This superfood kale and quinoa salad with crisp veggies and lemon-y dressing is recent, vibrant, & loaded with nutrient and antioxidant-rich elements! An excellent satisfying texture and flavor-packed meal-prep salad to take pleasure in as a aspect or most important.

Why You’ll Love This Kale Quinoa Salad Recipe

Hearty salads made with elements like couscous, farro, and quinoa are high of our checklist when in search of a low-budget, wholesome, nutritious meal to maintain you full and happy for hours. Even higher, this recipe for quinoa kale salad combines clear, powerhouse elements for a powerful meal loaded with plant-based protein, fiber, nutritional vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Even higher, it’s scrumptious sufficient that even the kale-wary could be received over because of a really satisfying mixture of hearty kale and chickpeas, fluffy, chewy quinoa, crisp cucumber and onion, juicy tomato, recent herbs, and a shiny and zesty (however straightforward!) lemon French dressing dressing.

Better of all, this salad, although not as fast as others (because you’ll have to prepare dinner and funky the quinoa first), continues to be very straightforward to throw collectively, extremely customizable, and the sturdy elements make it an important meal-prep aspect or most important, year-round.

Searching for extra hearty vegan quinoa salads? Take a look at our Southwest quinoa salad, Mediterranean quinoa salad, or wholesome quinoa veggie bowl.

The Elements and Substitutes

The Quinoa and Kale Salad

Kale: You should use any darkish leafy kale like Tuscan, Dinosaur, Lacinato, or curly kale – whichever is least expensive/available to you.

Pink onion: Or white onion/ shallots for a crisp, sizzling chunk. Soak it within the dressing/ice water for 10 minutes to cut back the tough, uncooked chunk (or use inexperienced onions).

Cucumber: Use Persian or English cucumbers, that are low-seed and skinny peel.

Cherry tomatoes: Or mini plum tomatoes so as to add candy juiciness year-round.

Chickpeas: (garbanzo beans) Use common or low-sodium canned chickpeas or home-cooked chickpeas. Alternatively, attempt a white bean, kidney bean, or quinoa black bean salad.

Quinoa: Use any colour (or tri-color) of quinoa. Related elements, like couscous, wild rice, barley, farro, or bulgur, may even work.

Parsley: Recent parsley provides herbaceous depth. Cilantro and/or dill additionally work.

Croutons: (Non-obligatory) so as to add crunch. Alternatively, you might use toasted pita, a portion of crispy chickpeas, or nuts/seeds, like sliced almonds, pepitas, or chopped walnuts/pecans.

The Lemon Dressing

Olive oil: Use an excellent high quality extra-virgin olive oil that isn’t overly sturdy.

Lemon: (or lime) A mix of juice and zest provides a shiny, zesty taste.

Vinegar: We used rice vinegar, however apple cider vinegar/white wine vinegar works too.

Water: To carry this dressing to the right consistency.

Sugar: You might use brown sugar, coconut sugar, agave, or maple syrup.

Garlic: Garlic energy makes this dressing tremendous easy, however be at liberty to make use of recent, minced garlic cloves if most well-liked.

Sea salt & black pepper: To season the dressing.

Optionally add some Dijon mustard, too, for a touch of warmth and/or some chili flakes. Alternatively, swap the dressing completely for one thing like our basil dressing, avocado inexperienced goddess dressing, or miso tahini dressing.

What Might I Add to Quinoa Kale Salad?

Starch: Make a good heartier salad like a kale quinoa candy potato salad with diced and roasted candy potato, butternut squash, or pumpkin.

Different greens: A number of veg pair nicely, like shredded carrot or sprouts, broccoli, radishes, beets, bell peppers, corn, and so on.

Fruit: There are a number of methods to introduce the pure sweetness of fruit.Pear or apple kale quinoa salad (brush with lemon to keep away from browning)

Kale quinoa cranberry salad (with dried cranberries. Golden raisins work, too)

Quinoa kale pomegranate salad

Protein: Like diced tofu, tempeh, or mock meats like vegan chick’n.

Avocado: For wealthy creaminess, heart-healthy fat, and antioxidants.

Vegan cheese: You may experiment with a number of sorts of dairy-free cheese. We significantly just like the salty tanginess of a kale quinoa feta salad, however different vegan cheeses work, too.

Methods to Make Quinoa Salad with Kale and Chickpeas

First, when you haven’t already, prepare dinner the quinoa, and set it apart to chill.

To hurry up the method, unfold the quinoa in a skinny layer throughout a tray.

In the meantime, put together the remaining elements by draining and rinsing the chickpeas, halving the cherry tomatoes, dicing the cucumber and purple onion, and chopping the parsley (if utilizing). Additionally, chop the kale leaves away from the robust stems and chop into smaller items, and zest, then juice the lemon juice.

Subsequent, mix all of the kale and quinoa salad dressing elements (lemon, olive oil, vinegar, water, sweetener, garlic, and salt and pepper) in a small bowl or jar, then shake/combine.

Be certain to style and modify any factor within the dressing to your liking.

Then, add the chopped kale to a big salad bowl with the olive oil (and optionally a pinch of salt) and therapeutic massage for a couple of minute to tenderize the leaves. Then put aside.

Add the remaining salad elements (chickpeas, onion, cucumber, tomato, and parsley) to the kale bowl and toss nicely. Then, toss in 5 tablespoons of the lemon dressing.

Lastly, add the quinoa and remaining dressing, to style, toss, and (if utilizing) garnish with croutons – take pleasure in!

FAQs

High Recipe Ideas and Notes

Therapeutic massage the kale: That is the important thing to remodeling kale leaves from robust and fibrous to a extra tender chunk whereas additionally eradicating bitterness.

For the most effective taste: Go away the salad to relaxation for 10-Quarter-hour for all of the flavors to meld and marinate.

Experiment: Have enjoyable experimenting with totally different add-ins and customizations to suit your taste and dietary profile.

Serving Ideas

Take pleasure in this kale chickpea quinoa salad heat, at room temperature, or chilled – as a aspect or most important meal paired with:

Protein (like tofu steak, vegan chick’n, and so on.)

A sandwich or wrap (like our chickpea tuna sandwich, crispy buffalo tofu sandwich, and so on.)

Soup (like potato leek soup, broccoli soup, pureed veggie soup, and so on.)

Potatoes (like zucchini potato casserole, crispy purple potatoes, and even fries)

Dips (and crudites – like hummus, white bean dip, spinach dip, and so on.)

Storage Directions

As soon as ready, you may retailer this vegan quinoa kale salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for 3-5 days. For the longest shelf life, retailer the salad and dressing individually.

Whereas your complete salad isn’t freezable, the mix of quinoa and massaged kale is freezable for as much as 3 months.

Extra Straightforward Vegan Salad Recipes

Photographs by Alfonso Revilla