Butternut Squash Baby Kale Salad Recipe

Butternut Squash Baby Kale Salad is a must-make winter salad for your entertaining menu. Get this recipe below; it’s full of flavor and texture for the season!

As you’re preparing your Christmas or New Years dinner menu, don’t forget the salad! This butternut squash baby kale salad is an absolute must-try for a winter salad option. This recipe is from ALDI and is one of the things they served us for our holiday meal when I visited their test kitchen a couple of months ago.

This salad is full of amazing flavors and textures and you will not be disappointed. Stay tuned for more of my holiday dinner party also featuring the lobster macaroni and cheese recipe, coming soon, and you will be all set for holiday entertaining!

Butternut Squash Baby Kale Salad

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled & chopped {I also found this in the grocery store already peeled and cubed}
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons Carlini Pure Olive Oil, divided
• 1 Tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & grated
• 1/4 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Iodized Salt
• 1/8 teaspoon Stonemill Essentials Ground Black Pepper
• Carlini Canola Cooking Spray
• 6 strips Specially Selected Center Cut Bacon {save bacon fat}
• 1/2 Tablespoon Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup Southern Grove Dried Cranberries
• 1 cup Southern Grove Sliced Almonds, toasted
• 2 cups packed SimplyNature Organic Baby Kale

Dressing

• 2 Tablespoons Tuscan Garden White Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Burman’s Dijon Mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Carlini Pure Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl combine squash, 1 Tablespoon oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper, and toss until well coated. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Transfer squash to baking sheet and roast about 10 minutes or until tender but crisp.

Cook bacon until crisp and reserve 1/4 cup bacon fat.

In a small saute pan, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized. Reduce heat to low after 10 minutes and stir every 5 minutes or as needed. Reserve in a large bowl.

Add squash, bacon, onion, cranberries, almonds, and kale, and toss to combine.

For dressing, combine vinegar, mustard, and brown sugar. Slowly drizzle in bacon fat and and 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil until emulsified. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

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