Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad with Bacon, Feta, Caramelized Onions

Healthy Quinoa Salad with Bacon, Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onions and Feta cheese, with French Vinaigrette salad dressing. You can also top the salad with pine nuts (optional but delicious!) This salad is so healthy and it’s gluten free! Enjoy this salad packed with anti-oxidants (squash) and protein (quinoa)!

For this quinoa and butternut squash salad, you will need to roast peeled and cubed butternut squash in the oven until soft. You will also need to make caramelized onions, cook bacon, and cook some quinoa. After that, you just assemble the salad, top with crumbled Feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, add the French salad dressing – and it’s ready!

Recipe notes

• Use store-bought French Vinaigrette salad dressing. Want to make your own? Here is a great recipe: French Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.
• Caramelize onions according to my tutorial how to caramelize onions.
• Use peeled and cubed butternut squash.  You can buy already cubed squash in the store or do it yourself.  Roast squash in the oven until soft.
• Toast pine nuts slightly.
• Add the salad only right before serving.
• The salad can be refrigerated, without the dressing, for up to 5 days.

How to roast butternut squash

• Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Butternut squash should be peeled and sliced into 3/4 inch cubes. You will only need 1/2 of the medium size squash. Toss the cubed butternut squash in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt.
• Add cubed squash on the greased baking sheet.
• Roast for about 30 minutes, until soft.
• Flip the squash cubes over midway through baking.
• Let the squash cool slightly before adding to the salad.

How to cook quinoa

• For each 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, use 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
• Add uncooked quinoa, salt and water to a large sauce pan. Bring to boil.
• Reduce to medium simmer and cook, covered, for about 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from heat, stir the quinoa with the spoon. Cover the pan with lid, and let the quinoa rest in the pan for about 10 minutes.
• Yield: 1 cup of uncooked quinoa yields 3 cups of cooked quinoa.

Other recipes with butternut squash

Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate

Butternut Squash Chili with Beef

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Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad with Bacon, Feta, and Pine Nuts

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

Healthy Quinoa Salad with Bacon, Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onions and Feta cheese, with French Vinaigrette salad dressing. You can also top the salad with pine nuts (optional but delicious!) Healthy, gluten free, packed with anti-oxidants (squash) and protein (quinoa)!

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 493 kcal

Author: Julia

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa , cooked
• 1 onion , sliced
• 1/2 butternut squash , medium size
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 strips bacon , cooked and chopped
• salt
• 1/2 cup French Vinaigrette salad dressing
• 1/4 cup Feta cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts , toasted (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

How to roast butternut squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Peel the squash and slice it into 3/4 inch cubes. You will only need 1/2 of the medium size squash. Toss the squash cubes in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt.
3. Put butternut squash on the greased baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until soft. Flip the squash cubes over midway through baking. Let it cool slightly before adding to the salad.

How to caramelize onions

1. Caramelize sliced onion as described in this post.

Assemble the salad

1. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, chopped and cooked bacon, and mix with the dressing.  

2. Add the dressing only before serving, and add as much as you want to individual portions, as both quinoa and butternut squash tend to be on a dry side, and this dressing (when generously applied) fixes this beautifully!

3. Top each individual serving with Feta cheese and toasted pine nuts (OPTIONAL).
4. Note: This salad keeps very well refrigerated for up to a week, but only without dressing. Add the dressing only before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad with Bacon, Feta, and Pine Nuts

Amount Per Serving

Calories 493 Calories from Fat 306

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 34g 52%

Saturated Fat 7g 35%

Cholesterol 20mg 7%

Sodium 221mg 9%

Potassium 563mg 16%

Total Carbohydrates 38g 13%

Dietary Fiber 4g 16%

Sugars 3g

Protein 11g 22%

Vitamin A 133.4%

Vitamin C 17.6%

Calcium 8.5%

Iron 16.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.