This Crispy Quinoa and Kale Salad is beautiful and crunchy, delicious and nutritious….and ready in just 30-minutes. Oh, you’ll never go back to boring salads again! I love the creamy vegan dressing made with tofu and mustard for tangy perfection, plus roasted veggies along with some greens for variety and satiety. What all good vegan salad dreams are made of!
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This Crispy Quinoa Salad is totally my jam….it’s loaded with texture and taste, it’s so easy to make and the tofu dressing is to die for. Oh, and it can be ready in just 30 minutes. No boring salads for me…and not for you either. I’ve got all the tips and tricks for more interesting and satisfying vegan salads as meals for you, along with meal prep suggestions to make this easy to get onto the table.
This crunchy quinoa kale salad with roasted vegetables can be eaten as a Main Dish Vegan Salad. It has a balanced nutritional profile. Protein? Check. Fiber? You betcha! Healthy Fats? Uh-huh. Carbohydrates? Yup….the complex, nutrient dense type we are all looking to get more of. Load up your plate….there will be nutritional goodness in every bite, right along with good taste!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Quinoa: The crispy quinoa is the star of the show! It’s so easy to make and is a satisfying and crunchy addition to this delicious vegan salad. Substitute with millet or rice for another gluten-free grain.
- Kale: Any leafy green would work in this recipe. I like to use curly green or purple kale or lacinato kale because they hold up well…leftovers of this salad are awesome.
- Parsley: Fresh herbs rule in the taste department. Substitute fresh parsley with cilantro, oregano, chives or mint.
- Asparagus: When asparagus are in season from February through June, there’s nothing quite so delish! Otherwise, use green beans, broccoli, or zucchini. Fresh and local is always the best option.
- Brussels sprouts: Sub with broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage.
- Pistachios: I love the crunch these nuts add…go ahead and substitute with almonds, walnuts, pecans or use seeds like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds.
Diversity rules!
I eat salad multiple times a day, and NO, I’m not sick of salad. Why? I never have the same salad twice. There are so many options to include in your salad, which not only keep things interesting in the taste department, but nutritionally, diversity is key to optimum good health. Increasing the diversity of bacteria in our guts keeps the microbiome healthy too.
How to make Crispy Quinoa
- You will need to cook the quinoa before putting it in the oven to crisp up. If you have leftover quinoa in the fridge, use it. BUT, if you’re going to boil some quinoa specifically for this recipe, then cut back on the amount of water you use to make the quinoa. Use 1/12 cups water for 1 cup quinoa, rather than the usual 2 cups water. See recipe card for further instructions or my oven baked crispy quinoa recipe.
- It’s easy to roast a tray of vegetables to add to salad and make crispy quinoa at the same time! Preheat the oven to 425 and set out 2 large rimmed baking sheets.
On one tray place Brussel sprouts, trimmed, washed and cut into halves or quarters on one end. Spread the quinoa onto the other side. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
On the other tray, put the asparagus pieces on one side and the pistachios on the other side. Drizzle olive oil onto the asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast the nuts and asparagus for 8 minutes. The pistachios will get crunchy as they sit out.
Leave the sprouts and quinoa in the oven for another 4 minutes for a total of 12 minutes. You want crisped up quinoa and tender, crisp Brussels.
Make the dressing
While the veggies are roasting, you can make the creamy, dairy-free dressing. Use an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to combine firm tofu, water, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, celery seed and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth and creamy.
Build the Salad
Wash kale and roughly chop. Lay down a bed of the greens on a large platter.
Scatter the veggies, crisp quinoa and pistachios evenly over the greens.
Pour a bit of dressing over the composed salad. Save the rest to pass around for those who like more dressing.
What can you add to your salad to make it interesting?
- GRAINS: Choose different grains each time. Maybe roast them as above to make them crispy and add to the texture of the salad. See cooking instructions below for how I used less water to begin with to help the quinoa have a crunch to add to this salad. Choose gluten-free grains if you need to.
- NUTS/SEEDS: Not only will they add texture and crunch, but nuts and seeds also offer plant-based protein.
- LEAFY GREENS: They’re all good. Change things up though for a slightly different nutritional profile each time. Leafy greens help keep things moving in your digestive track and variety is great for a diversity in your gut.
