This hearty sheet pan butternut squash salad with kale is filled with texture, colour, and taste! It’s festive and excellent for holidays and for sharing, but it’s additionally stress-free to organize. Candy roasted butternut squash, apples, and onions, crispy chickpeas, and tender marinated kale: this unconventional heat salad has all of it.
As we head into the busy vacation season, the simplicity and hands-off nature of a sheet pan meal couldn’t be extra interesting.
This explicit sheet pan meal, which is a sheet pan butternut squash salad with kale, is so festive, so enjoyable, and so seasonal.
It has all the autumnal issues: winter squash, roasted apples and onions, and an apple cider French dressing.
It’s additionally obtained improbable texture within the type of crispy roasted chickpeas and tender marinated kale.
If these promoting factors aren’t sufficient, the butternut squash salad additionally has substance. It’s served heat and filled with hearty components, so it gained’t really feel like a side dish or an afterthought.
As an alternative, it is a salad that’s healthful and beneficiant sufficient to function a light-weight essential dish, whether or not you’re feeding your self or gathering with family and friends.
What’s a sheet pan salad?
A sheet pan salad is a salad that’s blended on a sheet pan.
As far as I do know, sheet pan salads will all the time have heat or room-temperature elements, for the reason that complete operate of the sheet pan is baking or roasting.
Sheet pan salads problem us to assume a bit of otherwise about salad.
They remind us, for instance, that each one salads don’t essentially must be green salads—although this salad does have a leafy inexperienced part within the type of kale.
Many greens can function a salad base. Radicchio, chicories, shaved Brussels sprouts, cabbage, shredded carrots, riced broccoli, whole grains, legumes, or roasted vegetables: these are just a few of the greens that may be become a stellar fall or winter salad.
You’ll be able to eat a salad alongside a meal or for a meal. Salads could be, or be part of, dinner, lunch, or breakfast.
Salads could be served crisp and chilly, at room temperature, or good and heat. There are not any guidelines, and mixing a salad on a scorching sheet pan quite than in a mixing bowl is a reminder of that reality.
For this sheet pan salad, I roast the chickpeas, squash, onions, and apple. Then I add uncooked, marinated kale the sheet.
Different sheet pan salads may name for wilting or crisping the greens within the oven for a bit. Right here, too, there are not any guidelines, however I’m personally a fan of the distinction of uncooked and cooked, scorching and funky components.
The fantastic thing about butternut squash
The star of this butternut squash salad is, in fact, the squash.
It’s no massive secret that butternut squash is one among my favourite components.
This glorious winter squash is brimming with good diet, for one factor. It’s an exceptionally good supply of beta-carotene, which is transformed by our our bodies into Vitamin A.
Vitamin A, in flip, is a strong antioxidant. It performs a job in cell progress, and Vitamin A adequacy is necessary for eye, coronary heart, lung, and pores and skin well being.
Butternut squash can also be an awesome supply of one other antioxidant, Vitamin C, and the electrolytes magnesium and potassium.
As well as, butternut squash has loads of dietary fiber, which is necessary for digestive well being. Fiber helps to maintain us full, which is a part of why this salad is so satisfying.
You’ll be able to learn extra about my love of butternut squash and browse a few of my favourite recipes that function it in my roundup of wholesome vegan butternut squash recipes.
Featured components
This salad options a few of my all-time favourite issues to eat.
Along with the squash, there’s marinated—or massaged—uncooked kale. That is my favourite approach to eat kale by far; I prefer it greater than sautéing, kale chips, steaming, or anything.
For plant protein, the butternut squash salad has roasted chickpeas.
What I function within the recipe is actually a shortcut model of the crispy roasted chickpeas which might be a go-to part in salads and soups in my dwelling.
Roasting chickpeas offers them taste—any seasoning you want—and an irresistable crunch.
Together with the butternut squash within the sheet pan salad, I roast apples and purple onion. These elements add a beautiful, deep candy and savory part. They add complexity to the salad.
Lastly, there’s a beautiful vinaigrette right here, which makes use of apple cider vinegar and white balsamic vinegar collectively. There’s one thing about this mix that basically works, attaining simply the correct degree of sweetness and acidity.
Briefly, I couldn’t love the blueprint for this salad extra. And it occurs to be enjoyable to make.
How you can make butternut squash salad with kale
Step 1: Put together the chickpeas and greens for roasting
In the first step, you’ll drain and dry off your chickpeas. As odd because it sounds, patting them totally dry helps them to develop into extra crispy throughout roasting.
You’ll season the chickpeas with onion salt (or onion powder blended with common salt), garlic powder, and pepper.
On a separate tray, you’ll prepare the butternut squash, onion, and apples for roasting. You’ll add some avocado oil to each the greens and chickpeas, and also you’ll switch them to the oven.
Step 2: Roast
One of many good issues about this recipe is that all the elements roast on the identical time, and for roughly the identical period of time.
Preserve each trays within the oven for 30-35 minutes, or till the chickpeas are crispy and browning and the squash is tender and browning on the edges.
You’ll stir as soon as midway by roasting.
