Quinoa Kale Salad

A healthy, superfood quinoa kale salad with a creamy lemon dressing. Naturally plant-based, with 19 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber per serving.

Kale is one of my favorite salad greens. It’s hearty, packed with so much nutrition and pairs well with hearty ingredients like quinoa, canned beans and a tangy lemon dressing. This salad was born out of the idea that I wanted a filling, meal-style salad using beans.

This kale and quinoa salad works just as well as a lunch or dinner as it does a side. The lemon dressing on it’s own is fantastic, and another testament to how amazing pureed cashews are. They turn a simple dressing into this creamy, delicious dressing!

Ingredient Notes

• Quinoa: I like using red quinoa as I think it looks nicer along the green kale, but white or tricolor quinoa will work. You’ll need 2/3 cup to get 2 cups quinoa. Make extra quinoa to make my crispy quinoa salad!
• White Beans: Cannellini beans, navy beans or Great Northern beans will all work here. The beans add in more nutrition, like iron, zinc, protein and fiber, and adds a nice creamy texture.
• Cashews: If you haven’t pureed cashews before into dressing or a sauce, this is a great start recipe. You’ll want a high-powered blender or mini blender to make sure that the cashews are creamy without any gritty aftertaste.
• Kale: Curly, lacinato kale or dinosaur kale works here. For a more tender kale salad, I like to add a little dressing to the kale and the massage with my hands. This helps break down the cell wall of the kale and makes for a better salad.
• Hemp seeds: I love adding hemp seeds to my salads! They add such a nice texture to the kale salad and almost melt into the quinoa and dressing. Plus, hemp seeds are such a great source of nutrition, they contain fiber, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and zinc.
• Craisins: Craisins add a nice subtle sweetness to this quinoa kale salad. Raisins or even fresh berries work! I am using store-bought cranberries but if you want an extra-special salads, then make them yourself.

How to make this Quinoa Kale Salad (step by step)

Step 1: Make the Kale

Remove the stems from the kale and finely chop into small pieces. I like to stack the leaves, then roll them and finally chop into small pieces. If you don’t think that you like kale, then I beg you to try it in this quinoa kale salad.

It’s so much more enjoyable in smaller pieces as there is less to chew. And, as chewing releases bitter compounds, then the less you have to chew kale, the less bitter it is.

Step 2: Massage the Kale

Add a few tablespoons of the dressing and massage into the kale. This step also tenderizes the kale and makes for a more enjoyable salad. I also like to add the hemp seeds here to massage them into the dressing.

I like to use my hands to massage the dressing into the kale as I think it’s easier than using tongs, but tongs work too!

Step 3: Assemble the Quinoa Kale Salad

Add the rest of the ingredients along with the rest of the dressing. Toss, seasoning to taste, adding more salt, lemon juice, pepper, ect for taste preference. Serve immediately.

Chef Tips for Success

• Prep the kale: Finely chopping the kale is important for texture and palatability. Remove the tough center ribs before chopping, as they can be chewy and bitter. The massaging step helps to break down the structure of the kale leaves, making it more tender and flavorful.
• Cooking the quinoa: You’ll need about 2/3 cup dry quinoa to yield 2 cups cooked. Let it cool to room temperature before adding it to the salad so it doesn’t wilt the kale.
• Soak cashews: Soak your raw cashews in water for 2–4 hours or in hot water for 30 minutes before blending. This ensures the dressing blends into a truly creamy, smooth consistency rather than a grainy one. Use a high-powered blender or food processor for best results.
• Toasting the almonds: If your almonds aren’t already toasted, spread them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant. Watch them closely as they go from toasted to burnt quickly.
• Dressing: The recipe makes enough dressing to dress the salad with some left over for adjusting to taste.

Variations and Substitutions

As with most salad recipes, this quinoa kale salad is very customizable to what you have on hand.

If hemp seeds are hard to find, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds work well as substitutes. Craisins can be swapped for raisins, dried cherries, or chopped dried apricots for a similar sweet-tart balance.

Chickpeas are are great swap for white beans, though I do prefer the creamy white beans as I think they add a nice texture with the kale.

If you want to add dairy, a little feta cheese is also great.

Make Ahead Tips

This salad holds up very well in the fridge because massaged kale doesn’t wilt the way delicate greens do. If you want to make it ahead of time, cook the quinoa, make the dressing and prep the rest of the ingredients.

Right before serving, toss everything together.

More Salad Recipes

• Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
• Vegetarian Cobb Salad
• Kale and Mango Salad
• Spicy Kale Salad with Avocado Ranch
• Fennel Citrus Salad
• Persimmon Salad

If you make this quinoa kale salad, make sure to come back to leave a comment and a rating. I love seeing you make my recipes and your feedback helps other readers.