I’ve taken to calling our kitten (Elsa) butternut-butt.
What can I say? It’s catchy and she’s a butternut fiend.
Even though she makes the cutest little bird noises and climbs walls like a spider, she’s really a bit of a piggy.
Any time I’m in the kitchen it doesn’t matter where she is – she will come running to see what I’m up to. At dinner she tries to walk the length of the dining table sniffing around our plates looking for a stray piece of food to snag. And when I try to grab a quick lunch at my desk she’ll get all up in my face for a piece of the action.
When I roasted the butternut for this salad (it was actually months ago when Mike and I were still living in Kuwait and I was trying to simulate how I’d be eating if we had a change of seasons in that climate; oh how I missed cold-weather food back then!), Elsa went completely nuts for it. She was literally howling at the smell as if it was driving her insane. (Which I totally get; roasted butternut squash is enough to drive me wild too.) So after that, butternut-butt got added to the ever-growing list of her nicknames.
And this salad? Well, let’s just say it’s one of my favorites as well as Elsa’s. Chickpeas and pearl couscous make a cute looking combo, but there’s nothing cute about how hearty this dish is. It has some serious staying power. Plus it’s perfectly fall-ish with roasted butternut and kale.
I know it is waaaaay too early to say so, but if you’re a planner, no doubt you’ve realized that Thanksgiving is just next month. And on the off chance that you’ve started to at least fantasize about your menu, think about adding this pretty little number to the salads part of your festive spread.
Or invite a couple friends over for lunch (ladies always adore a festive salad for lunch!).
Or bring it to your next potluck.
You get it. Just make this salad and you won’t be disappointed.
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (1½ lbs/680 g) butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and cubed into ½-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1⅓ cups (315 ml) water
- 1 cup (170 g) whole wheat pearl couscous
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 5 oz (150 g) kale, washed, de-stemmed, and finely chopped
- 1 (15.5 oz/439 g) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Toss together the cubed squash, olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and black pepper on the baking sheet and then spread the squash out in a single layer. Roast the squash until tender and golden in places, about 20 minutes, tossing the squash once halfway through. Cool.
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then add the pearl couscous and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring back up to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer; cover the pot and cook until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
- Add the butternut squash, pearl couscous, onion, kale, chickpeas, and salad dressing to a large bowl and gently toss to combine.
- Serve or keep refrigerated for up to 2 days.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
This was amazing! I did alter based on what was on hand (not the dressing though!).
Used quinoa instead of couscous, no onion, added roasted pine nuts. On one leftover, threw some feta on it and wow! Another… Raspberries!
Very versatile, healthy, and even the 11 year old loves it!
Used your recipe as inspiration for tonight’s dinner. It was amazing! The only changes I made was to add a bit of apple, and carrot finely diced. Used red onion and it was amazing. Basically I roasted half a buttercup squash, put the ‘salad’ together in a skillet because I had u frozen kale and needed to warm it anyway. Then I stuffed the warm salad into the squash and put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes. Served with a drizzle of the salad dressing and plates were clean really quickly!
Definitely making this again. Thanks!
Tried this last night and it was great. I ended up making the following adjustments, and while the original is probably very yummy too, hubby and I really enjoyed this modified version:
I didn’t have a sweet onion on hand so I tossed the onion in with the squash before roasting.
The salad dressing smelled just a tinge too acidic or sour for me once I made it according to instructions, so I added a little more maple syrup (which I used instead of honey since I didn’t have honey on hand, either), and about a tablespoon and a half of orange juice to the dressing.
I wanted a bit of crunch and some added nutrients so added some roasted pumpkin seeds and chopped walnuts.
Just tried this dish…I didnt have any butternut squash. Used a winter squash, a red kuri, that has a great orange color and a soft skin you can eat. Let the squash marinade in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, sage and a little maple syrup for 2 hours first, then roasted the squash for 20 minutes. Otherwise, the rest of the recipe was yours…nom, nom, nom
This salad is amazing!! I added crumbled goat cheese and it made it even better!
Thank you for responding! I only see comments as far back as Oct 10, so that must be the problem. Sorry to make you repeat yourself. This dish was delicious and a huge hit! Definitely making it again next year. Thank you! :)
Hi Joyce, No problem, it’s my pleasure to help!
The comments from Oct. 10 are actually the oldest comments on this post (that’s when I first posted the recipe). The recipe above is where all the instructions are.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! :)
What about the onion? Does it get cooked? Add it raw? I’m attempting this right now, and just realized there are no mentions of the onion. Help!
(Thank you!)
Joyce, Sorry I didn’t respond sooner, I just saw your comment now. Like I mentioned in Step 4, I toss the raw onion in with everything else. (Make sure to use a sweet onion like the recipe calls for though, otherwise it may be overpowering since it’s raw.) If you don’t like raw onion in salads, you could chop the onion and roast it along with the squash. I hope you enjoyed the salad!
Well, this is definitely going to be made this week. Looks fabulous!
We are going to the.boy’s parents next week to celebrate some family birthdays and now I know what salad I’m bringing! If, that is, I can bring myself to share.
I seriously do not use couscous enough in my cooking. Thanks for the inspiration, I can definitely see myself making this dish soon!
This looks amazing – I love all the fall flavours going on!
This is exactly the kind of salad I would make for Thanksgiving — especially because we almost always do a vegan meal and really need some protein action in multiple dishes. Sounds amazing!
I love every element of this salad! And how good is pearl couscous?? mmm. Your kitty sounds awesome :)
Can’t wait to try this salad, Faith! I love butternut squash and couscous!
Scrumptious and wholesome! A fantastic fall salad.
Cheers,
Rosa