Kale & Quinoa Salad
Kale and Quinoa Salad is full of colorful vegetables and protein-rich chickpeas and makes a deliciously healthy lunch, dinner, or meal prep idea!
I’ve been making this quinoa salad with kale and variety of veggies for years. It’s so simple, packs tons of nutrition and I never seem to tire of it!
Why We Love This Recipe!
- It’s great for meal prep. Lately, it has been my to-go lunch. It stores. It’s simple, easy, and nutrient-dense, while, of course, tasting clean, fresh, and delicious!
- It’s healthy. Each ingredient is wholesome and nutritious. We call it an anti-aging and mood-enhancing salad. It has been proven that a healthy diet improves mood.
- It’s easy to customize. Feel free to change up the salad to your liking by adding or subtracting any vegetables you prefer. For a little crunch, sprinkle pumpkin seeds overtop.
I encourage you to include these heart-smart ingredients into your diet and enjoy the benefits of clean, healthy eating!
How To Massage Kale
Kale can be tough and bitter, massaging kale before using it will help soften and reduce the bitterness, making it a little easier to eat. All you need is a little juice!
Massage kale following these simple steps:
- Remove the kale from the large center stem.
- Julienne the kale and give a good rough chop.
- Add the kale to a bowl, drizzle with lemon juice, and toss.
- Let rest for at least 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
How To Make Kale and Quinoa Salad
- Cook the quinoa on the stovetop or use this Instant Pot Quinoa recipe for ease.
- Massage the kale and prep the carrots, red pepper, cucumber, zucchini, and red onion.
- Once the quinoa is ready, add the kale, bell pepper, carrots, onion, and cucumber with the quinoa.
- Add a little salt, lemon pepper, and a big squeeze of lemon, and toss well to combine.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
And that’s it, delicious and healthy kale and quinoa salad made easy!
How To Store Leftovers + Meal Prep
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days.
- Meal prep: This salad is perfect for meal prepping. Store it in portion-sized covered containers with a slice of lemon for squeezing which will add a bright flavor and extra moisture.
Serving Suggestions
Kale Quinoa Salad makes for a light and healthy lunch or dinner. I love making a batch of this kale & quinoa salad and grazing on it throughout the day, it’s so GOOD! Here are a few ways to make it even heartier.
- Veggies + Dip: Serve with veggie sticks and homemade Classic Hummus or Simple White Bean Hummus.
- Soup: Pair with a small bowl of Vegan Cauliflower Soup, Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup, or Vegan Potato Leek Soup.
- Bread: Who doesn’t like a little bread, especially this gluten-free Socca chickpea flour bread or homemade Vegan Naan.
More Healthy Quinoa Salads!
- Cherry, Pistachio + Mint Quinoa Salad
- Strawberry, Apple + Quinoa Spinach Salad
- Spinach + Berry Quinoa Salad
- Greek Chickpea & Quinoa Salad
- See all quinoa salad recipes on TSV!
If you try this healthy quinoa salad recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintKALE QUINOA SALAD
A quick and easy Kale and Quinoa Salad with zesty lemon is healthy and delicious! It’s perfect for light lunches, dinners, or make-ahead meals.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Salad, Entree
- Method: simmer, mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 can (15oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)
- 6 – 8 good sized kale leaves, stems removed and finely chopped or julienned
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced or 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1/2 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 – 3 lemons
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, optional
- lemon pepper seasoning or cracked pepper, to taste
- mineral salt to taste
Instructions
Quinoa: Rinse your quinoa and place in a medium saucepan with water. Bring to boil over medium high heat, cover, reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Once done, remove cover and let set for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Kale: While your quinoa is cooking, place the chopped kale in a medium size bowl or on a chopping board, drizzle with the juice of one lemon and mix occasionally. This will help massage and soften the kale a bit, reducing it’s bitterness.
Assemble: Once quinoa is done, combine the prepped veggies and kale, along with lemon pepper and salt to taste. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lemon on top and drizzle with optional oil, mix once more.
Serve at room temperature or chilled. This is a salad you can eat with a spoon!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 – 6 days.
Serves 4
Notes
This is a great place to add a sprinkle of sunflower or pepitas (pumpkin) seeds. Hemp hearts would also be great.
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Absolutely loved this salad! Great vegan dinner! Added chicken for my husband. This will definitely become a regular meal for us!
Excellent proportion of ingredients tastes fresh and good flavor. I added a handful of diced dates, feta cheese and cubed chicken.
Delicious! Will make again and add to permanent summer recipe repertoire.
Easy, well-balanced, and delicious! I’ll definitely make again. I love the suggestion of adding sunflower seeds.
I’m surprised that it’s pretty good given it’s so simple! Also note that I don’t like any salad in general. But I think I can eat this for a few days!
I just wanted to say that this salad recipe was one of the best I have ever tried, It is amazing!!! Try it out. Thank you for sharing this. Just exactly what we had in the fridge in this quarantine.
So satisfying and delicious! I didn’t have lemon pepper so I zested the lemon peel before I juiced the lemons and sprinkled some pepitas on top before serving.
Thank you for sharing, Sheila! The lemon zest sound even better, and the pepitas are a perfect addition! Cheers :)
Eating this right now, delicious. First time making it. Love kale and quinoa, so great to have them together.
This was delicious – our first foray with kale, thank you for helping make it a success!
Thank you for stopping to share your thoughts. I'm so glad this worked for you! Hooray to your first time with kale…I'm honored to have been the recipe of choice for your first time with the king of leafy greens. You'll have to try the Kale & Mushroom Gratin recipe (if your not allergic to nuts)…it's in a wonderful creamy cashew based sauce on top of farro, or grain of choice. It's really delicious! :)
Great dish! I threw in sunflower seeds and a drizzle of sunflower oil.
That's sounds like a perfect addition to this salad. I was thinking a seed would be great in this giving it a little crunch and added goodness. So glad you liked. Thanks for stopping to share your thoughts. :)