Roasted Squash and Bacon Salad

Updated Dec. 10, 2024

Roasted Squash and Bacon Salad
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Total Time
1 hour
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(665)
Comments
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This sweet and savory sheet-pan recipe has everything you want in a full-meal salad: caramelized winter squash, crisp bacon, mustard-dressed kale, maple-toasted pecans and piquant blue cheese. By using one sheet pan for all the cooking, the bacon’s smoky drippings coat the squash for added flavor, and clean-up is a breeze. This salad can be eaten right when it’s made, warm or at room temperature — leftovers are great for lunch the next day. If you have them, feel free to add fresh apples or grapes, dried dates or cherries or another bitter green like radicchio or frisée. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1½ pounds butternut squash, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 6 cups, no need to peel)
  • 3thick-cut bacon strips, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • cup pecans
  • 2tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1large bunch Tuscan kale (about 1 pound)
  • 3scallions, thinly sliced
  • ¼cup crumbled blue cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

277 calories; 19 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 575 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a sheet pan, toss the squash and bacon with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer. Roast for 25 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss the pecans with ½ tablespoon maple syrup and season with salt and pepper. When the squash has roasted for 25 minutes, top with the pecans and roast until the squash is golden and tender and the bacon is crisp, another 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

  3. Step 3

    While the squash is roasting, in a large bowl, stir together the vinegar, mustard, remaining 1½ tablespoons maple syrup and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Strip the kale leaves from their stems, then rip the leaves into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl of dressing. (Compost the stems.) Toss with your hands until well coated in dressing. Set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Once the squash has cooled slightly, scrape everything from the sheet pan, including some of the bacon fat, into the large bowl. Toss gently to combine, then top with the scallions and blue cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
665 user ratings
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Comments

Instead of just tossing, gently squeeze the dressing into the kale with your hands until you reach your desired level of softness - usually about 30 seconds to a minute. Kale leaves need a massage to get to the right texture for a salad.

If you don't want the bacon try frying figs and chopping them, they are delicious.

Added the apples - and some goat cheese. Brilliant!

Question: it sounds like we can substitute romaine for kale here. What do you think?

I aimed to follow this recipe to the letter, but could not. I had no red wine vinegar, but instead 1 Tbs salad Vinegar + 2 Tbs white wine vinegar. Maybe blue cheese is the key. I only had Romano.

I made this for dinner and substituted a mixture of carrot and sweet potato for the butternut squash, feta instead of blue cheese, and my kids WOULD NOT STOP EATING IT. Fantastic recipe that will go on our regular rotation.

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