Warm Chicken Grain Salad with Butternut Squash & Greens from Nourish: The Paleo Healing Cookbook

Well, it’s finally out there in the world! I’m so proud and excited to share Nourish: The Paleo Healing Cookbook with you all!

Over the last week, I’ve been thrilled to watch the recipes from Nourish come to life in your kitchens. My goal writing this cookbook was to give those of us on the AIP food freedom: to show that the elimination phase can be full of flavor and that we don’t have to feel “restricted” — which is why it feels absolutely amazing to hear that these recipes I created are doing just that. Thank you so much to those of you who have been sharing images of Nourish recipes on social media – remember to use the hashtags #nourishpaleo or #paleohealing, so that I can see what you are up to!

Warm Chicken "Grain" Salad with Butternut Squash and Greens from Nourish: The Paleo Healing Cookbook | http://meatified.com

Today I’m sharing another preview recipe from Nourish – this Warm Chicken Grain Salad is one of my absolute favorites!

While I do love cauliflower rice, it just doesn’t have the right texture to mimic larger grains like those found in warm wintry grain salads. That’s what prompted me to come up with the basic recipe for what we nickname “protein rice” here at home! All the flavors of fall – herby “grains”, roasted butternut squash and lots of greens – combine here to make a delicious warm salad that will have even non-AIP-ers asking for seconds. Packed with protein and with plenty of calcium coming from the leafy greens, this salad is a winner nutritionally, too.

Print

Warm Chicken “Grain” Salad with Butternut Squash & Greens

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 cups (560 g) butternut squash
  • 2 tsp + 1 tbsp (10 ml + 15 ml) coconut or avocado oil, divided
  • 1 tsp (5 g) salt, divided
  • 1 lb (454 g) ground chicken
  • 1 tsp (4 g) garlic powder
  • 1 tsp (2 g) ground sage
  • 1 tsp (1 g) dried rosemary leaves
  • ½ cup (70 g) diced onion
  • 8 oz (225 g) Swiss chard
  • 4 oz (115 g) spinach
  • Squeeze of lemon juice

Instructions

  1. ROAST: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Cut the butternut squash into ½ inch (13 mm) cubes and toss with 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of the oil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the squash out in a single layer. Roast the squash until it is tender and beginning to brown and caramelize at the edges, about 15 – 20 minutes. Reserve the cooked squash for later.
  2. COOK: Add the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil to a skillet over low-medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the ground chicken, breaking it into a few large pieces with your hands before dropping it into the pan. Don’t break up the chicken in the pan any further or it will overcook and become very dry. Sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, garlic powder, sage and rosemary over the chicken and cover the pan with a lid. Cook the chicken, covered, until it is cooked through and there is no pink inside, about 5 – 6 minutes, turning the chicken over halfway through. Do not overcook the chicken – it should release juices into the pan and still be tender when cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked chicken to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the diced onion to the pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
  3. ASSEMBLE: Crumble the cooked chicken into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 – 5 times, until the chicken is broken up into little “grains”. Do not overprocess, or you will end up with a sticky paste! Finely slice the chard and spinach. Toss together the “grains”, roasted squash, chard and spinach back in the pan with the onion and all the pan juices. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the salad, to taste, and toss together to combine. The salad can be eaten straightaway, but also refrigerates nicely so you could make it ahead of time and serve it as a cold “grain” salad, too. When it’s warmer, I like to swap the butternut squash for roasted asparagus, beets or summer squash and lighter greens, but the possibilities are almost endless!
Click here to Pin this recipe!

Warm Chicken "Grain" Salad with Butternut Squash and Greens from Nourish: The Paleo Healing Cookbook | http://meatified.com

17 comments

  1. Yay!! So excited for you and so glad the book is finally out for the world 🙂 Not sure if you saw on Instagram but I wanted to thank you SO much for than hand-written note and finishing salt (plus the cookbook of course!!) It’s already a huge hit in our house. I think I’ve only had it less than a week and I’ve already cooked 9 recipes from it!! All fantastic, of course. I made the sweet potato gratin for easter today and it was everyone’s favorite dish of brunch! Also, the pumpkin chicken curry is freaking DELICIOUS, especially when paired with the indian cauliflower rice 🙂 Can’t wait to cook through more!! This recipe is next on my list!

    1. I missed it somehow, so thank you for leaving me this note here 🙂 So glad you’re enjoying the book! <3

      1. Of course! Made the sneaky tuna salad for lunch today. You’ve got me converted! I actually hate sardines…but couldn’t taste them at all! It was delicious!

        1. Right?! My husband is a sardine “hater” and was kind of miffed when he found out he ate them all the time! Muahaha!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.