The great thing about this cheeky quinoa kale salad with lemon dressing is that it’s totally meal-prep friendly. Make the salad ahead of time to enjoy as a delicious side salad for your lunch box or as a main course at lunchtime all week long.
We love it together with a vegan avocado sandwich or with a healthy and vegan “pulled jack” burger .
This quinoa kale salad is sooo delicious! It’s a detox salad of sorts, packed with loads of fresh and nutritious ingredients tossed in a healthy refreshing dressing.
Along with fluffy quinoa and the lightly massed kale, there’s a mix of high-protein chickpeas, crunchy red onions, baked pumpkin, sweet red bell peppers, fresh broccoli, and nutty flaked almonds topped as edible confetti.
We like our favourite, with a bit of feta cheese or vegan feto on top. Whether vegetarian or vegan, you could also do without the optional feta.
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if you like our quinoa kale salad with lemon dressing, you might also be interested in these dishes:
- Moroccan Black Lentil Salad
- Soba noodle bowl with Asian flavors
- vegan power salad with quinoa
- Quinoa barley salad with dates vegan
- vegan mediterranean chickpea salad
- Moroccan carrot and chickpea stew
Here is the recipe for your new favorite salad! This quinoa and kale salad is made with a delicious base of kale, quinoa, chickpeas, squash, broccoli, bell peppers and red onions, sprinkled with toasted almonds and feta/feto and marinated in a light lemon dressing.
Quinoa Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing
Ingredients
for the salad:
- 180 G white quinoa* or others
- 150 G Kale
- ¼ Hokkaido pumpkin or carrots
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
- 200 G Chickpeas* in a can
- ½ broccoli
- 1 Red onion
- 1 Red pepper
- 4 tbsp. sliced almonds*
Lemon Dressing:
- juice of 2 lemons or limes
- 3 tbsp. avocado oil* or olive oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 clove of garlic
- ¼ tsp Sea-salt*
- ¼ tsp Black pepper*
- 2 tbsp. agave syrup* honey or sugar
- 1 small bunch of dill or parsley
Options:
- feta cheese
- if vegan
- feto*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Wash the pumpkin, cut in half, scrape out the seeds with a spoon and cut into small cubes (about 0.5 cm). If you use carrots, just peel and dice them.
- Mix the pumpkin (or carrots) with the oil and spread on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven for about 15 to 25 minutes (or until tender but still has some bite). Take out and let cool.
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly and drain well in a colander.
- Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat to lightly toast the quinoa. Allow excess water to evaporate and stir often.
- When the quinoa is lightly toasted, add double the amount of water and bring to a boil. Once cooked, reduce the heat to low and simmer, with the lid slightly ajar, until the quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed, 13-15 minutes.
- Once the quinoa is done cooking, fluff it up with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Place in a medium bowl to cool.
- While the quinoa is cooking: Wash the kale, bell peppers, and broccoli. Drain well.
- Chop the kale or cut into fine strips (remove thick stalks and veins). Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with salt to gently massage for a tender kale.
- Halve the peppers, deseed, remove the white membrane and cut into small cubes.
- Break the broccoli into small florets. You can (optionally) chop the stalk (the soft, fresh part of it) finely or cut it into small cubes and roast it in the oven together with the pumpkin.
- Peel and finely dice the red onion.
- Drain the chickpeas in a colander, rinse and drain well.
- Mix together all the veggies like kale, squash, chickpeas, bell peppers, broccoli, and red onions and mix into the cooled quinoa.
lemon dressing:
- For the lemon dressing, whisk all the ingredients together or pour into a screw-top jar and mix.
- If you find the dressing too sour, add a little more sweetness or extra oil.
Arranging and serving:
- Rinse the dill, shake dry and finely chop.
- Pour the dressing and dill over the salad and mix well.
- You can enjoy the salad immediately with or without crumbled feta or…
- … cool before serving to allow the dressing to soak into the salad and enhance the flavor. How love it like that!