Easy Kale Quinoa Salad
Packed with flavor and nutrition, this sautéed Easy Kale Quinoa Salad is made with a plethora of veggies, harissa, nuts, and dried fruit ~ which can be customized to your preference. It is a versatile dish that can be prepped over the weekend and enjoyed during the week.
My favorite part about this recipe is that it is jam-packed with flavor and one of those recipes that converted my daughter into a quinoa lover.
If I had to pick one meal to eat on repeat for the next 5 years, this easy kale quinoa salad would be it. Not only is it tasty, but it is so easy to make and so versatile.
I usually like to make a big batch of this on a Sunday or Monday and enjoy it for the rest of the week.
What are the ingredients to make this kale quinoa salad?
There are 6 main ingredients that are needed to make this salad, along with 7 others, for a total of 13 ingredients. Now, while 13 may sound like a lot, you probably already have most of these lying around. And, quite a few of these 13 ingredients can be exchanged out to suit your preferences. Those ingredients are:
- Cooked quinoa,
- Kale,
- Onion,
- Ginger,
- Garlic,
- Harissa,
- Celery,
- Broccoli,
- Assorted sweet peppers,
- Dried cranberries,
- Walnuts,
- Cucumber, and
- Parsley.
The first 6 ingredients on this list are the main ones. The rest can be exchanged out easily or even omitted. For example, if you don’t care for celery, leave it out. Not a fan of sweet peppers, then exchange them for some colorful bell peppers or carrots and peas. You could use your favorite dried fruit as well as your favorite nuts. As for the broccoli and cucumber, leave them out or sauté in some leeks or cabbage. Instead of parsley, feel free to use a mix of herbs or add in some cilantro instead.
I started this easy kale quinoa salad by first sautéing some onions, ginger, and garlic. Then, I added in some broccoli, celery, and some harissa. By the way, I am not being paid to say this, but, when it comes to harissa, I love New York Shuk’s Fiery Harissa. If you prefer harissa that is milder, their Rosey Harissa is fantastic as well.
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Does kale need to be cooked for this salad?
I did not cook the kale for this salad. Instead, I let it lightly steam for a bit.
After the veggies were sautéed, I turned the stove off, placed the kale on top of the sautéed veggies, and placed a lid over the pan, so the kale would sauté ever so slightly. This also helped reduce the bitterness sometimes associated with fresh kale. By the way, I used fresh curly kale in this salad, with all the hard stems removed. If you want milder-tasting kale, look for Tuscan kale at your local grocery store.
When the kale started to wilt just a bit, I removed the lid and added in walnuts, dried cranberries, sliced sweet peppers, and the cooked quinoa. A quick sprinkle of salt and pepper to marry all the flavors, followed after.
Then, it was a quick mix of all the ingredients and adding in some sliced cucumber. A quick dusting of chopped parsley and this salad was ready to dig into.
If you are looking for more quinoa recipes, check these out:
Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas,
Pineapple Quinoa And Leek Sautéed Salad,
Quinoa & Chicken Biryani,
Radish Sausage Quinoa Salad, and
Easy Citrus Za’atar Chicken and Quinoa Dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cooked quinoa or 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger
- 2 cups Kale
- 3 tbsp harissa
- 2 stalks celery
- 1/2 cup broccoli spears
- 4 sweet peppers
- 1/4 cup cranberries
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tbsp parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you do not have any cooked quinoa lying around, prepare your quinoa first. Add the quinoa to a pan with 1 cup of water and place it on a stove with the flame/heat set to high. Then bring it to a boil, lower the heat, place a lid on it, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. When the time is up. Remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid and stir the quinoa and set it aside.
- Peel and dice the onion, ginger, and garlic and add it to a pan with olive oil. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring the onion, ginger, and garlic often, so they do not burn.
- Rinse and chop the celery, roughly chop up the broccoli and add them to the pan.
- Add in the harissa and stir well, then let sauté for about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the curly kale leaves from the thick stems. Then add the kale to the top of the sautéed veggies and harissa. Place a lid over the pan and turn the stove off. Leave the lid on for about 3-5 minutes, or until the kale begins to wilt a bit. Then remove the lid.
- Slice the sweet peppers and add them, the cranberries, the walnuts, as well as the cooked quinoa to the pan.
- Then, using a large spoon, give the ingredients a good stir.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve with some sliced cucumber and chopped parsley drizzled on top.
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Wow…this is looking easy and delicious. I am always on look for quinoa recipes. Will try this soon…
Colorful, tasty, easy — perfect dinner! Thanks.
I love quinoa and this was the perfect recipe, I loved all of the flavors!
So many great flavours packed in here and this looks like the perfect weekday lunch for keeping healthy too.
Such an easy and beautiful Quinoa Salad! I absolutely love the variety of textures and colors.
Such an easy and beautiful Quinoa Salad! I absolutely love the variety of textures and colors.
I love quinoa but had never paired it with Kale before. Genius!