Description
This roasted squash salad features addictive marinated chickpeas and a sweet and tangy balsamic dressing. It’s vegan, gluten-free, nutritious, satisfying and with all the different flavors and textures, it tastes incredible!
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 (about 1 cup per salad)
- 4–6 cups de-stemmed and finely chopped kale (1–2 large handfuls per salad)
- 8 tbsp each walnuts, hemp seeds and dried cranberries (2 tbsp per salad, use more or less as desired)
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.
- Serve right away.
Notes
The butternut squash can be substituted with acorn, delicata or kabocha squash. For acorn, delicata and kabocha, roast in wedges with the peel left on. Remove the peel after baking and cube the squash.
Use as much or as little cranberries, walnuts and hemp seeds as you like. 2 tbsp is just a suggested amount.
Cranberries can be substituted with raisins or chopped dates. Walnuts can be substituted with pecans or slivered almonds. Hemp seeds are optional or can be substituted with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds.
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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 salad
- Calories: 545
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 331 mg
- Fat: 36 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Fiber: 11 g
- Protein: 16 g