Bacon Butternut Brussels Salad

Once the weather turns, I usually pack up my salad recipes and reach for warm comfort foods! But on occasion, a refreshing salad is a nice change of pace for my tastebuds (and my waistline). For this particular bowl, I tossed together some of my favorite cold-weather vegetables.

I love shredded brussels sprouts in a salad. They are crunchy and a tad bitter. And if you have a food processor at home, you can make quick work of shredding them up for your salad. Or you can make it all too easy and pick up a bag from the market. My local grocery store happens to sell a great salad mix of brussels, cabbage, and kale - that's exactly what I used here.

Butternut squash is also a fabulous vegetable to toss in a salad this time of year. Tart cranberries, crunchy pumpkin seeds, and sweet apple slices are the perfect accompaniment to really drive home those Fall flavors.

To top this salad, I made a warm mustardy maple bacon dressing. The heat of the dressing delicately wilts the brussels and soaks into the roasted butternut squash.

This salad is the perfect mash up of salty, sweet... creamy, crunchy...

Bacon Butternut Brussels Salad

Ingredients

For the salad

· 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

· Olive oil

· Salt & pepper

· 24oz shredded brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, salad mix

· 1-1.5lbs rotisserie chicken, shredded

· 1 gala apple, sliced very thin

· ¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds

· ¼ cup dried cranberries

· ¼ cup pecans, chopped

· 3oz goat cheese, crumbled

· 4 slices of bacon

For the warm maple bacon dressing

· 1/3 cup grainy Dijon mustard

· 3 tbsp pure maple syrup

· 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

· 2 tbsp bacon grease, hot

· Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425F.

For the salad… Scatter the butternut squash across a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40-50 minutes until the squash is fork-tender and golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Add the salad mix, chicken, apples, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, pecans, and goat cheese to a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

Just before serving the salad, cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium low heat. Render the fat, and allow the bacon to crisp. Remove the slices of bacon and cool on a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve about 2 tbsp of the hot bacon grease.

For the dressing… whisk together all ingredients in a small measuring cup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Crumble the cooked bacon over the salad. Pour the dressing over the salad while still warm. Toss the salad.

Serves 4

Gluten Free Friendly!

GF Friendly