fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing

This fall salad is loaded with roasted butternut squash, fresh honeycrisp apples, kale, pumpkin seeds, bacon, chicken, feta, and topped off with a Maple Tahini Dressing! It’s a flavor party and we’re all invited!

this recipe

I’ve been really bad at feeding myself lunch lately. Scrambled eggs on toast are great but you can only eat that so many times without getting a little bored. This accidental/random recipe was my saving grace last week – I was organizing the fridge and just started throwing things together for lunch. And, the Fall Harvest Salad was born.

This recipe works great for meal prep because you can prep all the ingredients ahead of time, and toss them together at lunch time! Cook a batch of chicken breasts, roast a sheet pan of butternut squash, fry up some bacon and you’re in business! The work load here is a little heavy on the front side of things, but once you’ve got those three things prepped, you’re basically done.

At lunchtime, fill a bowl with some kale, apple slices, feta cheese, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and add your (heated up) cooked ingredients. That’s all!

I mean, have you ever seen anything more beautifully fall than that roasted squash?

And we can’t forget about that crisp, delicious bacon!

Oh and the dressing – it’s as easy as mixing together tahini, maple syrup, lemon juice, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt! This is the kind of meal prep I can get on board with. Simple, loaded with flavor and textures, and full of good-for-you ingredients! Plus, this salad is accidentally gluten-free!

If, by chance, you get tired of salads and still have some of these ingredients left, I have the best way to use them up coming soon! Stay tuned…

Fall, please never leave!

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5 from 1 vote

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Fall Harvest Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing

A delicious salad filled with fall flavors and good-for-you ingredients like roasted butternut squash, honeycrisp apples, bacon, kale, and pumpkin seeds.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Healthy Food

Keyword Fall Recipes, Fall Salad, Filling Salad Recipe, Healthy Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Author Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Butternut Squash

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 and 1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash buy the pre-cut to save time!
• salt + pepper

For the Chicken

• 2 lbs chicken breast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt + pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage

Other

• 1 bunch dinosaur kale Lacinato Kale
• 1 package bacon
• honeycrisp apples
• feta cheese
• pepitas pumpkin seeds

For the Maple Tahini Dressing

• 4 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 4 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of salt
• water, to thin

Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all the roasted squash ingredients together on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. 

   Cook the bacon (according to package directions) and the chicken while the squash roasts. Cut bacon into small pieces once cooked. Slice chicken breast into thin strips and season. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook chicken until cooked through. 

2. Make the dressing: Whisk all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, or add to a mason jar (with the lid tightly on, heh) and shake well. 

3. Assemble: Add the cold ingredients (kale, apple slices, feta, and pepitas) to a bowl. Add your hot ingredients (bacon, chicken, squash) and toss with a little dressing! 

4. Store + Meal Prep Tips: Prep the squash, chicken, and bacon in advance. When ready to eat, toss all ingredients together and top with dressing. 

   I like to store each ingredient in it's own container in the fridge, for easy salad assembly. If you're taking this to work for lunch, I recommend putting the squash, bacon, and chicken in a microwave-safe container, putting the kale, apple slices, feta, and pepitas in a larger container, and putting the dressing in a small dressing container or mason jar. Heat up the hot components at work, then add them to the container with the salad base! Drizzle dressing on and enjoy your not-sad desk lunch.  

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