A delicious fall salad that is great for lunch and hearty enough for dinner!
The holiday on Monday has really thrown me off this week. Thursday crept up on me so fast , I almost wasn’t ready for it! But, thankfully I made this delicious Roasted Butternut Squash & Sweet Chili Chickpea Salad last week to share with you 🙂
This was kind of a random throw together salad using ingredients I had laying around, but it turned out so tasty I though that you all might like it too!
A week ago I really felt like fall was in the air and I was getting so excited, but the last few days have been hot and it makes it hard to remember that fall is right around the corner. I guess it’s just a really long corner 🙂
So, what I’m doing now is eating all the fall food I can get my hands on. I made this Pumpkin Mac N Cheese last week, tested out a pumpkin cheesecake (so good!) a few days ago, and now I’m roasting butternut squash.
You could say I’m trying to coax the cooler weather here with my cooking. This recipe is great for a hearty dinner salad. It can also easily be made ahead and taken for a healthy lunch throughout the week. I hope you enjoy it!
Roasted Butternut Squash & Sweet Chili Chickpea Salad
Description
A delicious and filling fall salad!
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
- 4 1/2 teaspoons oil, divided (your favorite cooking oil)
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 5 ounces baby kale, or your favorite greens
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 3 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup roasted pepitas
- Salt
- Pepper
- Tahini, for drizzling over top
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. On a large sheet pan, toss together cubed butternut squash, 2 teaspoons olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake butternut squash until fork tender, about 40 minutes.
- While butternut squash is baking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 teaspoon oil, chickpeas, chili powder, maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Cook chickpeas for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add your greens to a large bowl and toss together with 2 teaspoons olive oil, juice of 1/2 a lemon and 3 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional).
- To assemble: add the butternut squash, chickpeas, dried cranberries and pepitas to your greens and mix until combined. Top each individual serving with a drizzle of tahini, you may need to thin your tahini out with water or lemon juice if it’s thick.
Notes
If making ahead of time, leave the greens separate from the rest of the salad because they will wilt more quickly with the dressing on them.
It’s crazy to think that fall is just around the corner, but it is! And this salad seems like just the thing to get me in the mood. Love the dried cranberries and pepitas in it. Might make this for guests coming next week. And your site design looks wonderful too, Izzy!
The holiday definitely has me allll thrown off too! You are not alone! And this salad sounds fantastic – so right up my alley!
Glad I’m not the only one! At least it’s the weekend now! Thanks, Ashley! 🙂