Baby Kale and Butternut Squash Salad
This baby kale and butternut squash salad is perfect for fall dinner parties and holiday meals. It’s full of texture and a balance of savory and sweet flavors with bacon, caramelized onions, toasted almonds, dried cranberries, and homemade vinaigrette.
This fall salad complements almost any main dish from meat to casseroles to soup. The ingredients make it a lovely addition to the Thanksgiving menu or other holiday meals since that’s when butternut squash is in season and easy to find.
It adds freshness to dinner party menus, and compliments a roasted or slow cooker turkey breast and traditional sides.
Ingredient Notes
I got this recipe when I visited the ALDI test kitchen and adjusted it a bit to make it easier to prepare.
This is one of the few salads that doesn’t have cheese, and if you want to make it vegan, you can omit the bacon (or serve it on the side), and use olive oil or avocado oil in place of butter.
- Baby Kale. It’s young and tender and doesn’t need to be massaged or softened ahead. However, if you can’t find it you can use green kale or Tuscan kale. I like to buy it in bags that are already washed and cut. Whether you use bagged products or fresh leaves you’ll still need to make sure the tough stems are cut off and disposed of.
- Butternut squash. Use one small squash, peeled and diced. You can also find this pre-cut and peeled in the produce section with other bagged salads or cut vegetables.
- Dried Cranberries. You could substitute with dried cherries or fresh pomegranate arils, too.
How to Make It
There are three steps to making this salad. See full instructions in the recipe card below.
You can do some of the steps ahead, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- First, you’ll season and cook the butternut squash.
- Next you’ll cook bacon and caramelized onions.
- Finally you’ll make the dressing to pour over the prepared salad.
Helpful Tips
- Make the onions, bacon, and roasted butternut squash up to 24 hours ahead so it’s quicker to put the salad together for dinner.
- Lightly toast the nuts to bring out their full flavor. Do this up to 3 days ahead and store covered. Toast them in a 375 degree oven for about 5 to 7 minutes. Keep an eye on them as you don’t want them to burn.
- If you make the squash and caramelized onions ahead and store them in the refrigerator, I recommend warming them slightly in the microwave before adding them to the salad.
- Combine dressing ingredients together with a whisk OR in a jar with a secure lid and shake vigorously until smooth and emulsified.
Serving Suggestions
For a fall soup and salad combo, pair it with pumpkin curry soup. Or include it with a soup dinner party, or a luncheon soup bar.
For other salad options try this kale and apple salad or a roasted beet & goat cheese salad.
Add this baby kale and butternut squash salad to Thanksgiving dinner or your Christmas meal. It’s delicious for special occasions and dinner parties.
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Butternut Squash & Baby Kale Salad
Butternut squash and kale salad is delicious and beautiful to serve for a dinner party. It's topped with a warm dressing and is full of texture and flavor. This is a must for holiday entertaining like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Ingredients
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled & diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoons Olive Oil, divided
- 1 Tablespoon chopped rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (or two cloves, crushed)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 6 strips Center Cut Bacon
- 1 small yellow Onion, thinly sliced
- ½ Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Dried Cranberries
- 1 cup Sliced Almonds, lightly toasted
- 3 cups packed Organic Baby Kale
Dressing
- 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons Honey (or brown sugar)
- ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450º F.
- Roast Squash. In a small bowl combine squash, 1 Tablespoon oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper, and toss until well coated. Transfer squash to baking sheet and roast about 10 minutes or until tender but crisp.
- Cook bacon in a large skillet or in the oven until crisp.
- Caramelized Onions. In a small sauté pan, heat 1 ½ teaspoon olive oil, and butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized. Reduce heat to low after 10 minutes and stir every 5 minutes or as needed. Reserve in a large bowl or airtight container to store in fridge.
- For dressing, combine vinegar, mustard, and honey in a small bowl using a whisk. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking, until emulsified, OR you can add the ingredients in a jar with a secure lid and shake vigorously until smooth.
- Salad. In a large serving bowl, add kale, squash, bacon, onion, cranberries, and almonds. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
This looks amazing. I have the pleasure of working on an organic farm and get many of the ingredients in this right from there.
Oh, how lucky you are, Kate! I grew up in farm land. Nothing tastes better than fresh veggies!