This Harvest Blackberry and Butternut Squash Massaged Kale Salad is an excellent healthy lunch or dinner and even doubles as a holiday salad to share.
It’s made with roasted butternut squash, candied nuts, blackberries, and massaged kale with a homemade dressing!
Happy Monday! Who else likes to start their week off with fruit and veggie-packed meals? ME ME ME! I feel like if I set myself up for success on Mondays, then I’m more likely to continue the healthy eating train throughout the week. Believe me, it’s easy to deviate!
Today’s recipe is in partnership with Driscoll’s, our favorite berry company! A few weekends ago we attended a brunch with Driscoll’s and the Feed Feed at the Lynhall in Minneapolis and it got me all inspired to start incorporating berries even more than I already do into my diet. From desserts to salads to smoothies to savory tarts, there are so many different ways to use berries and for good reasons as well. Let’s learn a little bit about the star of today’s recipe, blackberries!
- Out of any food tested, blackberries have one of the highest antioxidant contents per serving.
- Blackberries are high in fiber and lower in sugar
- Blackberries have been shown to help fight cancer
- Blackberries grown year round in different parts of North America
Right now in November, the blackberries that we get in the states are actually growing in Mexico. So cool that we can eat berries year round! Blackberries have such an amazing flavor during this time of year that can complement a variety of dishes, especially this one!
This salad is all about nutrition. We’ve got greens, healthy fats, protein, and fiber! It does require a few steps, but at the end, you’re going to be happy you did it all because the flavor combos are unreal.
I used to be a little weary about eating raw kale, but that’s because I wasn’t massaging it! Guys, you need to massage your kale if you’re going to eat it raw. It will make it less pungent and easier to digest. What that means is your cover your raw kale in olive oil and salt and give it a good massage with your hands. We’re talking 3-5 minutes. Your kale will turn from a dull green to a bright glistening green and become must more malleable.
Once you’ve massaged the kale you’ll need to take the following steps and make:
- Dressing
- Roasted butternut squash
- Roasted nuts and seeds
You are more than welcome to add whatever else you’d like to this salad, but I really do think we hit it on the head with the flavor combos. Plus, the blackberries make this salad so fresh and delicious.
VIDEO: Blackberry and Butternut Squash Harvest Salad
This Harvest Blackberry and Butternut Squash Massaged Kale Salad is an excellent healthy lunch or dinner and even doubles as a holiday salad to share. It’s made with roasted butternut squash, candied nuts, Driscoll’s blackberries, and massaged kale with a homemade dressing!
Ingredients
For the Kale
- 10 oz. kale, deboned and chopped
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Butternut Squash
- 1/2 butternut squash (24 ounces), cubed
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
For the Nuts and Seeds
- 1 cup raw pecans
- 1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1.5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
For the Dressing
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/8 sea salt
For the Salad
- 2 6-oz. packages Driscoll’s blackberries
- 1/4 cup goat cheese
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
For the Kale
- Place all ingredients for the kale in a large mixing bowl. Massage oil and salt into the kale with your hands for 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
For the Butternut Squash
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
- Spread butternut squash out on the baking sheet. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to the butternut squash and toss until squash is evenly coated.
- Place the baking sheet into the oven for 20-25 minutes.
For the Nuts
- Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with olive oil cooking spray.
- Place all ingredients for nuts into a medium mixing bowl. Toss until nuts are evenly coated and then spread out evenly onto the baking sheet.
- Roast for 8-10 minutes at 400ºF. You can roast the nuts in the oven with the squash.
For the Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients for the dressing into a mason jar. Tightly cover the mason jar and shake the jar to combine ingredients.
For the Salad
- Add blackberries, goat cheese, cranberries, kale, nuts, and butternut squash into a large salad bowl. Pour dressing over the salad. Toss and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/6 Calories: 404 Sugar: 13 Sodium: 411 Fat: 31 Carbohydrates: 32 Fiber: 7 Protein: 7Similar recipes:
This post is sponsored by Driscoll’s. I was compensated and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds and making this website possible!
This salad is so delicious and cozy! I took some liberties as I normally do, but they were minimal. I omitted the craisins and the pumpkin seeds. For the pecans, I added only a spritz of olive oil and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar before baking. I was too busy/hungry to make the dressing proper so I dashed some red wine vinegar over it since the kale was already massaged with olive oil. This is definitely going to be on my standard lunch rotation. Thank you!
★★★★★
So easy to make and amazingly delicious!!
★★★★★
Brilliant! Thx
Hi, there’s a pic in this article and it has some of the ingredients in lil prep bowls. There’s a tin on the right, round, with what looks like mint however I do not see any fresh herbs in this salad so was wondering about that. Thank you!
I am also wondering this! Sage, maybe?
Really wonderful! We made it without the blackberries because they bother my stomach. My husband really liked it!
★★★★★
This looks delicious! We happen to have kale, blackberries, and butternut squash in the garden. Can’t wait to make this. Yum!
Wow! Home grown…I love that!
This was delicious! Thanks for the share =)
★★★★★
I love this. Tried it this past weekend, and than made it again the next day. All the flavors and the dressing go together so well. Sad that I’ll be finishing the leftovers at lunchtime…but can’t wait till lunchtime!
★★★★★
Literally my favorite fall salad!
Is the caloric count overall or per serving?
Can you make this ahead of time as long as you don’t put the salad dressing on?
Wow looks yummy. Will surely try this. Thanks for sharing this post. Thanks for sharing.
Well, I may have changed this a little more than I initially intended to. I added some farro (a grain), I had some romaine and Brussels sprouts in the fridge, so I added it to the kale. I’m allergic to cranberries, so I switched them out with golden raisins. I had a lot of walnuts on hand, so that took the place of the pecans. I stuck with the roasted cubed butternut squash, blackberries, goat cheese and the dressing as it’s written. I’m bringing it to our annual cribbage potluck tonight… I’m excited.
Your additions sound amazing!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! Decided to do it again last night as an entrée salad with a piece of broiled salmon on top…SO GOOD! This one’s a keeper!
Ohhhh broiled salmon would be SO GOOD on this!!! Glad you loved it <3
I was looking for a salad to take to a party and saw this one on Pinterest and it looked amazing! Then I noticed your name and blog. I used to work for your dad and remember meeting you some years ago. The recipe is great and so is your site! I miss seeing your parents. They are awesome people. Please give them my very best wishes! I think of them often.
What a small world!! I will for sure tell them you say hello 🙂
Very good write-up. I certainly love this website. Thanks!
Would baby kale work or is it too delicate?
Baby kale would work, but I would skip the massaging part and eat it raw!
Definitely going to give this salad a try. I think I’ll spiralize the squash – it’s easier for me than chopping it up.
Oh that is so smart!!! I love my spiralizer <3
Yum! This sounds like a great nutritious side to bring to Thanksgiving! 🙂
Packing in alllll dat nutrition.