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.

*Cook time noted on this recipe does not include the time to cook salmon if you have selected this optional topping.

*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