Butternut Squash Taco Salad

This butternut squash taco salad is a healthy, delicious vegan recipe that highlights specialty chili powder and olive oil from the Chefs Warehouse.

I love food.

I bet you do too, or else you probably wouldn’t be here right now.

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And when I say I love food, I’m talking about high-quality food that comes from intentionally grown ingredients. I love food with a story. The more I know about the farmer who grew it or the producer who prepared it, the more I enjoy what’s on my plate.

For the past three decades, the Chefs Warehouse has been distributing specialty ingredients to restaurants, hotels, caterers, and gourmet food shops throughout North America. Their products are carefully sourced to provide the highest quality. These are ingredients with a story, and they make meals taste extra special.

I recently had the chance to sample several items from Chefs Warehouse and learn their stories on the Intelligent Ingredients website. The farmers and business owners take great pride in these products. They use traditional methods to grow and harvest their food, and it really shows in the quality of their products.

Chefs all over North America are using these ingredients to create unique menu items. Here in Massachusetts, we’re entering the fall harvest season. Many local chefs are featuring winter squash on their menus right now, so I decided to play chef and make this delicious butternut squash taco salad featuring Piment d’Ville Basque Red Chili Powder from Northern California and Lorenzo No. 3 Barbera Olio from Sicily. I loved seeing their stories in these videos: Piment d’Ville video and Barbera Olio video.

Butternut squash is a delicious complement to the sweet, spicy kick of this chili powder and the rich flavor of the olive oil. Most of the fresh, seasonal produce in this recipe came from my farm share. I may not be able to compete with the top chefs out there, but this is a gourmet meal on my table!

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Butternut Squash Taco Salad

$.98 per serving

Servings 6

Calories 283 kcal

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped butternut squash
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp chili powder divided
• 15 oz can black beans
• 2 medium radishes chopped
• 2 scallions diced
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes quartered
• 1 avocado chopped
• 2 tbs citrus vinaigrette
• ½ tsp salt
• Fresh cilantro for garnish
• Arugula for plating

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place the chopped butternut squash in a medium roasting pan. Pour the extra virgin olive oil over the squash and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon chili powder. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until tender but not mushy. Stir the squash every 10 minutes while it’s roasting.
3. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the black beans. Place them in a medium skillet on the stovetop and sprinkle with the additional 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder (or to taste). Warm them gently over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. Prepare the radishes, scallions, tomatoes, and avocado. Place them in a large bowl. Dress lightly with citrus vinaigrette (up to 2 tablespoons, to taste).
5. When the squash is tender, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer the squash to a separate medium bowl, and add the black beans. Add ½ teaspoon of salt (as needed). Taste the mixture, and add additional chili powder or salt if desired. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
6. Add the radish mixture to the squash and beans. Stir gently to mix the ingredients.
7. Place a small bed of arugula leaves on each of six plates. Divide the taco salad evenly among the plates and serve.

Butternut Squash Taco Salad Price Breakdown

This recipe costs a total of $5.88 to make, or $.98 per serving. Enjoy this healthy butternut squash taco salad for a fun twist on the typical fall salad.

This post is sponsored by The Chefs Warehouse in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own.