butternut squash kale salad with maple bacon vinaigrette

butternut squash kale salad with maple bacon vinaigrette

excuse me while i swan dive into this salad and swim laps in it’s salty sweet smoke maple bacon vinaigrette, only coming up for air every so often to balance it out with a few more christmas cookies, and wait can i even breathe i’m so excited?

while in the eyes of a sane, rational person this seems like a grand overstatement to make about a salad, i stand affirmed that this is the salad that wintery dreams are made of, it IS the g.o.a.t. and i’d like to eat it on repeat forever and ever. re: maple bacon vinaigrette!!

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butternut squash kale salad with maple bacon vinaigrette
makes: 2-4 servings
prep time: 10 mintes
cook time: 40 minutes

2 bushels of kale, de-stemmed and leaves torn
2c brussel sprouts, shredded
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 apple, thinly sliced
1/2c pomegranate seeds
1/4c pumpkin seeds
*3 strips of cooked, crispy bacon, crumbled
olive oil, for the squash and the kale
salt + pepper

for the dressing:
3/4c olive oil
1/3c maple syrup
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
2tsp grainy dijon mustard
3 strips of cooked, crispy bacon
big pinch of salt + pepper

preheat the oven to 400.
toss the butternut squash in a drizzle of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. arrange evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway (you can do this ahead of time, too!)

meanwhile, massage the kale with a healthy drizzle of olive oil. then, blend the ingredients for the dressing until smooth.

once the butternut squash is cooked, toss with the remaining salad ingredients, and mix with the dressing.