a large salad bowl with orzo butternut squash and kale salad on a white table

Butternut Squash Kale Orzo

Butternut Squash Kale Orzo, a super tasty fall orzo with kale, roasted butternut squash, pickled shallots, smokey tempeh bacon, and pumpkin seeds. Perfect cold or warm!

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a large wooden bowl with an orzo and kale salad with butternut squash on a white table


💛 Why I Love This Recipe

If you’ve cooked any of my recipes before, you’ll know that I’m not really much for complicated and I try to keep extensive prep to a minimum. However, sometimes a dish is just so good that you have to take a little more time to prep all the components because it’s just worth it.

That’s how I feel about this recipe – orzo pasta tossed with kale, roasted butternut squash, apple cider vinegar-soaked shallots, a DIY smokey tempeh “bacon,” and crunchy pumpkin seeds in a maple sage vinaigrette.

It’s perfect as a warm dish or a cold pasta salad…and it’s sturdy enough to prep once a the beginning of the week and save to eat for lunches or quick backup meals the whole week long.

Ready to learn how to prep? Let’s get into it…


🥬 Ingredients

I usually list out all of the ingredients for each recipe here, but this was a bit of a doozy so I’m going to sum up the components of this salad below so you can understand what goes into it. Then you can see all ingredients needed below in the recipe card.

  • Orzo: the foundation of the salad, orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta; you can find gluten free orzo, if needed
  • Kale: the leafy green foundation, we’re massing the kale with the tasty dressing
  • Roasted butternut squash: we’re roasting up squash until it’s golden brown and then adding to the salad or a sweet and savory mix
  • Pickled shallots: we’re quick pickling shallots by slicing them super thin and then soaking them in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and maple syrup
  • Tempeh bacon: we’re crisping up tempeh in a pan and flavoring it with a sauce that tastes like smokey bacon (I also have a full separate recipe for this if you’d like to use it on other dishes)
  • Pumpkin seeds: a bit of crunch
  • Maple sage vinaigrette: a tasty fall flavored vinaigrette with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, chopped sage leaves, and a bit of dijon mustard
butternut squash, kale, shallots, and bowls of orzo, tempeh, pumpkin seeds
See all ingredients in the recipe card below

🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)

Below are step-by-step photos with short instructions of how to make thisi recipe. For the full recipe and ingredients, see the recipe card at the bottom of this page.

1️⃣ Step One: Quickly pickle the shallots

First things first, let’s quickly pickle the shallots in a vinegar and let them while you’re preparing the other ingredients so they have time to soak up the flavors.

To do this, combine apple cider vinegar and maple syrup in a small bowl, stirring to combine. Then add thinly sliced shallots to the bowl, making sure the shallots are covered in the vinegar.

Then set aside while cooking the other ingredients.

sliced shallots in a bowl of apple cider vinegar on a white table
Quick pickle the shallots while cooking the other ingredients

2️⃣ Step Two: Roast the butternut squash

Next, it’s time to roast the butternut squash and we’ll let that cook while we’re prepping the other ingredients.

To do this, first preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Then add the butternut squash to a sheet pan, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Then roast the squash about 30 minutes, tossing periodically to cook on all sides. While the squash is cooking, start on the other ingredients.

butternut squash on a sheet pan before roasting
Roast butternut squash until golden brown, about 30 minutes

3️⃣ Step Three: Cook the orzo

Next it’s time to cook the orzo! Follow your orzo packaging directions, but most often this means bringing water to a boil and the cooking the orzo for about 8 minutes before draining the water.

a pot of cooked orzo with a black spoon
Cook orzo

4️⃣ Step Four: Make the tempeh bacon

Next it’s time to make the tempeh bacon! First you’ll whip up the sauce by adding soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, and garlic powder in a small bowl.

Then you’ll heat a small amount of oil in a large pan over medium heat and crumble the tempeh into the pan. Cook 3-5 minutes or until tempeh has dried, then pour the sauce over the tempeh. Toss the tempeh in the sauce and cook 5 minutes more, or until the tempeh is crispy.

👉 WANT TO SEE ALL TEMPEH BACON STEPS? Check out my full tempeh bacon bits recipe.

vegan bacon bits made of tempeh in a pan with a wooden spatula
Cook tempeh bacon

5️⃣ Step Five: Make the dressing

We’re almost there! The final step before building the salad is to make the tasty dressing.

You’ll do this by combining olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, chopped sage, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisking to combine.

a bowl of maple sage vinaigrette dressing
Make dressing

6️⃣ Step Six: Build the salad (finally!)

It’s finally time to build the salad! To do this, get a big salad or mixing bowl and add the kale and dressing (massaging the kale for a minute to get it nice and soft).

