Butternut Squash & Chickpea Bowl with Goat Cheese

Have you jumped on the “bowl” craze?  In case you are unfamiliar, this is where you combine a protein, a carbohydrate and a couple of colourful veggies in a bowl for a healthy and fun meal.  For example, there are Buddha bowls, noodle bowls, smoothie bowls and burrito bowls to name a few. They all follow the same formula. I certainly love the versatility of tossing ingredients and adding toppings or a simple dressing. In honour of the fall season, I chose to do a warm butternut squash & chickpea bowl. If you’ve never roasted chickpeas before and are looking for a quick snack, check out my recipe for Thyme Roasted Chickpeas. Feel free to use your creativity to create your own bowl!

• Serves: 4
• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 19 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups kale
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• approx. 6 tbsp olive oil
• sprinkle salt & fresh group pepper
• ½ cup goat cheese
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions for Butternut Squash & Chickpea Bowl:

1. Firstly, preheat oven to 425F.
2. Secondly, cut and peel butternut squash. This can be a daunting task, however, check out this simple video for how to cut and peel squash here.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a small bowl, drizzle oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over squash. Toss the squash until the oil lightly coats. Roast about 40 minutes, rotating halfway through.
4. On another baking sheet, line with parchment paper, drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil over chickpeas that have been rinsed and drained. I used simple salt and pepper but you can flavour your chickpeas to make them spicy, sweet or savory. Roast chickpeas for about 25-40 minutes depending on your preferred level of crunch. Toss chickpeas after 20 minutes to ensure they cook evenly.
5. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and sauté kale with a sprinkling of salt. Kale will become crispy and softened. Remove from heat when slightly crisp, around 2 minutes.
6. In sauté pan over medium heat, add a small amount of olive oil and cherry tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt. Move cherry tomatoes so that they warm around 2 minutes.
7. In a bowl, combine roasted butternut squash, roasted chickpea and sautéed kale and cherry tomatoes. Finally, crumble goat cheese on top and drizzle balsamic vinegar.

Butternut Squash & Chickpea Bowl

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

This Butternut Squash & Chickpea Bowl is warm, delicious & full of protein and fibre.

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Ingredients

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 19 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups kale
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• approx. 6 tbsp olive oil
• sprinkle salt & fresh group pepper
• ½ cup goat cheese
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Cut and peel butternut squash. Check out this simple video for how to cut and peel squash here.
3. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a small bowl, drizzle oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over squash. Toss the squash until the oil lightly coats.  Roast about 40 minutes, rotating halfway through.
4. In another baking sheet, line with parchment paper, drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil over chickpeas that have been rinsed and drained. I used simple salt and pepper but you can flavour your chickpeas to make them spicy, sweet or savoury.  Roast chickpeas for about 25-40 minutes depending on your preferred level of crunch.  Toss chickpeas after 20 minutes to ensure they cook evenly.
5. In a sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and sauté kale with a sprinkling of salt. Kale will become crispy and softened. Remove from heat when slightly crisp, around 2 minutes.
6. In sauté pan over medium heat, add a small amount of olive oil and cherry tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt. Move cherry tomatoes so that they warm around 2 minutes.
7. In a bowl, combine roasted butternut squash, roasted chickpea and sautéed kale and cherry tomatoes. Crumble goat cheese on top and drizzle balsamic vinegar.