Kale. Love it or hate it?
What if you combined it with the saltiness of bacon and the sweetness of butternut squash then tied it all together with a southwestern style dressing?
This Bacon, Butternut Squash and Kale Salad Recipe is hearty enough to eat for lunch (I think) or it makes a really good whole food side dish to a roast pork tenderloin.
I bake my bacon in the oven at the same time the butternut squash is roasting. The bacon takes about 15 minutes at 425 degrees to bake to crispy perfection while the butternut squash will take about 30 minutes to get nicely caramelized.
If you’ve never baked bacon before, I’ve made a How to Bake Bacon video for you. You don’t need to make yours into bacon bundles, but the technique is the same.
After your bacon has baked for 15 minutes, pull your bacon out of the oven, stir the butternut squash a bit, tuck the squash back in for the next 15 minutes then lay your bacon out on paper towels to absorb the extra bacon grease. You’ll have at least 12 more minutes for the butternut squash to cook – the perfect amount of time to make your dressing and add your kale to your favorite salad bowl.
PRESTO! Side dish is ready to go in 30 minutes.
Bacon, Butternut Squash, Kale Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups baby kale
- 2 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 6 strips of bacon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Add kale to a large salad bowl.
- Toss butternut squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and pinch of salt. Spread in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Line a smaller baking sheet with tinfoil. Lay bacon on baking sheet.
- Put both bacon and butternut squash in 425 degree oven. Bake bacon for 15 minutes or until desired level of crispiness. Stir butternut squash when you take the the bacon out. Allow to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until it begins to brown and caramelize.
- Chop bacon once cooled and drained.
- Whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, orange juice, salt, cumin, and ginger. Stir in diced red onion.
- Toss kale with roasted butternut squash, chopped bacon, and dressing. Serve.
If you try this recipe for Bacon, Butternut Squash and Kale Salad, please let me know how you like it!
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