Kale and Quinoa Salad
Kale & quinoa salad is hearty, veggie-packed, and bursting with nourishing ingredients! Drizzled with a white wine vinaigrette, it's full of fresh flavor and texture. Gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Total Time10 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 245kcal
- ¾ cup quinoa uncooked; note 1
- 4 cups kale leaves packed; note 2
- 2 bell peppers diced
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- 1 pint tomatoes halved
- ¾ cup feta cheese crumbled
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons maple syrup note 3
- 2 teaspoon lemon
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dijon
Cook quinoa - Cook quinoa according to package directions. Allow the quinoa to fully cool before assembling the salad.
Prepare Kale - While the quinoa is cooking, shred, wash, and dry the kale. Remove if from the stem and tear into bite-sized pieces. Soak in cold water, then drain. Dry well using a salad spinner. Take clean, washed kale, and massage in your hands for 2-3 minutes, until kale becomes soft and bright green (note 4).
Vinaigrette - Shake vinaigrette ingredients together, including olive oil, white wine, maple syrup, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and dijon.
Combine - Assemble the salad ingredients including quinoa, kale, chopped bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and feta cheese. Drizzle with the dressing, toss, and enjoy!
- cook your quinoa on the stove top, in a rice cooker, or in an Instant Pot. White quinoa is pictured; swap for red or tricolor if you'd prefer!
- you can use curly, lacinato or baby kale in this recipe
- swap for brown sugar, honey or your favorite sweetener
- massaging kale helps to soften the texture and remove bitterness from the leaves
- serving size is a very rough estimate. Nutritional info is for ⅙ of the batch
To Prep Ahead:
This kale & quinoa salad is best served fresh, however, you can prep some of the components 4-5 days ahead.
- Cook quinoa, let cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge
- Shred, wash, dry kale. Store in a container lined with a paper towel in the fridge for up to 7 -10 days
- Shake up the salad dressing and store seperately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
- Chop up the veggies incuding cucumber, bell peppers, red onion. Cherry tomatoes should be chopped when ready to serve, as they tend to go soggy. Store chopped veggies for 4-5 days.
- To serve, combine the kale, quinoa, veggies, and top with feta and white wine vinagrette
Store - once the salad is assembled, it should be eaten up within 6-8 hours. After 24 hours, we find it tends to go a little soggy and isn't quite as fresh!
Serving: 1.5cups (note 5) | Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 345mg | Potassium: 583mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 6444IU | Vitamin C: 105mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 2mg