Crispy Chickpea and Lemon Tahini Kale Salad
I consider myself to be a meal prep expert at this point and one of my favorite things to meal prep is a kale salad! The kale always holds up really well in the refrigerator (honestly, it gets better as it sits!) and serves as an easy way for me to get more veggies into my day. This crispy chickpea and lemony tahini kale salad will have you going back for more because the dressing is so delicious and between that and the chickpeas, you’re also going to get a lot of plant-based protein!
Crispy Chickpea and Lemon Tahini Kale Salad
4
servings15
minutes30
minutesI consider myself to be a meal prep expert at this point and one of my favorite things to meal prep is a kale salad! The kale always holds up really well in the refrigerator (honestly, it gets better as it sits!) and serves as an easy way for me to get more veggies into my day. This crispy chickpea and lemony tahini kale salad will have you going back for more because the dressing is so delicious and between that and the chickpeas, you’re also going to get a lot of plant-based protein!
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Ingredients
1 cup dry quinoa
12 ounces shredded kale
- For the Crispy Chickpeas
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- For the Tahini Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (or reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce)
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
warm water, for thinning as needed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the chickpeas: add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the sheet pan and pat try with paper towels. Toss to coat in the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast. Bake until crisp on the outsides, about 20 minutes.
- While the chickpeas bake, make the tahini dressing: whisk all ingredients aside from the water in a small bowl. Add in the water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin out as needed.
- Add the kale to a large mixing bowl. Pour in the dressing and use clean hands or tongs to massage the dressing into the kale. Set aside.
- When the quinoa and chickpeas are done cooking, add to the salad bowl and mix to evenly combine. Top with additional nutritional yeast if desired.
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Just made this, tastes delicious. So you know the macros for the individual servings please?
Made this salad for my daughter’s lunch with the addition of grilled chicken, and she has been eating it all week with rave reviews. The tahini dressing is particularly delicious!
The instructions for the tahini sauce is a little confusing? I went to the other recipe this week and followed those instructions on making it. But I don’t think that was right of me because I never used the apple cider vinegar. Idk still turned out good tho.
I love these chickpeas! I’ve been putting them in every salad I have, including this one, and a also just snacking on them throughout the day. Just made my fourth batch this afternoon!
What a delicious and filling salad! The words that come to mind for me are: Bright, flavorful, cheesy, savory. I saw that it made four servings and made it as written but it makes about 10 cups! Cooking for one, this was more than I’d bargained for.
I found that the sauce consistency was perfect for a salad dressing but was suspected that for a kale salad with quinoa (absorbent) it needed more water. I followed my hunch and added the water – and I was glad I did! I could’ve added 1-2 tbsp more water and been ok. (YMMV) Also, the way the beans were flavored was delightful! I’ll definitely be using that combination again.
If it helps, I did let the beans cool before throwing them into the sauce/kale. I let the quinoa cool
but it was still quite warm when I added it – no regrets! Very yummy, cheesy and it softened the kale just enough. I’m looking forward to eating this all week. Now I’m confused about whether to eat this warm or cold. Will let you know how it holds up over the next few days.
Checking back in! After the 2nd day, I found that I needed to add a bit of water to the salad. The quinoa absorbed a lot of the moisture that was there after it was made initially. I eyeballed the water, stirred the contents, came back in 2-5 minutes and it was ready to eat.
The flavor was great and all the ingredients kept well the entire time. I made this on Sunday and finished it on Wednesday.
This dish, made exactly as written, is perfect for potlucks/gatherings! However, as I said before, when cooking for one or two, cut the recipe in half.
I had a bag of kale in fridge that needed to be used. You recently appeared on my feed with this recipe – I was hooked. This came out amazing. The nutritional yeast made it “cheesy” – delish! I added pickled red onions on top and that really put it over the top! Thank you and I look forward to trying more of your recipes/meal preps.
Hi – question – what if i don’t have quinoa? Is it crucial? Any substitutions? Thanks – looks delish!