This Kale Quinoa Salad with apples, chickpeas and currants will brighten any winter’s day. Hearty and delicious, it is packable, vegan and can be made ahead! Perfect for potlucks, gatherings and midweek lunches.
Be with those who help your being.~ Rumi
I’m so excited to share one of Tonia‘s recipes today. Some of you know Tonia from the former restaurant we had together, called Mizuna. She currently lives on San Juan Island and will start sharing her recipes here on the blog! Her Winter Happiness Salad is made with Lacinato Kale, quinoa, chickpeas, apples and currants and really does bring a smile to your face when making it. At least it did for me.
It’s hearty, full of protein, vegan, and has great flavor. A delicious salad to make ahead, and use for mid-week lunches!
KALE Quinoa Salad ingredients
- Quinoa
- Lacinato Kale
- Chickpeas
- Flat-leaf Italian parsley
- Apple
- Scallions, chopped
- Dried currants, craisins or raisins
- Lemon zest ( about 1 medium lemon)
- Spices: fennel seeds, coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Vinaigrette:
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
- Maple or honey
- Miso paste (adds depth, richness & probiotics!) white, red or brown
- Salt, pepper, smoked paprika
- Extra virgin olive oil
How to Make Kale Quinoa Salad
- Cook the quinoa!
- Once the quinoa is cooked, it’s just a matter of a little happy chopping, then combining the ingredients together.
Dried currents give the salad a little natural sweetness and added texture.
Toasted fennel seeds and coriander seeds add a delicious flavor. Plus, both are amazing for supporting the digestive system.
3. Massage the kale with a little olive oil and salt beforehand, tenderizing it and making it much more pleasant to eat raw. Make sure to remove any tough veins.
4. Place the tenderized kale along with the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle with the flavorful vinaigrette.
5. Then gently combine. Feel the happiness start to bubble inside you.
Storage and Serving suggestions
What I love about this hearty vegan salad is that it can be made ahead, and holds up well for 4 days in the fridge – making it ideal for Sunday meal prep and midweek lunches. It’s also a great salad to make ahead for potlucks or gatherings! 
On the homefront: Today is Tonia‘s birthday, and perhaps it was because I am reminiscing about our sweet lifelong friendship – I can’t help but tell you an interesting story about us. Tonia and I were born in the same hospital, 10 days apart. We lived in the same housing complex while we were babies. Our moms worked in the same hospital. We grew up in the same town, just a couple of miles apart, but strangely, we had never met!
It wasn’t until we both went away to boarding school hundreds of miles away from home, in northern California that our paths finally crossed. Looking back, I know it was providence.
There are souls that you meet on this journey of life that feel destined. Our friendship has grown, deepened and endured the natural ebbs and flows that come with being in a relationship, living, and residing in different places.
Though we both experienced so many changes, her love and friendship have felt constant, grounding, and supportive. We can go months without speaking, yet I still feel her loving energy, like the sweetest scent in the air.
Today is Tonia‘s birthday and I’m feeling especially thankful for her and all the wisdom, groundedness, and inspiration she has given me for most of my life. AND – I’m so excited to share more of her beautiful energy and presence with you here too, through her recipes!
Enjoy the Winter Happiness Salad!
More favorite Quinoa Salads!
- Lemony Quinoa Chickpea Salad
- Southwest Black Bean Quinoa Salad
- Carrot Quinoa Salad
- Moroccan Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Asparagus Salad (aka Spring Tabouli)
Kale Quinoa Salad (aka Winter Happiness Salad)
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
- Category: salad, vegan,
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
This Kale Quinoa Salad with chickpeas and apples is like happiness in a bowl. A vegan salad, packed full of protein, nutrients and flavor.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked Quinoa ( 1 1/4 cup dry)
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 bunch Lacinato Kale, de-stemmed, cut into one inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 bunch flat leaf Italian parsley, rinse and finely chop
- 1 large apple, chopped into small bite sized pieces.
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas, (15 ounce can, drained and rinsed, if using canned)
- 1/3 cup dried currants
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest ( about 1 medium lemon)
***Fennel and Coriander are both amazing for supporting the digestive system.
Vinaigrette:
- 1/8 cup lemon juice
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey (sub maple syrup for vegan)
- 1 teaspoon miso paste (adds depth, richness & probiotics!) white, red or brown
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Get quinoa cooking and cool to room temperate. (Quinoa can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use.)
Make the vinaigrette: whisk all ingredients together, except the oil, in a small bowl, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking.
