If, like me, you like colorful dishes, this fall, you might want to try this butternut squash and chickpea salad for a healthy gluten free and vegetarian lunch or dinner.
This roasted butternut squash and chickpea salad is perfect for meatless Monday dinner.
You can either make this for one serving (as the recipe below) or make this for a crowd. To make it easier for you to prepare for any number of servings, you can use the adjustable servings function on the recipe.
Ingredients
- baby spinach or other lettuce of your choice
- roasted butternut squash (click here to know what is a butternut squash and how to roast it)
- Feta cheese. It is a Greek brined curd cheese made from sheep's milk. It has a salty and tangy taste that contrasts very well with the sweet taste of butternut squash. This cheese is white and has no skin. So you jsut need to take it out of the brine and cut it into cubes.
- canned chickpeas. Don't throw away the water contained in the can, check out my delicious Chocolate mousse (gluten free, vegan) recipe to use it.
- fresh cilantro leaves or basil leaves
- balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- extra virgin olive oil
How to make this salad
Click here to know what is a butternut squash and how to roast it.
- Once the butternut squash is roasted and cooled down, cut it into bite sized pieces. Personally I peel the skin off the butternut, but you can eat it if you want. Put the butternut pieces in a large bowl.
- Drain the feta cheese, cut it into cubes and add it to the bowl.
- Then drain the chickpeas and add them to the bowl. Add the baby spinach and chopped cilantro leaves.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the vinegar and olive oil. And pour it over the salad. Stir until the mixture is evenly coated in dressing. And voilà!
How to meal prep this
I don't know if I can actually call this meal prepping as I am not familiar with it. But anyway, this is how I organize myself to do this, in order to make it quicker.
When I have a butternut squash, I simply roast it and then store it in the fridge once it is roasted and cooled down. Then I use the roasted butternut squash for many recipes (see below for more butternut squash recipe ideas).
Other butternut squash recipes
Once I have roasted a buttenut suqash, I use it to make the following recipes:
- Butternut squash salad (whole30, paleo, vegan)
- Butternut Squash Breakfast Bowl (AIP, paleo, vegan)
- Fudgy chocolate cake (gluten free, nut free, vegan)
- Pumpkin muffins (Coconut free, AIP, paleo, vegan)
Butternut squash and chickpea salad
Ingredients
- 150 g butternut squash roasted
- 50 g baby spinach or other lettuce of your choice
- 2 tablespoon Feta cheese
- 80 g canned chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves or basil leaves (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Cut the roasted butternut squash into bite sized pieces. Put them in a large bowl.
- Drain the feta cheese, cut it into cubes and add it to the bowl.
- Then drain the chickpeas and add them to the bowl. Add the baby spinach and chopped cilantro leaves.
- Prepare the dressing by mixing the vinegar and olive oil. And pour it over the salad. Stir until the mixture is evenly coated in dressing. And voilà!Bon appétit!
FOODHEAL
Once again a perfect recipe. Butternut and chickpeas goes so well...
gohealthywithbea
Thank you! Yes chickpeas and butternut go very well together.