• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Desserts & Baking
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Work with Me
  • Cookbook

Home » Recipes » Lunch & Dinner

fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing

October 16, 2018 5 Comments

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

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!

Fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing in a bowl. 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.

Fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing in a bowl.

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!

Roasted squash cubes on a tray.

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

Bacon on a plate.

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

Fall harvest salad with maple tahini dressing in a bowl.

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 harvest salad with maple tahini dressing in a bowl.

Fall, please never leave!

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make! Be sure to leave a comment + rating if you make this recipe so I can see how you liked it!

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.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
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

  • 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. 
  • 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. 
  • 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! 
  • 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.  
 

The One-Bowl Baker

Order my new book:

The One-Bowl Baker

today!

One-Bowl recipes for incredible cookies, brownies, cakes, and breads made easy enough for anyone to bake!

Order Now:

Walmart // Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Target // Booksamillion // Bookshop // Indie Bound // Book Depository

Get the Bonus e-Book!

Share7
Pin2K
Tweet
Share
2K Shares

More Lunch & Dinner

  • lamb chops with shallot & thyme pan sauce and garlic smashed potatoes
  • Short ribs on a bed of cheddar mashed potatoes, on plates.
    beer braised beef short ribs with cheddar mashed potatoes
  • A salad bowl full of fresh greens, sliced pears, pomegranates, mandarin oranges, and walnuts.
    winter salad with pears, pomegranates, and walnuts
  • creamy chicken wild rice soup

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. The Passive 100 says

    October 18, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    This looks so delicious! I’m always looking for ways to use tahini.

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      October 19, 2018 at 9:07 pm

      Thanks! Tahini is so versatile!

      Reply
  2. Sammer says

    October 18, 2018 at 10:57 am

    5 stars
    Looks hearty and delicious, pretty much what fall calls for! I definitely want to try this Maple tahini dressing!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      October 19, 2018 at 9:08 pm

      Thanks Sammer! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Becky says

    October 18, 2018 at 8:31 am

    This looks so good! I always love meals with a lot of color!

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi. I’m Stephanie

I’m a Mom & Grandma-taught cook + baker, and I’m excited to share my love of all things food with you!

Learn more

Order my new book

One-Bowl recipes for incredible cookies, brownies, cakes, and breads made easy enough for anyone to bake!

Order now

Reader Faves

A stack of fudgy brownies with crackly tops and a dusting of powdered sugar.

best-ever 5 ingredient brownies

A straight on view of a slice of banana cake topped with maple cream cheese frosting.

gluten-free banana cake with maple cream cheese frosting

creamy chicken wild rice soup

Monster cookies on a light surface, with a bowl of peanut butter and glasses of milk.

bakery-style monster cookies

maple bacon cupcakes with brown butter frosting and candied bacon

perfect breakfast quiche

Seasonal Picks

White chocolate drizzled lemon blueberry sugar cookies on a blue surface.

blueberry lemon thumbprint cookies

A close-up of a stack of french toast topped with whipped cream, berries, and maple syrup.

restaurant-level stuffed french toast

Yellow birthday cupcakes with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles with lit birthday candles.

birthday cupcakes with malted chocolate frosting

A stack of broken open cookies, showing their gooey insides with chocolate puddles.

jumbo bakery-style chocolate chip cookies

A close-up of slices of nutella tart topped with whipped cream.

no-bake nutella tart

A slice of Black Forest Pie on a plate, with a fork and fresh cherries scattered around

no bake black forest pie

Subscribe for recipes

Footer

  • Privacy Policy
Blog Meets Brand

© 2023 Blue Bowl Recipes. All Rights Reserved.