This is not a drill people! Baked salad is BACK. There is finally a chill in the air; my air conditioner is off, and my oven is on. When I just want to curl up on the couch, nothing speaks to me more than, what is effectively, a sheet pan meal. This Baked Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette and Griddled Goat Cheese has everything you need for an easy weeknight dinner.
Butternut squash, red onions, and kale go into the oven and come out softened and delicious. Some black lentils add extra hardiness to this salad, while toasted almonds brings a bit of warmth and nuttiness (and some crunch) to the party. Some crispy fried sage makes this salad taste more like fall than it already does while a sweet and acidic vinaigrette comes in with the assist to cut through the richness of this fall salad.
While we may be entering soup season, that’s no reason for us not to love a salad anymore, either.
Table of contents
Equipment and ingredients you will need for this baked kale salad
The beautiful thing about this baked salad is that you just need the basics: two sheet trays, a sauté pan, a pot, and a knife (and I’m sure you have those). Technically you also need a whisk and bowl, but don’t worry there are work arounds if you don’t have the whisk.
As for ingredients, you’ll need a variety of fall vegetables that will take to the oven really well, as well as a couple of add-ons to make this salad really feel complete. Here are all the ingredients for this baked salad:
- 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash
- 1 large red onion, 12 ounces / 340 grams
- 1 pound lacinato kale
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup black lentils
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, 2 ounces / 56 grams
- 1 cup fresh sage leaves, 1 ounce / 28 grams
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 4 ounces sliceable goat cheese like Humboldt Fog, or something similar
Why should we bake the kale?
When we’re thinking of salad greens like lettuce, arugula, or spinach, kale tends to be a bit more hardy and require a little bit more love to become truly tender (I mean what vegetable needs a massage?). However, looking at other greens like cabbage or Brussels sprouts, kale is a little bit more delicate.
Baking the kale in your oven gives you the best of a hardy roasted vegetable and a tender salad green in this salad! Because kale is a little bit more delicate than its other oven-ready sisters, you just have to be mindful not to burn the kale since it can go from crispy to charred quickly.
What if I don’t have a whisk for the salad dressing?
If you don’t have a whisk, there’s no need to fret — there are a variety of options for you to make a great salad dressing!
When you whisk together the ingredients, you’re creating an emulsion, or a smooth and creamy mixture of fat and a liquid (think aioli). This can also be achieved with a fork and a little bit more elbow grease to help break up the honey.
Alternatively, if you have any old jam or pickle jars, you can add the honey, mustard, and apple cider vinegar in there and give it a good shake!
Other cheeses you can griddle
The great thing about throwing a little bit of cheese into a hot skillet and letting it get all melty are the extra crispy exteriors. While I call for a sliceable goat cheese, it’s not the only cheese that you can sear!
Halloumi, a Greek cheese that is made from a blend of goat and sheep’s milk, has a firm, almost waxy texture, that is great for griddling. Additionally, queso panela, a cow’s milk cheese from Mexico, and provolone take well to the sauté pan, too. Their higher water content make it so they don’t always, though.
If you just want a bit of crunch, shaving parmigiano reggiano into a skillet will allow it to immediately crisp into a lacy, crispy cracker known as a frico that will have a ton of crunch and cheesey flavor.
Looking for other baked salad recipes?
Here are a few favorites from the blog!
And that’s everything for this Baked Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette & Griddled Goat Cheese!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Baked Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette & Griddled Goat Cheese
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 2 half sheet pans
- 1 medium pot
- 1 large sauté pan
- 1 Whisk
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds butternut squash
- 1 large red onion 12 ounces / 340 grams
- 2 pounds lacinato kale
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup black lentils
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds 2 ounces / 56 grams
- 1 cup fresh sage leaves 1 ounce / 28 grams
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 4 ounces sliceable goat cheese like Humboldt Fog, or something similar
Instructions
- Equally stagger two racks in the oven and preheat to 425°F.
- Peel and cube the butternut squash into 1-inch pieces. Thinly slice the large red onion. Remove the ribs of the kale and thinly slice it as well.
- Add the butternut squash and red onion to one baking sheet, and add the kale to the other. Drizzle each sheet pan with a tablespoon of olive oil and season each pan with 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg and freshly ground black pepper. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt per pan. Use your hands to mix each pan so that the vegetables are coated.
- Bake the butternut squash on the bottom rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the squash is starting to brown a bit. Give the squash a mix on the pan, add the kale to the top rack of the oven and roast an additional 8-10 minutes or until the kale is lightly charred on the edges.
- While the vegetables are roasting, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Season with 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and add 1 cup of black lentils. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the lentils are cooked but still a bit al dente, 20-25 minutes.
- While the lentils are cooking, set a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and the almonds, cook, stirring occasionally, until the almonds are beginning to brown. Add the sage leaves and let them sizzle in the oil. Cook another 1-2 minutes until the sage leaves are darkened a shade, but not brown. Transfer the sage and almonds to a paper towel to drain. Wipe any excess oil from the sauté pan.