Then you’ll add the orzo, the squash, the tempeh bacon, the pickled shallots (after you drain off the vinegar), and the pumpkin seeds.

a large salad bowl with orzo, kale, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, and pickled shallots
Toss salad

Toss everything to combine and enjoy!

a large salad bowl with orzo butternut squash and kale salad on a white table

👩‍🍳 How to meal prep and store

This is is a great sturdy pasta (or is it a salad?) that can be made once at the top of the week for quick meals, or you can prep the ingredients ahead of time to make it easier to put together later.

  • How to ingredient prep: Prep the pickled shallots up to 7 days ahead of serving. Prep the tempeh bacon up to 5 days ahead of serving. Prep the squash and the dressing up to 3 days ahead of serving. Cook the orzo up to 2 days ahead of serving.
  • Meal prep: Make the entire salad and store up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
  • Refrigerator storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days in the fridge.
  • Freezer storage: I do not recommend freezing as the orzo pasta texture won’t hold up.
  • Reheat instructions: Serve cold, or reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring to heat evenly. You can also reheat in a pan but you’ll need a small amount of oil or water to keep it from sticking to the pan.
kale, orzo, butternut squash, shallot, and pumpkin seeds in a big salad bowl

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Butternut Squash Kale Orzo

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Butternut Squash Kale Orzo, a super tasty fall orzo with kale, roasted butternut squash, pickled shallots, smokey tempeh bacon, and pumpkin seeds. Perfect cold or warm!
a large salad bowl with orzo butternut squash and kale salad on a white table
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Kristina Todini, RDN
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 3 small mixing bowls
  • 1 large pan

Ingredients 

For pickled shallots

  • cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • ½ cup shallots thinly sliced

For roasted squash

  • 3-4 cups butternut squash cut into small cubes (about 1 medium squash)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 pinch of salt and pepper

For orzo

  • 8 ounces orzo
  • 4 cups water
  • salt for seasoning water

For tempeh bacon

  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons neutral oil avocado etc.
  • 8 ounces tempeh

For dressing

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
  • 1 pinch salt and pepper

For salad

  • 4 cups kale
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds

Instructions

  • Quick pickle shallots: In a small bowl, combine apple cider vinegar and maple syrup, stirring to combine. Then add thinly sliced shallots to the bowl, making sure the shallots are covered in the vinegar. Then set aside while cooking the other ingredients.
    1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/2 cup shallots
  • Roast squash: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Add butternut squash to a sheet pan, then drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat the squash in the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the squash in the oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes, tossing periodically to cook on all sides. While the squash is cooking, start on the other ingredients.
    3-4 cups butternut squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 pinch of salt and pepper
  • Cook orzo: To a medium sauce pan, add water and bring to a boil. Then add the orzo to the water and cook according to package instructions, usually 7-9 minutes. When the orzo is cooked until al dente, strain the water. If the orzo gets done before the squash, drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the pasta and toss to coat to prevent it from forming sticky clumps.
    8 ounces orzo, 4 cups water, salt
  • Make tempeh bacon: In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, maple syrup, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Then heat a small amount of oil in a large pan over medium heat and crumble the tempeh into the pan. Cook 3-5 minutes or until tempeh has dried, then pour the sauce over the tempeh. Toss the tempeh in the sauce and cook 5 minutes more, or until the tempeh is crispy.
    2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari, 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons neutral oil avocado, 8 ounces tempeh
  • Make dressing: In a small bowl, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, dijon mustard, chopped sage, and salt and pepper. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
    1/2 cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon fresh sage, 1 pinch salt and pepper
  • Build salad: When all ingredients are done, add the kale to a large salad bowl and with the dressing and use your hands to massage the kale until it soften (1-2 minutes). Then add the orzo, the squash, and the tempeh bacon. Drain the liquid from the shallots and add them to the bowl with pumpkin seeds. Toss everything to combine, then enjoy!
    4 cups kale, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 525kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 15gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.002gSodium: 263mgPotassium: 712mgFiber: 4gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 9007IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 159mgIron: 3mg

Notes

Ingredient prep: Prep the pickled shallots up to 7 days ahead of serving. Prep the tempeh bacon up to 5 days ahead of serving. Prep the squash and the dressing up to 3 days ahead of serving. Cook the orzo up to 2 days ahead of serving.
Meal prep: Make the entire salad and store up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
How to store: Store leftovers in an airtight container. I do not recommend freezing.
How to reheat: Leftover can be served cold or reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Nutrition notes: Nutrition information is an estimate using all listed ingredients except the salt to flavor the water (the amount absorbed is negligible and the optional oil used on the orzo to keep it from sticking. This recipe uses all plant-based ingredients. It can be made gluten free by using a gluten free orzo.
Course Main Dishes, Salad
Cuisine Mediterranean-Inspired, Vegan
Keyword butternut squash kale salad

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