Toast fennel and coriander seeds in a cast iron skillet (or any pan will do) and give them a few stirs until they just start to give off their lovely fragrance, about 30 seconds. Grind with mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
Rinse and pat dry kale leaves and remove ribs and stems. Place in a large bowl and add the 2 teaspoons olive oil and a pinch salt. Rub the salt and oil in the leaves with your hands to tenderize the kale.
Add the cooled quinoa, parsley, apple, scallions, chickpeas, currants, lemon zest and ground spices to the bowl with the kale and toss gently with the vinaigrette.
Taste and adjust salt and vinegar, adding more to taste.
Options for a heartier salad: top with feta and/or toasted walnuts when serving.
Makes about 6 1/2 cups
Notes
Serves 4-6 for a hearty lunch. Or 8-10 as a side dish. Makes delicious leftovers. Fantastic to make ahead and refrigerate, giving flavors a chance to fully develop.
If making ahead, taste right before serving and add more vinegar/ and or salt if necessary.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 228
- Sugar: 9.6 g
- Sodium: 429.7 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.8 g
- Fiber: 5.8 g
- Protein: 6.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This was delicious, healthy and so easy to make. I’ll be making it over the holidays for my family. Thank you!
So glad to hear this Jenn! One of my favorites.
Eating it now. Absolutely delightful. It’s a keeper and so great to have a healthy lunch that can be made only once for the week. Thank you!!!!
Great to hear Demi!
My all time favorite winter salad!
Made it as stated the first time.
The second time, I used farro instead of quinoa, (just because that’s all
I had) added chopped basil, pomegranate seeds and toasted slivered almonds.
As a crunchy topping, I put a handful of farro
And chickpeas on a cookie sheet, sprayed with some olive oil spray and roasted for 10 minutes at 400 until
Crispy!
The toasted fennel
Seed and coriander sprinkled while tossing really puts this recipe over the top!
Thank you for this
Glorious creation. Having it again tonight!
Love all the embellishments and swaps! Sounds great and so glad you are enjoying!
I am in a relationship with this salad! Ahhh-mazing flavor!
Haha Julie, love that. So “happy” you are enjoying! 🙂
Love this salad! Added the feta for extra protein. It’s filling and keeps well. A winner in our house!
Wonderful to hear Karla!
Love this salad!
Yay, me too!
Made this colorful salad for friendsgiving and loved it. The miso, fennel, etc, are very subtle. The kale doesn’t wilt and leftovers are delicious in a wrap.
Awesome Crystal, this is one of my favorites.
Just discovered this salad, and am in love. I didn’t have the currents or miso, so substituted the currents with raisins, and the miso for tiny bit of chaga mushroom powder. Even with the changes, it was amazing, and I can’t wait to make it again. I don’t usually do well with raw kale, but this is so easy to eat. Thank you for the wonderful recipes!
What a great idea with the chaga powder! So happy 🙂 you enjoyed this!
I’ve made this a few times now and shared it at a potluck where I was asked for the recipe. Once I had to leave out the fennel, miso, and raisins because I was out of them but it was still delicious. Having it for lunch during the week I’ve also added ingredients to it on that day depending on what I have on hand – mostly sprouts but also hummus, shredded carrots and nuts.
Nice Mary! Glad this is working for you.
This is so good!!! I made this to take to my families Christmas dinner to help bring balance to all the heavy dishes and literally everyone raved about how good it was. This was a lot of work for a salad, in my opinion lol, however I would 100% make it again, worth it for sure. I doubled the recipe, but only used one bunch of parsley, as they were quite large and I also toasted the chickpeas to have on top for a crunch. Absolutely delicious dish!
Awesome Holly. Love the crunchy chickpeas!
Delicious. Amazing flavor. Spice blend perfect as was the vinaigrette. Thank you. Will make again!
Excellent Lynn. Thanks so much!
I made this for lunch today – it was delicious! I loved all the nuanced flavours coming through from the spices and the dressing. I didn’t have currants though, so added dried cranberries instead, which seemed to work well. I will definitely make this again!
So happy to hear this Tania!
This was sooooo delicious. Forgot the chick peas. Added feta. Dreamy!
Thanks Catherine 🙂
Can i sub swiss chard for kale? My tummy has a problem with kale.
That’s a great idea Robin. Let us know how it turns out.
I absolutely love a lot of the recipes you share. I’m excited to try this one. It looks and sounds delicious.
One of our favorites Sara! Hope you like it, let us know what you think.
Such a delicious salad! It’s in my regular rotation. I usually swap the chickpeas for lentils and toss in some feta cheese.
Perfect Claire!
So delicious! I loved every component and it came together just as predicted. Can’t wait for seconds tomorrow. Winter happiness indeed!
Thanks Wendy, so glad you enjoyed this!