- Whisk together the 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, the 1/4 cup of honey, and the tablespoon of mustard. Taste and season with salt to your preference.
- When the vegetables are done roasting, add them all to one sheet pan. Drain the lentils and add them to the pan as well. Drizzle the vinaigrette on top and mix. Add in the crispy sage and almonds.
- If you are feeling it, place your sauté pan over medium heat again. Let it heat up for two minutes, then slice your goat cheeese into four slices. One at a time, add them to the pan and let them griddle, untouched, until melted and golden brown on the bottom. Use a spatula to scrape the griddled cheese from the pan directly onto the salad.
- Eat immediately.
Did it and it’s yummy,it will be on rotation
So so glad you liked it!
This recipe is pretty good. Nothing particularly special. The salad aspect of this is a pretty loose interpretation. It’s glorified roasted veggies. Also, mind the goat cheese note-I took the note of ‘sliceable’ goat cheese to mean any sliceable goat cheese and that was a huge mistake. I used a firm chèvre and nearly wrecked my SS pan.
Oh dear, I’m sorry you didn’t have luck with the goat cheese! My biggest note would be to let the pan pre-heat next time, which helps with the griddled aspect and turns it into a frico-like texture. Additionally, this is vegetable heavy for the salad aspect, which is what earns it its name! Glad you enjoyed and happy Baked Salad Season!
Kudos on a this very professional (read: restrained) reply. I think this baked salad looks delish and I look forward to trying it.
That part!!! @Heather Says Thoroughly impressed by such gr8 response. @Justine Says I found u on YouTube this morning & I immediately subscribed ur overall content & upbeat witty commentary had me immediately impressed & wanting more!
Such a delicious fall recipe. What a wonderful flavor and texture combination! I only had chèvre, so I patted slices of that in panko and fried lightly and it was so yummy on top of the warm salad.
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed!
I love these flavours together. Even without goat cheese, very yummy and hearty.
Made this last night but swapped the lentils for the crispy quinoa you used in another baked kale salad. My dad, a non kale lover, had 3 helpings. It was a hit! This will be a standard fall/winter salad for us, thank you!
This was so simple and tasty, loved it 🙂
I made this recipe and it is so good! So many wonderful flavors. Your recipes are consistently delicious!
My husband said it was the best kale he’s ever had but it still kale… And he also said he would eat it again 😉 WIN! Thanks, I also enjoyed it. Reheated a few days later, still tasty and pleasant to eat.
A total win!! I’m so glad you both enjoyed it <3
I have saved a lot of your recipes, but this was the first time I made one. I made 1/4 recipe and even thought it was AMAZING, couldn’t finish it all – that’s a great sign of how satisfying and filling this dish is. I added some pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds as well (just to add to the nutritional punch – nothing was needed!). Loved it!
Another winner from Justine! This was a perfect way to get into fall flavors while still keeping things light and healthy. Don’t skip the nutmeg, it’s subtle but impactful.
Delicious and easy. I don’t like veggies and have been trying to add more to my diet. This recipe made it a treat to eat my vegetables.
Wondering if you have the nutritional info broken down somewhere?
Hi there! I do not (caloric values tend to be a bit difficult for me to see), but you can enter the ingredients into a fitness app to calculate them!
Sooooo good!!
Loved this!
As it it made 3 dinner size portions, or 5 side salads. This would be great for Thanksgiving!!!
This salad is incredible! It’s so flavorful and hearty and it just tastes like Fall in a bowl. I’m going to make this a hundred more times before winter!
I did the cal analysis & it clocked in at 1100 cal/ serving… too much for me, so I will cut the big ticket items in half (slivered almonds & honey). Breakdown is: 475 cal/ serving. 18.9 g fat ( not including EVO), 60.9 g carbs, & 20.0 g protein. Can’t wait to make it. Now to find black lentils…
So, so good! We enjoyed this last night and everyone loved it! We kept our portions manageable, were satisfied with the amounts, and had plenty of leftovers. Yum!
This was SO GOOD. Also the recipe yield is huge – we had enough left that we ran some up for the upstairs neighbours, and II still have a serving for lunch tomorrow. We had quinoa so we subbed that for lentils. Next time we want to try adding some dried cranberries for a little extra pop of sweetness, but I would absolutely make it again as-is!
In addition to just fully enjoying the cadence of your speech (all of your videos are so comforting) this recipe is just fabulous. My family loved it (ages 0-5 even). I can’t wait to get your cookbook. If there were ever a book to cook my way through, it will be yours.
Hi, looks delicious and I’ll try this soon. question: recipe says to cube the squash but the video shows it thinly sliced. Which is preferable? THank you.
Hi! Whichever is easier for you is the best! I thinly slice because it makes it prettier, but it’s up to you!
Just made this on a chilly evening in VA, and it is so lovely! The perfect fall meal—every ingredient serves to elevate the dish. I used aged white cheddar bc that’s what I had available, and it worked swimmingly. I can’t wait to have this as meal prep the rest of the week!