Roasted Butternut Squash, Kale, and Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Glaze
It was a warm and beautiful fall day today and after getting a few errands done, I was in the mood to cook a nice comforting meal. I decided to roast a whole chicken and make this roasted butternut squash, kale, and quinoa salad topped with feta, dried cranberries, and thinly sliced almonds. I drizzled balsamic glaze on top right before serving and it was tasty! This salad was beautiful and utterly delicious and we all enjoyed it…even the kids. Yay!
How to Make Roasted Butternut Squash, Kale, and Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Glaze
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil (for easier clean up), coat with olive oil cooking spray.
Place the diced butternut squash on the baking sheet then drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season well with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Place into the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Flip over and roast for another 10 minutes or until the squash is tender and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
While the squash is roasting, prepare the quinoa, per package instructions. Side Note: For additional flavor, I cook my quinoa in chicken broth that I seasoned simply with a bit of garlic powder, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Let the quinoa cool a bit.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the rinsed kale along with crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Stir often until the kale is slightly wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and place into a serving bowl. Add the quinoa, butternut squash, dried cranberries, feta, and sliced almonds. Drizzle the top with the balsamic glaze. Toss and serve immediately. Enjoy.
I love any form of quinoa Pam 🙂
Can I join you for the lunch? This looks so tasty, Pam.
It looks delicious, an appropriate dish for fall!!! 🙂
well this just screams FALL, doesn’t it! it’s everything a salad should be–colorful, nutritious, and delicious.
My ideal fall meal!! Such pretty colors, too 🙂
This looks so awesome, Pam. Love this FALL-TASTIC meal.
Well that’s a fancy salad! I should just eat a salad like this tonight but I happen to have leftover pot roast and my will is weak.
I bet this delicious looking salad went very well with the roasted chicken. Lots of good things in this recipe.
I just love roasted butternut squash, and this combination sounds really nice.
balsamic “glaze” ??? What is this lovely sounding concoction? or is it just a balsamic vinegar? This looks lovely, and I’d like to try it! Thanks!
Made this for dinner last night and it was fabulous! I used baby kale, which ended up wilting down more like spinach. I think if I made more of it next time, I would either use “grown up” kale or skip the saute on baby kale…then it would hold together for lunch the following day. I’m new to this website and LOVING it! Have made several recipes already and they are all wonderful! I try to provide a healthy, whole foods diet that still has great flavor, and sites like this help me succeed. Thank you!