Make this Roasted Butternut Squash Kale Salad with Farro and Goat Cheese for a healthy, delicious dinner that’s made with whole grains and tons of veggies! This yummy kale salad is nutrient-packed and vegetarian and one of the best high protein vegetarian meals out there!
Get ready for the fall kale salad of your dreams ladies and gents. This hubba hubba massaged kale salad is made with roasted butternut squash, roasted chickpeas, yummy farro, pumpkin seeds, dried cherries, and all of the goat cheese you could ever imagine.
How to Roast Butternut Squash
First and foremost, let’s chat all things butternut squash. IMO, butternut squash is a super intimidating vegetable…actually fruit! Since it has seeds, it’s actually considered a fruit (WHATTT?). It’s just so large and hard and difficult to cut. So? What does that mean for you? No fear! We actually have an excellent, in-depth guide that teaches you…
- how to cut butternut squash
- how to cook butternut squash
- and has tons more butternut squash recipes
What I’m trying to say is, if you are also intimidated by butternut squash like I once was, it’s not so bad! You just need to give it a little extra TLC in order to make it scrumptious and perfect for this kale salad.
In addition to the butternut squash, there are other delicious components of this easy kale salad recipe! Check it out –>
- farro: whole grain, gluten-free, vegan, high-fiber
- pumpkin seeds: great texture and healthy fats
- dried cherries: whole food, no-added-sugar, all-natural sweetness
- goat cheese: super creamy and healthy fats
If you’d like to keep this meal vegan, no worries! You can sub out the goat cheese for a vegan cheese or no cheese at all. Easy peasy.
Moving on to the best part of this whole salad…the dressing! Cuz, what is a salad without the dressing?
Kale Salad Dressing
The last thing you need for this vegetarian meal is an easy kale salad dressing! Since there are already so many amazing parts of this salad, we wanted to keep things pretty simple.
- olive oil
- red onion
- garlic
- dijon
- maple syrup
- balsamic vinegar
- lemon
High Protein Vegetarian Meals
Roasted Butternut Squash Kale Salad with Farro and Goat Cheese
Make this Roasted Butternut Squash Kale Salad with Farro and Goat Cheese for a healthy, delicious dinner that’s made with whole grains and tons of veggies! This yummy salad is gluten-free and vegetarian and one of the best high protein vegetarian meals out there!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
Butternut Squash + Garbanzo Beans
- 1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (~4 cups)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 15oz. can garbanzo beans, strained and rinsed
Farro
- 1 cup farro, rinsed
- 2 cups broth or water
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Salad
- 4 cups chopped kale, deboned
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
Instructions
Squash + Garbanzo Beans
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Peel and chop your butternut squash using THIS tutorial.
- Then, place chopped squash on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss. Place in the oven and bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and add garbanzo beans to the pan. Toss to make sure garbanzo beans are coated with olive oil and spices.
- Place back in the oven at 375ºF and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from oven and set aside.
Farro
- While squash and beans are baking, bring broth to a boil over high heat and then add farro to the broth.
- Lower heat to low and cover. Let farro simmer for 20-30 minutes or until farro has expanded and become al dente.
- Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside.
Dressing
- Heat a medium skillet over medium/high heat. Add olive oil.
- When olive oil is fragrant add onion and garlic. Let saute in olive oil for 1-2 minutes.
- Turn heat to low heat and let olive oil, garlic, and onion simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then remove from heat and let cool.
- Add all ingredients for the dressing into a mason jar, close tightly, and shake until all ingredients are combined.
Salad
- Add chopped kale to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Massage kale with your hands for 2-4 minutes to break down the kale until it becomes tender.
- Prepare salad by adding the rest of the salad ingredients to the kale along with the butternut squash mixture and farro.
- Top with salad dressing, toss, and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6
- Calories: 468
- Sugar: 16
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 64
- Fiber: 11
- Protein: 16
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