Roasted Squash Kale Salad
on Apr 17, 2020, Updated Sep 11, 2024
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This roasted squash kale salad with marinated chickpeas, cranberries and balsamic dressing is bursting with flavor, texture and nutrition.
About the Recipe
- Tender roasted squash, sweet and tangy cranberries, crunchy walnuts and delicious marinated chickpeas, this is no boring salad!
- Vegan and Gluten-free: This salad is perfect for those with dietary restrictions.
- Good for Holidays: This salad would make a wonderful addition to a Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinner
- Easy to Customize: Try sweet potato instead of squash, spinach instead of kale or a tahini dressing instead of balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- Marinated Chickpeas: The chickpeas are marinated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried herbs. You can skip the marinating if you’re in a pinch or make the salad with the roasted chickpeas from this Vegan Farro Bowl.
- Vinaigrette: The dressing is easy to make with pantry ingredients like balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, and dijon mustard. For alternative dressings, try the herb tahini dressing from this Cauliflower Chickpea Potato Bowls, Maple Dijon Dressing or Miso Tahini Dressing.
- Squash: I used butternut squash but acorn, delicata and kabocha also work. For ease when making acorn, delicata and kabocha, roast the squash in wedges with the peel left on. Remove the peel after baking and cube the squash. You can also use sweet potato.
- Walnuts: Use plain, raw walnuts or walnut pieces or substitute any other nuts or seeds. For a variation, try the candied pecans from this Blueberry Spinach Salad.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: The chickpeas need a few hours of marinating time so you’ll have to plan in advance for that. They can be left overnight if needed. To make them, mix everything up in a sealable container and pop in the fridge.
Step 2: Next up is the squash. Peel and cube butternut squash and place on a baking tray. Add a tiny drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper and roast at 425 degrees until tender. This should take less than 30 minutes.
Step 3: To make the balsamic vinaigrette, whisk all the dressing ingredients together until fully combined. I like to make it in a sealable jar so I can just shake it all up.
Step 4: To assemble the salads, add a big handful of kale each to 4 bowls or containers then divide the roasted squash and marinated chickpeas between them. Add some walnuts, cranberries and hemp seeds to each salad, top with the dressing and enjoy!
FAQs
Yes. If you’re making this for meal prep you can make the dressing, chickpeas and squash up to 3 days in advance. When you’re ready to eat the salad, prepare the kale up to 30 minutes before serving.
If assembled in advance, store in the fridge for up to 3 days but keep the dressing separately until right before serving. If the salad is fully assembled it will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days (will be fine a little longer but the kale will get soggy), store the dressing separately for best results.
More Hearty Salads
- Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad
- Roasted Sweet Potato Kale Salad
- Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
- Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad
- Roasted Chickpea Kale Salad
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.
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Roasted Squash Kale Salad
Ingredients
For the Marinated Chickpeas
- 1 19 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes, optional, for some heat
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
For the Salad
- 4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
- 4-6 cups de-stemmed and finely chopped kale
- 8 tbsp each walnuts
- 8 tbsp dried cranberries
- 8 tbsp hemp seeds, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the marinated chickpeas by adding all of the chickpea ingredients to a sealable container and mixing well. Place in the fridge for at a couple hours up to overnight. The longer, the better, but in a pinch, an hour is fine.
- When you're ready to prepare the salad, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Peel a medium to large-sized butternut squash (enough to make about 1 cup of squash per salad), cut in half and remove the seeds, then cut into approximately 3/4-inch cubes. Place the cubed squash on a baking tray and drizzle with 1/4 tsp olive oil. and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes until tender.
- Make the balsamic vinaigrette by adding all of the dressing ingredients to container and whisking or shaking until completely combined.
- To prepare the kale for the salad, remove the leaves from the stems (discard the stems) and finely chop the kale. Drizzle the chopped kale with 1/4 tsp olive oil then massage and squeeze the kale with your hands for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- To assemble the salads, add a big handful of kale each to 4 bowls or containers. Divide the roasted squash and marinated chickpeas between the 4 servings. Add 2 tbsp each of the walnuts, cranberries and hemp seeds to each salad. Top each with an equal amount of the dressing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on October 23, 2017.
Thank YOU! Absolutely delicious! My family of 5 loved it this evening!!! So colorful too!!!
Yay!! That’s awesome. I don’t get too many reviews on salads during the colder months so I’m so glad you made this. It’s such a good Fall/Winter salad. Thanks for the comment!
Beautiful photos! And I’m right there with you about the kale and Swiss chard; if time allows, I will rub mine with olive oil and/or lemon juice to wilt it slightly and so the vegan parm will have something to stick to. Thanks for sharing!
Same here, I noted in the recipe to give it a quick rub with olive oil and lemon! Thanks for your comment.