Autumn Chopped Salad with Salted Maple Vinaigrette.

I adore this butternut squash chopped salad! Kale, roasted, caramely buttery squash is served with creamy goat cheese, crunchy pepitas, dates and a delicious salted maple vinaigrette. It’s lovely to eat on a fall day!

No better salad to kick off October!

This autumn chopped salad is filled with kale, roasted butternut squash, dates, goat cheese and pepitas. The flavor is superb and when you add on a drizzle of the salted maple vinaigrette… oh my.

You will want to eat this every day!

If you’re not feeling like a salad once the weather gets chilly – maybe you’d rather tuck into a bowl of soup? A chopped salad with roasty, seasoned squash is the way to go. It’s more like a BOWL than a salad. 

We could call it a bowl and even add some leftover cooked grains to it too! 

This salad reminds me a lot of my previous butternut kale salad. There are a few differences that make both super delicious. 

A chopped salad is the best salad, by far!

There is nothing like a good chopped salad, where you can get a bite of everything right on your fork.

Chopped salads are my gateway salad. I really fell in love with salads way back when after I started eating chopped salads.

And sure, you can technically cut up any salad on your own, as soon as it’s served to you. But there is something about a salad being served to you in a chopped form that is the best. It’s so easy to make and enjoyable! The texture is heightened and the crunch is fabulous. 

So that’s where you’ll find me, enjoying a little autumn chopped salad all season long. 

Here’s how I make it!

First, I roast the butternut squash with my classic spice mix. I should name this the howsweeteats spice blend or something. Salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder. That is all you need!

I like to roast the squash at a higher temperature so it gets golden and caramely. The natural sweetness comes out and the savory spices make it irresistible. 

While the squash roasts, I chop up the kale. I add a drop of olive or avocado oil and massage it for a few minutes, just to release the bitterness and take away some of that chewiness. This makes all the difference.  (more…)

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