fixation, but I have tons of other warm salads on the blog! Here are a few of my favorites:

And that’s it for this baked cabbage salad with winter romesco! Don’t forget the ricotta toast, of course 😉

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.