You might be questioning whether or not you may simply roast the whole lot collectively, or on two sides of a single sheet.
I didn’t have success once I made the recipe that means; a single sheet pan wasn’t sufficient for all the components to roast with out crowding. Crowding compromises crispy texture in roasting.
Additionally, I discover that the chickpeas retain extra nice crunch once they roast on a sheet of their very own (simply as gnocchi roasts extra successfully by itself tray in my favourite vegan sheet pan gnocchi recipe).
Step 3: Make the French dressing and put together the kale
Whereas the greens are roasting, you may flip to the kale.
First, whisk collectively the French dressing for the butternut squash salad: oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, and salt.
You’ll wish to add about half of the dressing to the kale, which ought to be piled in a pleasant, roomy mixing bowl.
Use your palms—it should be your palms!—to firmly work the dressing into the kale, squeezing as you go. The kale will virtually immediately develop into extra tender.
The remaining dressing ought to be reserved for drizzling on the completed salad.
Step 4: Combine
As soon as the squash combination and chickpeas have all roasted for lengthy sufficient, it’s time to mix components.
First, switch the chickpeas to the identical sheet because the squash.
Then, add the massaged kale. Combine the whole lot effectively on the sheet, then drizzle the remaining dressing—or as a lot of it as you want—over the butternut squash salad.
Step 5: Serve
At this level, you may go forward and serve your colourful, heat, satisfying sheet pan salad.
Some accompaniments that I like with this salad: toast, a easy complete grain, like my mushroom farro, any soup (butternut lentil apple soup, if you wish to keep on model), baked balsamic tofu.
However you do you!
The Vegan Week
Embrace the enjoyment of consuming home made meals on daily basis with the hearty and healthful recipes in The Vegan Week.
Whether or not you may have three, two, and even only one hour of time to spare, The Vegan Week will present you batch prepare dinner various, colourful, and comforting dishes over the weekend.
Meal prep & storage
If you’d like to get a head start on the butternut squash salad, that’s easy to do.
You can roast the squash, onion, apples, and chickpeas and store them for up to two days before mixing. The kale can be prepared a full day ahead of mixing as well.
The dressing can be whisked together a week before you put the salad together.
Once mixed, the salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three whole days. It’s that rarest of things: a salad that does very well in leftover form.
Sheet Pan Butternut Squash Salad with Kale
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Yields: 4 servings
Butternut squash salad with kale:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (240g, or one 15-ounce / 425g can)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt (substitute 1/2 teaspoon high-quality salt + 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, or just substitute 1/2 teaspoon high-quality salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly floor black pepper
- 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and reduce into 1-inch / 2.5cm cubes (about 1 1/4 kilos / 570g after preparation)
- 1 giant apple, reduce into 1-inch / 2.5cm cubes
- 1 medium purple onion, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
- Salt
- Freshly floor black pepper
- 1 bunch curly kale, stemmed and torn or chopped into bite-sized items
Dressing:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated on a microplate (to style)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
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Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment or foil, or use rimmed, nonstick baking sheets.
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Rinse the chickpeas in a small colander or by a sieve. Drain them effectively. Switch the chickpeas to at least one rimmed baking sheet and use tea towels or paper towels to roll them round and pat them as dry as you presumably can. The extra dry the chickpeas develop into, the crispier they’re going to be! Make certain there is not any further liquid left on the baking sheet when you’re performed drying the beans; should you see any, use the towels to wipe it off.
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Drizzle the chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of the avocado oil and use your palms or a spoon to coat them evenly. Sprinkle them with the onion salt, garlic powder, and some turns of black pepper. Combine once more.
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Switch the reduce butternut squash, apple, and onion to the opposite baking sheet. Drizzle with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons avocado oil, then sprinkle with salt and some turns of black pepper. Combine the greens on the sheet to coat them evenly.
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Switch each baking sheets to the oven. Roast for 30-35 minutes, or till the chickpeas are crispy and browning and the squash is tender and browning on the edges. Stir all the components on their baking sheets as soon as midway by the baking time.
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When you roast the squash and chickpeas, whisk collectively all French dressing components till they’re emulsified. Switch the kale to a big mixing bowl. Add half of the French dressing to the kale, reserving the remainder; you may use it for drizzling if you serve the salad. Use your palms to “therapeutic massage” the French dressing into the kale, till the kale is well-coated and tenderized.
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When the squash is prepared, add the dressed kale and roasted chickpeas to the sheet pan with the squash and onions. Combine the whole lot effectively. Style the combination and alter salt and pepper as wanted. You’ll be able to add further dressing right here, too; in any other case, you may serve the remaining dressing desk facet, so that every individual having fun with the salad can add a bit of to style.
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Serve the salad or retailer it in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
Should you’ve been hoping to discover a vacation recipe that’s festive, nutritious, and gained’t price you hours and hours within the kitchen, then maybe this shall be it?
I’ve been having fun with it a lot this November, and I do know that I’ll be holding it within the rotation as we transfer into winter. I’m glad to share it with you on this week of giving and sharing our thanks.
xo
