Roasted Squash & Honey Mustard Dense Bean Salad

I prepped a big batch of this for my weekday lunches, and it turned out so good. Dense bean salads are ideal for meal prep because the navy beans, chickpeas, and massaged kale just get better as they sit in the dressing throughout the week.

I roasted diced butternut squash coated in avocado oil at 450°F for 30 minutes until soft and caramelized. While that was cooling, I built the dressing right in the bottom of my salad bowl, organic Dijon mustard, raw apple cider vinegar from the farmers market, avocado oil, and Baja Gold sea salt.

Then I tossed in well-washed navy beans and chickpeas, diced leftover chicken breast from dinner the night before, and half a finely diced red onion (so good for you and your immune system). In a separate bowl, I massaged my chopped kale with a little extra avocado oil and sea salt until tender, then folded that in along with a diced local Honeycrisp apple and the cooled squash.

Ingredients

The Roasted Squash

• 1 medium organic butternut squash, peeled and diced (zucchini or any fall squash works great here too)

• 2 tbsp avocado oil

• Baja Gold sea salt

The Dressing (Built in the Bowl)

• 2 tbsp organic Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp raw farmers market apple cider vinegar

• ¼ cup avocado oil

• Baja Gold sea salt, to taste

The Salad Base

• 1 can (15 oz) organic navy beans, thoroughly rinsed

• 1 can (15 oz) organic chickpeas, thoroughly rinsed

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, diced

• ½ red onion, finely diced

• 1 local Honeycrisp apple, diced

• 1 small bunch organic kale, finely chopped

• 1 tsp avocado oil & pinch of sea salt (for massaging)

Instructions

1. Roast the squash: Toss the diced butternut squash with avocado oil and sea salt. Spread across a sheet pan and roast at 450°F for 30 minutes. Let it cool completely so it doesn't warm up the rest of the salad.

2. Make the dressing: Whisk the Dijon, apple cider vinegar, avocado oil, and Baja Gold sea salt directly in the bottom of your main serving bowl until combined.

3. Prep the kale: In a small bowl, massage the chopped kale with a splash of avocado oil and a pinch of salt using your hands for about a minute until softened.

4. Assemble: Add the rinsed navy beans, chickpeas, diced chicken, red onion, and Honeycrisp apple into the bowl with the dressing. Fold in the massaged kale and cooled roasted squash, then toss everything together until evenly coated.

5. Store: Pack into glass or stainless steel airtight containers for the week.

The only thing this was missing was a little crumbled goat cheese or feta over top. I didn't have any on hand, but I will definitely be adding that next time.