Chicken Apple Delicata Squash Salad

Sweet, tender roasted delicata squash with crunchy apples and chicken over a bed of greens, topped with crumbled goat cheese and crunchy pepitas, then drizzled with a maple dijon white wine vinaigrette, this delightful salad is a satisfying meal full of lovely contrasting flavors and colors.

Since this meal in a salad bowl uses hardy ingredients that are available in autumn and last well into winter, you can enjoy this salad even after the garden is long covered with snow.

I made this salad after I roasted up some garlic sage delicata squash, with some leftover crispy chicken tenders from Costco that my kids didn’t quite finish. I’m not much of a breaded chicken person myself, UNLESS the breaded chicken is part of a really good salad. Then the crispy chicken offers just the right bit of crunch, flavor and protein to contrast with the veggies and other goodies. So whenever my kids can’t quite finish their chicken, they ask me if I want it for a salad.

This salad has such lovely autumn flavors! The tender roasted delicata squash (a.k.a sweet potato squash) is lightly sweet and soft, but with a slight edge of chewiness from the skin. Honeycrisp apples add a juicy crunch. For a little added creaminess, I turned to goat cheese, and for that bit of nutty flavor, I decided on pepitas. The greens are a great foundation and contrast to all the sweetness, and then a drizzle of maple dijon white wine vinaigrette dressing pulls it all together with a little sweet, tangy, mustardy, herby goodness. It’s a harmony that balances well on the palette and is pleasing to the eye, but also for the body: each ingredient provides not just flavor, texture and color, but also different nutrients that contribute to your health.

Why delicata squash?

Delicata squash is superb for this recipe because it’s rich and creamy in texture, with a light sweetness. It adds texture, sweetness and depth of flavor that makes the salad seem a little decadent almost.

For those of us that have only a couple mouths to feed, another big plus of delicata is it’s small so you can cook one up one squash to serve one or two people. But hands down, the thing I love MOST about delicata is you don’t have to peel it, which makes roasting delicata squash so much easier than other winter squashes. Like other squashes, delicata is also healthy: it’s a good source of potassium and dietary fiber, and contains magnesium, manganese, and vitamins B and C.

The only real down side to delicata is I don’t think I’ve ever seen it offered at our local grocery stores. I get my delicata squash from my mom and dad who grow it in their “upper” garden (near the food plot that they grow for the wildlife). Yes, my parents plant a whole big garden for the deer, turkey and other wildlife who want to join in on the abundance. Next to the food plot, they always plant squash and pumpkins. Fortunately, the animals leave plenty of squash and pumpkins for us hungry humans.

If you’re looking for more delicata recipes to inspire you, I highly recommend this Baked Penne with Squash from Giada and my Steak and Pepper Stuffed Delicata Squash. And I also found this wealth of ideas that I want to share with you because it helped me when thinking of what to do with the rest of my delicata squash: 30 Delicata Recipes from Country Living.

Can I substitute other squash in this salad?

If you can’t find delicata squash for this recipe, yes, you can substitute other roasted squash. I think roasted butternut squash would be a beautiful substitute for the delicata.

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