Roasted Squash and Kale Salad
This hearty fall salad combines roasted squash, chickpeas, pecans, and kale with a creamy dairy-free lemon dressing. It’s flavorful, nourishing, and perfect for meal prepping!
Why We Love This Roasted Squash and Kale Salad
- Fall Flavors: This salad celebrates fall produce like kale and squash and is perfect for your holiday gatherings. It’s not only delicious but also festive and colorful!
- Great for Meal Prep: Kale is much heartier than lettuce and doesn’t get soggy after a few hours (or even days). You can make this salad ahead of time and it will stay fresh and crisp for 3-4 days!
- Hearty & Nourishing: It serves 6 as a side, but you can easily double the serving for lunch or a light dinner. It’s got lots of plant protein, fiber, healthy fats, and complex carbs to keep you full and energized!
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Below is a brief look into the main ingredients and why they work in this recipe, plus any possible substitutions. See the recipe card at the bottom for the full ingredients list and quantities.
- Kale ⟶ I typically use curly kale, but other varieties should work! Be sure to remove the tough stems – we just want the leaves for salad.
- Winter Squash ⟶ I prefer the flavor of kabocha, but I’ve also made this salad with butternut squash. The squash gets sweet and nutty when roasted, making this salad extra flavorful and satisfying.
- Cabbage + Cucumbers ⟶ These add a bit of crunch and help bulk up the salad. I like purple cabbage for a pop of color, but green cabbage is fine too.
- Chickpeas ⟶ A little extra protein makes this salad more satiating. You can also use pre-roasted chickpeas, or another legume like lentils or edamame.
- Pecans ⟶ Technically optional, but I love the buttery, nutty flavor pecans add. Walnuts or pistachios are good, too!
- Pickled Red Onions ⟶ I love adding pickled red onions to almost any salad for a tangy, crunchy topping.
- Vegan Feta ⟶ This adds a delicious creamy element, and if you use my tofu feta you’ll also get some extra protein.
- Creamy Dressing ⟶ Made with silken tofu or yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, miso, maple syrup, mustard, and garlic.
- You can also use an apple cider vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette if you aren’t a fan of creamy dressings.
How to Make
This salad is pretty easy to make with a little bit of hands-on prep. In my opinion, the hardest part is cleaning the kale since it’s really easy for dirt and bugs to hide in the leaves.
Toss squash and chickpeas with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a baking sheet. 
Roast at 400°F for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and squash is tender. 
Add kale and cabbage to large salad bowl and drizzle some of the dressing over. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the veggies until they soften. 
Add remaining ingredients and drizzle the rest of the dressing on top. You can arrange the ingredients separately for a beautiful presentation, or just toss everything together.
Serving Suggestions
Kale salad pairs nicely with a cozy soup (like this creamy carrot ginger soup, leek and white bean stew, or Tuscan chickpea soup), sandwich, vegan meatloaf, or vegan lasagna.
How to Store Kale Salad
Store this roasted squash and kale salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can keep the dressing separate if you’d like to keep the veggies and nuts super crisp, but I usually just mix it all together.
Roasted Squash and Kale Salad FAQ
More Hearty Salads
If you try out this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Roasted Squash and Kale Salad
Ingredients
For Roasting
- 1 lb kabocha or butternut squash1 cubed, peeled if desired
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- ½ cup pecans or walnuts
Salad
- 1 bunch kale stems removed
- ½ cup purple or green cabbage shredded
- 1 Persian cucumber thinly sliced
- ½ cup pickled red onions2
- ½ cup
vegan feta
Dressing
- 100 grams silken tofu or dairy-free plain yogurt
- 20 grams (1½ tbsp) tahini
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp miso
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 small cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss squash and chickpeas with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the squash is tender.
- If pecans/walnuts are unroasted: Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Push squash and chickpeas to one side of the baking sheet and add pecans to the other side. Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly roasted. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Blend or whisk dressing ingredients together.
- Rinse kale leaves well and tear into bite-size pieces.Tip: To rinse kale, add the leaves to a large mixing bowl and fill with water. Swirl and toss the leaves around in the water to loosen any dirt or bugs. Drain and repeat one or two more times, depending on how dirty your kale is.
- Add kale and cabbage to a large mixing bowl and drizzle some of the dressing on top. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale and cabbage until they soften.
- Add cucumbers, pickled onions, vegan feta, roasted squash, chickpeas, and pecans. Pour the rest of the dressing over and toss until well combined.
Notes
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