Kale and Quinoa Power Salad

5 from 5 votes

You know salad is good for you...now let's make one that fills you up and tastes good too! This salad recipe is full of good-for-you ingredients like kale, quinoa, tomatoes, nuts, and seeds, and is topped with crumbled goat cheese and a homemade maple tahini dressing.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Mains

Cuisine: American

Servings: Servings

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Meredith

Ingredients

1 small head curly kale washed, de-stemmed, and torn into bite-sized pieces
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 C dry quinoa I use tri-colored
⅓ C pistachios shelled and rough chopped
⅓ C pepitas I prefer roasted and salted
6 oz cherry tomatoes halved
1.5-2 oz goat cheese crumbled
Maple tahini dressing (or other dressing of choice)
Optional topping idea: pan-seared baked, or grilled salmon fillets ( 4oz fillets for each salad)

Instructions

Prepare quinoa per package directions
While quinoa is cooking, sauté kale with olive oil, salt and pepper in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover the pan in between tossing/stirring to help the kale steam. Cook until bright green and tender, ~5-8 minutes*
If making the maple tahini dressing fresh, shake all dressing ingredients in a jar to combine while the quinoa and kale cool
In a large bowl, toss quinoa, kale, pistachios, pepitas, and tomatoes to combine. Add in goat cheese & toss lightly. Top with cooked salmon fillet if choosing to add to your salad
Dress, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

*In step 2, option to use a kitchen shears to cut the kale into even smaller pieces after cooking if desired to create smaller, enjoyable, bite-sized pieces.

Variation Ideas:

Top with cooked salmon. For those who eat fish, a baked or grilled 4oz fillet on top is highly recommended (a personal favorite!).
Add elote-spiced grilled chicken and sweet corn. This is my new favorite summertime version. We use our juicy grilled chicken recipe with an elote spice blend on it and stir in cooked fresh sweet corn to the salad.
Add chickpeas. If you want to keep this vegetarian but bulk it up even more, stir in a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas (option to roast if desired).
Swap the grain. Farro or brown rice both work if you don't have quinoa on hand. Farro in particular has a chewy texture that fits this salad well.
Change up the cheese. Feta cheese is a great substitute, shaved parmesan works too.
Swap the nuts. Pistachios are my go-to here, but sliced almonds or chopped pecans both work well. Almonds keep that crisp snap while pecans bring a buttery richness that plays especially well with the maple in the dressing.
Add avocado. Sliced or cubed avocado adds creaminess and makes the salad even more filling. Add it right before serving so it stays fresh.

*Nutrition Facts do not include dressing as amount added may vary widely. Nutrition calculations also do not include optional additions of salmon or other proteins.

Nutrition