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 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Author Stephanie Simmons
Ingredients
For the Butternut Squash
1tbspolive oil
2 and 1/2cupspeeled and cubed butternut squashbuy the pre-cut to save time!
salt + pepper
For the Chicken
2lbschicken breast
1tbspolive oil
salt + pepper
1/2tspgarlic powder
1/2tsprubbed sage
Other
1bunchdinosaur kaleLacinato Kale
1packagebacon
honeycrisp apples
feta cheese
pepitaspumpkin seeds
For the Maple Tahini Dressing
4tbsptahini
2tbspmaple syrup
4tsplemon juice
1/4tspgarlic powder
pinchof 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.