Butternut Squash Freekeh Salad with cranberries, feta, & pecans

A delicious blend of cinnamon and spices, this Butternut Squash Freekeh Salad with cranberries, feta, and pecans is so good! With five grams of fiber and five grams of protein, this makes for a great vegetarian dish!

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You knew it was only a matter of time before freekeh came back, right? I can’t help but want to use it all the time. I am just in love with the texture. Not to mention the awesome nutritional value! Compared to the ever-so-popular ancient grain quinoa, freekeh has a touch more protein and twice the fiber! Plus it is low on the glycemic index, meaning it can be great for stabilizing blood sugar.

Today we’re pairing some butternut squash with the freekeh, and for that we’re also busting out The Inspiralizer. It makes prepping butternut squash a BREEZE.

How many of you have tried cutting into a hearty squash like butternut and almost cut your hand off? Or you sit there with the knife stuck in the squash… possssibly banging it on the counter, hoping for the best… CLEARLY not the safest thing to do. I would never do such a thing…

Thank freaking goodness for Ali’s Inspiralizer though! It literally takes seconds to prep this bad boy. After you’ve spiralized the squash you then just toss it with some oil and spices and bake for about 20 minutes, until soft. SUPER EASY.

And then we’re tossing the squash in with the freekeh, cranberries, pecans, and feta of course. I don’t know about you all, but I’m kind of obsessed with any combination of flavors like this. Feta + cranberries = love. Feta in general, really. Add in the crunchy texture of pecans and we’re just head over heels.

Love these FLAVORS.

☆☆☆☆☆

How to Make…

Butternut Squash Freekeh Salad with cranberries, feta, and pecans

A delicious blend of cinnamon and spices, this Butternut Squash Freekeh Salad with cranberries, feta, and pecans is so good! A great vegetarian side dish.

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins

• Yield: 6–8 1x
• Scale: 1x2x3x

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup freekeh
• 2 cups water
• 1 medium butternut squash, cubed or spiralized
• 1/2 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1–2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped or whole
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

1. Place freekeh and water in medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until water has evaporated.
2. While freekeh is cooking, preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
3. Prepare squash by removing skin and cutting into cubes, or cut ends evenly and place in spiralizer to make noodles (any blade will work). In large bowl, toss squash with olive oil, cinnamon, ginger, paprika, and salt. Spread onto prepared baking sheet and bake squash for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Allow squash to cool slightly on pan.
4. Once freekeh is done, drain any excess water and transfer to large bowl. Add balsamic vinegar to freekeh and stir.
5. Add cooled squash to bowl of freekeh, toss in cranberries, feta, and pecans. Stir to combine and serve!

Recipes Notes:

-Store leftovers in fridge up to 3 days fresh.

-Nutrition based on 6 servings

-Check out this video from Ali on how to spiralize your butternut squash. I use hers and LOVE it. If you’re interested in purchasing, here is an amazon link: The Inspiralizer

Nutrition Information:

• Serving Size: 1/8th
• Calories: 156
• Sugar: 13
• Sodium: 215mg
• Fat: 4g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Unsaturated Fat: 1g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 31
• Fiber: 4
• Protein: 3
• Cholesterol: 5mg

Category: side dish Method: oven Cuisine: American
Keywords: butternut squash freekeh salad
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen

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Okay, real quick… so we (finally) just finished the last season of Dexter on Netflix last night.

WTF. What. The. F. I mean REALLY? REALLY!?!?! Uggghhh I can’t even. Why? WHY!? They can bring back the show any day now. I would really like those rumors to become a reality… Now what are we going to do in the evenings? I asked my husband this, and I said we could do laundry but he shot that down real quick. Not that I really want to do laundry in place of watching Dexter… Maybe I’ll start reading more…

Okay, that is all. Go make this salad now.

Your turn

• Have you got your freekeh on yet?
• What is your current favorite show to watch on Netflix?

Happy Hump Day!

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