Kale Quinoa Salad

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This colorful kale quinoa salad is full of healthy ingredients and tastes incredible! Meal prep this easy plant-based lunch idea for meals all week.
Looking for healthy lunch ideas? Here’s a salad that’s beautifully fresh and saves well for meals throughout the week: kale quinoa salad! Alex and I typically eat pretty boring for lunch, but we’ve been trying to up our game. And we’re thrilled to add this one to our repertoire. It’s full of healthy ingredients: quinoa, kale, peppers, carrots: and then covered in a delicious, ultra tangy dressing! It’s so flavorful and keeps that flavor 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Our lunches just got way more exciting! It also works as a side salad for healthy dinners.
What’s in this kale quinoa salad? This kale quinoa salad has limited ingredients. Because our philosophy around here is pretty simple cooking (we even wrote a book about it). Yes, in every recipe we try to use as little ingredients as possible to get the biggest flavor. This salad is plant based and makes a fantastic tasty vegan lunch. Here’s what’s in this kale quinoa salad:
Quinoa: Use our stovetop quinoa or Instant Pot quinoa methods to make up a big pot. Chickpeas: Using chickpeas adds plant-based protein. Substitute white beans if you’re not a chickpea fan!Tuscan kale: Kale holds up well in the fridge and is a healthy leafy green! (More below.)Bell pepper: Bell pepper is crunchy and full of Vitamin C. Carrots: Carrot adds another healthy crunch and lovely color. Dressing: The dressing is seriously simple: lots of apple cider vinegar to keep that tangy flavor for days, olive oil, and Dijon mustard. And there’s one more secret ingredient…
And, the secret spice! The last ingredient in this salad is optional, but we recommend it for big flavor. It’s this: 1 pinch of curry powder! We wanted to point this out because it’s not intended to make the salad taste like curry. Instead, it adds a unique complexity that’s almost imperceptible. That’s the key to making this healthy salad taste intriguingly delicious! If you don’t have it on hand, you can skip this part.
It’s easy to meal prep! This kale quinoa salad is easy to meal prep for healthy lunches throughout the week: or an easy dinner! Here are a few notes on meal prep:
The salad stays fresh for 3 days (4 as a stretch). Many salads don’t work in the fridge. But this one is designed for it! Store it in the fridge and it tastes just as good for 3 days (the 4 day it starts to get a little tired, but we still ate what was left!). Easiest way: use leftover quinoa. This salad is easiest to make if you make a big batch of quinoa and then use leftovers to make the salad. This way the quinoa is already cool! But you can also make it the day of. If cooking quinoa day of, use our quick tip for cooling! You’ll need to cool down the quinoa quickly if you make it the day of. Our trick is to spread it on a baking sheet and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes. It cools right down to be able to assemble into the salad. Variations on kale quinoa salad: mix ins! There are lots of different additions you could add to this kale quinoa salad to spice it up a bit! Here are some of our favorite ideas:
Shredded Parmesan cheese: We tried this and the extra savory it added was delicious! Chopped almonds or other nuts: Nuts add a nice hit of protein. Add these right before serving to keep them crunchy!Dried cherries, cranberries or raisins: Add a sweet and savory element with dried fruit (yum!).Chopped apples: Apples add a crunch and another savory sweet element.Chopped cucumber, celery, or other crunchy veggie: Add a handful of any other chopped veggie for even more crunch. Use Tuscan kale if you can find it One note on kale varieties! Our favorite variety to use is Tuscan kale. Tuscan kale is an Italian variety with dark green, ruffled leaves. It has a mild and sweet flavor, making it easier to palate than the spicy and more bitter curly kale. It can be labeled as many different things in the grocery. Look for Tuscan, Lacinato, dinosaur kale, or cavolo nero: they’re all the same thing!
How to serve kale quinoa salad for lunch To make this kale quinoa salad a filling and satisfying lunch, here are a few things we’ve served with it:
Bread: Try our artisan bread, whole wheat bread or garlic naan for homemadeCrackers: Try our almond cashew crackers (gluten-free)Pita chips: Try our homemade pita chipsNuts: A handful of roasted salted almond adds proteinFruit: Sliced green apple would be a nice accompaniment Serve it as a side dish or dinner salad! Of course, you can serve kale quinoa salad for dinner too! It would be perfect as a recipe for a potluck or pitch-in in the summer. Or it’s an easy side dish for any season. You could also make it into a main dish salad! Here’s what we’d recommend:
With seafood. Try it with garlic shrimp, baked shrimp, or oven baked salmon as a healthy, easy side dish.With pasta. Fill out a dinner by serving with an easy pasta like vegan fettucine alfredo or pasta primavera.With soup. It would be great with creamy broccoli soup or loaded potato soup to make it into a healthy meal. This kale quinoa salad recipe is… Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
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Author: Sonja Overhiser Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Yield: 6 Diet: Vegan Print Recipe Pin Recipe Description This colorful kale quinoa salad is full of healthy ingredients and tastes incredible! Meal prep this easy plant-based lunch idea for meals all week.
Ingredients 1 cup dry quinoa (3 cups cooked)1 bunch Tuscan kale (also labeled as Lacinato kale, dinosaur kale, or cavolo nero)15-ounce can chickpeas1/4 cup finely chopped shallot (or red onion or green onion)1 bell pepper2 carrots1/4 cup olive oil1/3 cup apple cider vinegar1 tablespoon Dijon mustard1 small pinch curry powder*1 large garlic clove, peeled and grated1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus fresh ground black pepper to taste** Instructions Make the quinoa: Go to Stovetop Quinoa or Instant Pot Quinoa. Make it in advance OR if serving immediately, bring the quinoa to room temperature: spread it in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze it for 2 to 3 minutes until it cools.Prep the kale: Chop the kale. Sprinkle the kale with 1 pinch kosher salt. Coat your hands with a few drops of olive oil and massage the kale leaves for 2 to 3 minutes until all pieces are tender.Prep the other veggies: Finely chop the onion or shallot. Dice the pepper. Peel and dice the carrots.Mix the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, curry powder, and grated garlic.Mix the salad: Mix the quinoa and vegetables together with the dressing and the 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Add more kosher salt to taste. Stores up to 3 days refrigerated (you may need to add a pinch of salt before serving since it looses saltiness over time). Notes *A small pinch adds complexity without the flavor of curry in the salad.
**Optional add-ins: Parmesan cheese, chopped almonds or other nuts, dried cherries, cranberries or raisins, chopped apples, chopped cucumber, etc.
Category: SaladMethod: StovetopCuisine: Lunch Keywords: Kale quinoa salad
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More easy lunch ideas There’s always room for more inspiration for lunches, right? Here are some of our favorites:
15 Healthy Lunch Ideas All our favorite healthy lunch ideas! Pecan & Veggie Mini Frittatas A quick nutritious breakfast or lunch! Make them ahead to grab and go.Tuna Salad with Egg This tuna salad with egg is creamy and savory, perfect as an easy lunch or dinner idea. Or try our Best Classic Tuna Salad.A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes


* This article was originally published here

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