Kale And Quinoa Salad

This Kale and Quinoa Salad is a simple, healthy quinoa salad recipe that is great as a light lunch or a side dish recipe. Made with quinoa, roasted chickpeas, feta, almonds, bell pepper, sunflower seeds and topped with a lemon dijon dressing.

If you enjoy quinoa salads, try one of these other quinoa salad recipes, such as this Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad, this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad or this Southwest Quinoa Salad.

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• Recipe Highlights
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe Highlights

• Great for Meal-Prepping — This quinoa salad is the perfect recipe for making in advance. It stores well in the fridge and tastes delicious cold.
• Healthy Side Salad — This kale quinoa salad makes a great side salad. Serve it alongside a burger, panini or soup.
• Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette — This salad is topped with a light and healthy Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette that takes only 5 minutes to make.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Quinoa: This recipe uses white quinoa, but you can use whatever type of quinoa you like.
• Kale: You can use fresh kale or packaged baby kale. As a substitute, you can use baby spinach or arugula.
• Bell Pepper: Some diced bell peppers give this salad a bit of crunch. You can use any color of bell pepper you like.
• Chickpeas: You’ll need a can of chickpeas which will then be roasted to give them a bit of crispiness.
• Sunflower Seeds: You can use pumpkin seeds as a substitute.
• Almonds: Use sliced almonds or roasted whole almonds that have been diced. Use walnuts as a substitute.
• Red Onion: Red onion works best in this salad, but if you don’t have any on hand, or if you don’t like onion in your salads, you can leave it out.
• Feta: Feta generally works really well in quinoa salads, but if you prefer, leave out the cheese.
• Lemon: You’ll need both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest for this dressing. You can use bottled lemon juice and skip the lemon zest, but freshly squeezed lemon juice will taste so much better. 
• Dijon: Use your favorite type of Dijon mustard. Dijon is not the same as regular mustard and they are not interchangeable in this recipe. 
• White Wine Vinegar: A bit of white wine vinegar makes this dressing a true vinaigrette. You can use apple cider vinegar instead, or replace it with more lemon juice. 
• Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil or another type of oil, such as sunflower oil or avocado oil. 
• Garlic: You’ll need about one clove of freshly minced garlic. 
• Rosemary & Thyme: A dash of dried rosemary and thyme add a little bit of herb flavor that complements the lemon well. You can use fresh herbs instead if they are in season. You can also substitute the rosemary and thyme with another type of herb if you prefer, such as oregano.
• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup balances out some of the tartness of the dressing. Make sure to use real maple syrup, not artificial pancake syrup. Honey is a great option as a substitute.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Rinse the quinoa well under cold water. Heat the water and quinoa in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce the temperature to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the temperature and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Step 2: Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas with water. Drizzle with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven for 20 minutes at 425F until crispy.

Step 3: Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon, white wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme and maple syrup to a mason jar. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds until the ingredients are well emulsified.

Step 4: Drizzle a bit of olive oil and salt over the kale. Massage for 2 to 3 minutes until tender and vibrant green.

Step 5: Add the cooked quinoa, feta, kale, red onions, bell pepper, sunflower seeds and almonds to a large bowl. Add the lemon Dijon dressing and mix well before serving.

Expert Tips

• Store in the fridge. Store the quinoa salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Use another dressing. This salad also works well with this Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette, this Balsamic Vinaigrette, or this Balsamic Date Vinaigrette.
• Don’t forget to massage the kale. Massaging fresh kale is so important! It ensures the kale is soft and tender and it only takes a couple minutes to do.
• Reduce the dressing. This salad recipe makes a generous portion of dressing. If you would like a healthier salad or prefer less dressing, use only ⅔ of the dressing and store leftovers in the fridge.

Recipe FAQs

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