Description
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.
Ingredients
Scale
- Kale And Quinoa Salad:
- 1 cup white quinoa, uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 1 x 13.5 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 to 3 bunches of fresh kale
- 1 cup feta, crumbled
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/3 cup red onions, diced
- 2 tbsp sliced almonds
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- Lemon Dijon Dressing:
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp thyme, dried
- 1/4 tsp rosemary, dried
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa under cold water for a minute. Drain it as much as possible. Add it to a small saucepan along with the water. Bring the water to a boil. As soon as the water is boiling, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and let the quinoa simmer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, or once all the water has been absorbed, turn off the heat. Let the quinoa sit, covered on the stove for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the quinoa from the stove and use a fork to fluff it up.
- Roast the chickpeas. Coat the chickpeas in a small drizzle of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes at 425F until they are crispy.
- Massage the kale. Remove the stems from the kale and chop the kale into bite sized pieces. In a medium sized bowl, massage the kale with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of salt for 1 to 2 minutes until the kale becomes soft and turns a vibrant green.
- Make the dressing. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, Dijon, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper to a mason jar. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
- Assemble the salad. Add the cooked quinoa, roasted chickpeas, kale, feta, bell pepper, red onions, sliced almonds and sunflower seeds to a large salad bowl. Top with the lemon Dijon vinaigrette. Mix well and serve.
Notes
- Storage: This quinoa salad stores well in the fridge for up to 5 days. To make it last a couple days longer, store the salad and dressing separately.
- Reduce the dressing. If you want a healthier salad without heavy dressing, only add 2/3 of the dressing. Store the leftover dressing in the fridge, and see the full Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette recipe for ideas on how to use the leftovers.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Salad Recipes
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 360
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 5.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 18mg