Fall Harvest Salad

🍂 I love this salad - seasonal, filling, full of texture and flavor!

It has a handful of components that have to be cooked separately, but they are all pretty easy to do.

I use an instant Pot to cook the beets, but feel free to steam/cook them however you prefer if you don’t have one.

Recipe makes 6 sevings

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

  • Seasoning: ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, ¼ tsp dried rosemary, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ¼ tsp salt

  • 6 pieces bacon

  • 1 butternut squash

  • 2 beets

  • 3 bunches lacinato kale

  • 3 pears

  • ¼ cup (2 oz) pepitas, toasted

  • ½ cup (4 oz) walnuts, toasted

Dressing

• 3 tbsp walnut or olive oil

• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 ½ tbsp honey

• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

• ¼ tsp salt

Directions

1. Set oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set side.

2. Mix the chicken seasoning ingredients in a bowl, then sprinkle on the chicken. Place the chicken on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until cooked through).

3. When the chicken is done, slice or dice it into bite-sized pieces.

4. Lay bacon on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until crispy, then remove and immediately place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

5. Cut butternut squash in half, remove seeds (bake these on a sheet too!), cut off casing, then dice the squash. Toss it in olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Place it on a baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour (tossing with spatula every 20 minutes).

6. Wash the beets, put them in an Instant Pot on the steaming rack with 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pot. Cook on sealing for 28-32 minutes (32 for larger beets), then quick release pressure. Let cool, remove skin, and dice into bite-sized pieces.

7. Wash, then thinly slice the pears.

8. Combine all salad dressing ingredients, whisking until well mixed.

9. To assemble, toss the kale in the salad dressing, then top with the rest of the ingredients. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info

600 calories, 25g fat, 54g carbs, 47g protein