This healthy winter squash and chickpea salad is laced with a nutty, delicious tahini-based dressing….perfect for a good-for-you lunch or dinner!
roasted kabocha squash and chickpea salad with tahini, scallions and black sesame seeds from Eats Well With Others

So we met with a potential caterer last night.

And then we came home and cried because we are going to have to eat bread and butter until November 29th of next year since that is the only way we are going to be able to afford this wedding.

And by butter, I obviously mean peanut butter because dairy butter is actually quite expensive.

And by peanut butter, I probably mean beans, and not the fancy Rancho Gordo kind that I love so much. But, like, Goya. Because what is cheaper than that?!

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Things are going to start to get frugal around here.

But not in the flavor department!

I pinky swear. Well, at least I hope not. Because then even I will get bored of myself. And we can’t have that.

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Thankfully I have enough spices to last at least five lifetimes. And counting.

And I have meals like this up my sleeve, which use up a whole bunch of things I just happened to have sitting around in my pantry. Like black sesame seeds, sesame oil, and tahini. Totally normal.

Kabocha squash is pretty cheap these days, and so are scallions and chickpeas, so I can see us eating this well into the foreseeable future. Plus it’s the.boy-approved. Which for a salad, kind of says a lot.

And with it’s nutty sweet salty flavors, I’m kind of into it too. In a big way.

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Can you believe we are HALF WAY THROUGH the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash?! That means you only have six more weeks to get involved. Get it.

Roasted Kabocha Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini, Scallions and Black Sesame Seeds
 
This healthy winter squash and chickpea salad is laced with a nutty, delicious tahini-based dressing.
Yield: 4-5 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 kabocha squash, chopped into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled until tender
  • ¼ cup tahini
  • sea salt
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 small bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400. Toss squash with olive oil and spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender.
  2. Toss the squash with the chickpeas.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, olive oil, scallions, and sesame oil. Season to taste with salt. Toss with the kabocha and chickpeas.
  4. Top with sesame seeds.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ of recipe

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55 Responses to Roasted Kabocha Squash and Chickpea Salad with Tahini, Scallions and Black Sesame Seeds

  1. Love kabocha! What a great looking, satisfying dish.
    And yes – it’s unbelievable how much weddings cost, isn’t it?! Sounds like your plan to eat frugally is a good one 😉

  2. Jessie says:

    You are so creative that you’ll still be making awesome and flavorful dishes, no matter what your food budget! And maybe you can make a deal with Rancho Gordo to buy their beans in bulk or something 😉 Best of luck meeting with all your vendors! (And take some time to enjoy it, too, if possible – the tastings are the best part!)

  3. What a hearty and delicious looking salad! I must get myself some black sesame seeds – they always make dishes look really pretty.

  4. This is one stunning salad. Kabocha is so underused I love the way you feature it here. I hear ya on the wedding catering bill my dear…that’s the biggest chunk especially if you are having lots of people. But even though it won’t help you now, you kinda break even on that dinner if you have generous folks!

  5. Emma says:

    This is classic Emma food! I love tahini with winter squash…well on anything really ;), and I’m so pleased to have recently discovered kabocha.
    Frugal eating isn’t so bad after all.

  6. This sounds good! Love the use of the tahini!

  7. A great looking winter squash recipe, Joanne.

  8. Weddings are brutal on the pocketbook. We opted for tiny (only about 20 of us!) How about you serve rice and beans…and an amazing dessert to redeem yourself. You know, I mean, you don’t want everyone retracting on the gifts 😉

  9. danielle says:

    I love your squash recipes – this is another winner!

  10. P says:

    I think having a food budget will be a fun challenge—especially for you =)
    Maybe you can do a series out of it.

  11. Love this hearty winter squash salad Joanne – I find that frugal eating = creative cooking many times so I can’t wait to see what you make!

  12. You find the best squash.
    Does your whole foods have all that variety of squash?

  13. I can’t wait to see all your frugal ideas!

  14. I’m with Kevin on this one, love the tahini in this. This post “Wowed” me, Joanne. Well done!

  15. im always up for flavorful frugal dinner 🙂 Weddings get so expensive – me no likey 🙁 🙁

  16. Maria says:

    Trust me; having an amazing meal at your wedding is worth the scrimping and saving. I promise. You’ll dream about it for weeks in advance. 🙂

  17. Monica says:

    Oh boy – I can just imagine the price tag on everything associated with a wedding these days. Will you make your own cake?! I have faith that despite the need to be frugal, you will make amazing, healthy, and comforting meals anyway. The wedding will be worth it.

  18. I’ve never even thought to have kabocha like this. Another reason why I love your blog so much, Jo!

  19. Pam says:

    Wedding planning – good times!

    I’ve never tried kabocha squash before and this salad is making me want to try it!

  20. Mmm this looks so good, and very interesting ingredients combined, this has to be good!

  21. kurt says:

    I love squash and bet it would taste good with tahini. I don’t have easy access to Kabocha though so I’ll try it with butternut.

  22. Maybe having to save hard is inspiring new creativity and resourcefulness (upside?) b/c this salad sounds pretty amazing or you will have to nename your blog to “Joanne eats cheap with others” lol!

  23. Tara says:

    Yum! I love the combination of black sesame seeds and chickpeas. Great recipe!

  24. Kate says:

    Lucky for us you are creative enough that eating on a budget won’t change the delicious aspect of the recipes you use!

  25. Eileen says:

    Hey, you can do it! Weddings are insane, and the budgeting especially so, but it’s totally possible to have a great party without going completely off the wall. The real key is to decide what you actually care about, make that short (and I mean SHORT) list the best you can on your budget, and then make up your mind to just be fine with whatever you figure out for the rest of it. So maybe the food and your dress are really important, but the hundred other little details don’t have to be! Also: don’t tell the caterers you’re having a wedding. Really. Tell them it’s a formal party with dinner/lunch/whatever for X number of people & you’ll get a lower quote. ANYWAY. This salad sounds pretty great to me! I especially love the mix of textures.

  26. sandra says:

    I love the black sesame seeds… and I feel your pain. Things are a little tight around our house as well. I think I may have sesame seeds, oil and tahini in my pantry as well… may nee to make this.

  27. debbie says:

    The picture is gorgeous. I love those sesame seeds. I can’t wait til you post what you are having to eat at your wedding. I can only imagine how great the food will be!!!

  28. Winter squash week is still going on? Dangit I had a pumpkin soup last week, oh well.

    This looks like a lovely salad, I love squash so much.

  29. Megan says:

    Oh yeah. Wedding catering is super-expensive. But it’s definitely worth splurging on the good stuff. People still talk about how our wedding guests were picking up their meat (we did bone-in beef tenderloin and and bone-in kurobuta pork chops) and eating it off the bones because it was so good. On the other hand, I remember how bad food was at other people’s weddings. It’s so important!

  30. Beth says:

    Your lifer will never be short on flavour, Joanne. This salad looks amazing!

  31. Great reminder for me to start eating more chickpeas! This salad looks delicious!

  32. A frugal meal that doesn’t look or taste frugal – love it!

  33. Oh my gosh! This is soooooooooo me!! I’m on a bland diet till tomorrow and then I am so making this! What an awesome recipe!!

  34. ramblingtart says:

    I have no doubt that you will be able to make the most frugal of foods absolutely delicious, luv. 🙂

  35. Hotly Spiced says:

    I love black sesame seeds and they must be good for you because my Chinese doctor/naturopath keeps telling me to pile them into my meals xx

  36. I need some frugality too! And I kinda wanna dig into a giant bowl of this salad right now…

  37. This looks amazing, and I actually have to make this for my vegetarian sister who loves chickpeas! I’m positive you’ll make amazing and flavourful things even on a budget.

  38. Deborah says:

    I’m loving this! I think I’m going to be craving this now!

  39. Katerina says:

    Since I have two weddings on my back I can tell you the following: concentrate on what’s really important and leave the rest out and also a great wedding doesn’t necessarily mean an expensive one. Why don’t you get married in Greece? That would be fun! Lovely salad!

  40. Frugal meals tend to be so dull, but oh girl, you made this salad look amazing! I love the tahini addition ;–)

  41. Eeeeek! So exciting…and so worth it in the end ;). This sounds amazing. I love tahini with squash, and I’m always a sucker for black sesame seeds – they just draw me in.

  42. Nutmeg Nanny says:

    Oh my god! My mouth fell open when I saw this, it looks full of flavor, I love it 🙂

  43. Haha, awwww…well the food is definitely one of they key parts of a wedding so I say splurge if you can 😉 it’ll totally be worth eating beans for the next year…especially with this meal!

  44. Shannon says:

    omg, catering is crazy expensive. photography isn’t much cheaper. sigh. this is definitely right up my alley!!

  45. I love the colors of this dish, and the flavors.
    I can only imagine how expensive a wedding would be for you, we paid for our daughter’s wedding 3 years ago and it was like wow and we live in the Midwest where things are cheaper. I am sure whatever you plan it will be lovely.

  46. rebecca says:

    wow this looks so tasty and healthy and excited for you as you plan

  47. grace says:

    i love kabocha squash–they’re a favorite! nice to see another use for tahini, too.

  48. tigerfish says:

    As always, love kabocha and love it skin-on! The sprinkle of black sesame seeds is like magic!

  49. Julia says:

    I love everything about this healthful and delicious salad! I’ve been obsessed with tahini lately and have been using it for all of my salad dressings. I want to dive into the salad bowl head-first! Happy holidays, lady!

  50. Christine P. says:

    I made this today subbing butternut squash for the kabocha and it is absolutely delicious! Love the combination of flavors. Thanks so much for posting this!!

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  53. […] anything with seeds sprinkled on top tastes better. Try for example this interesting recipe for a Roasted squash and chickpea salad with tahini, scallions and sesame seeds and let us know, how it […]

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