- VEGGIES: Raw and roasted veggies are good choices. Try something new every week. This crunchy quinoa salad has brussels sprouts and asparagus. You could also make it with roasted cauliflower or broccoli. Radishes are delicious roasted and raw. Choose vegetables that are IN SEASON now.
- DRESSING: Change things up! The creamy dressing used here is dairy-free, oil-free and DELICIOUS. Super easy to make, too. BUT…you could easily use a different dressing with this salad and it would taste like something totally new and different. I love a vegan caesar dressing on this salad and when I’m in a hurry I use my everyday salad dressing recipe. So easy!
What else can I do with my roasted veggies/grains?
A large bowl of prepped greens + roasted grains/veggies is like gold in your fridge. The perfect building block to build a better salad. An awesome dish to bring along to a pot-luck. A get out of your salad rut solution.
- Heat up some veggie stock and throw in veggies and grains for a delicious soup. Ready in 5 minutes.
- Gently heat a heavy skillet and add already roasted veggies or grains, drizzle on some toasted sesame oil, low sodium tamari, and rice vinegar for a delicious stir fry. If you don’t have grains , add in some cauli-rice for a “fried rice” side dish.
- Use them as a basis for a tofu scramble or crustless frittata.
- YOU do YOU….build a better salad by using other greens and dressing that YOU like best.
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📖 Recipe
Crunchy Quinoa Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 lb. brussels sprouts
- 1 lb. asparagus
- ¾ cup raw pistachios
- 1 bunch lacinato kale 2 cups chopped
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- S+P
Dressing
- 1 cup organic firm tofu*
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- COOK THE QUINOA: Generally, I would use a ratio of 2 cups liquid to 1 cup quinoa, but in the this case, because the goal isI to have some CRUNCHY quinoa to add to the salad, I'm recommending to cook the cup of quinoa in 1 ½ cups water. Rinse the quinoa well. Drain. Bring 1 ½ cups water to boil in a small sauce pan. Stir in the quinoa and cover. Reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. It is OK for quinoa to be a bit al dente. Turn off the heat, fluff with a fork and leave it until ready to proceed.
- Preheat oven to 425 and set out 2 large rimmed baking sheets.
- PREPARE VEGGIES: Wash and trim Brussels sprouts and then cut iInto halves. If you have any large Brussels sprouts, cut them iInto ⅓s. Wash and trim asparagus, then cut into 1 ½" pieces.
- On one baking tray, place brussels sprouts on one end, quinoa on the other. Drizzle everything with olive oil and then sprinkle with S+P. The second baking tray, place asparagus on one end and pistachios on the other. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus and then sprinkle with S+P.
- Roast the brussels sprouts + quinoa tray for 12 minutes, until sprout leaves are crispy and quinoa iIs crunchy. Roast the second tray for 8 minutes. Pistachios will initially seem a bit chewy, but as they sit out they will turn crunchy.
- While the veggies are roasting, MAKE THE DRESSING*: Place all ingredients in a tall container. Use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. Alternately, use a food processor or blender.
- Wash and stack kale leaves, removing woody stems. Slice into thin (approximately ¼") strips. Place in a large bowl or on a platter. Sprinkle parsley on top of kale. Scoop veggies onto greens while still warm. Mix well, so the kale will slightly wilt the kale. Scatter crunchy quinoa on top of salad and then drizzle on ½ cup dressing. Toss and add more dressing if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Gloria
Loving ALL the ingredients in this tasty and healthy salad. Quinoa is such a great ingredient to work with. Adds protein and a nice nutty taste.
Debra Klein
Exactly….everything adds something nutritionally and also something in the taste department. I also love everything in it and about it!
Sean@Diversivore
Awesome salad. I find there are just too many green-veggie salads that don’t pay enough attention to building flavours and working with the right textures, but you’ve done an amazing job here. Not only that, but you’ve worked in a lot of great ingredients that are often left out of the salad game. I’m normally a little on the fence about quinoa, but it really does play nicely off of roasted veggies. Cheers!
Debra Klein
Totally agree….and the crispiness makes it irresistible.
Jenni LeBaron
I love that the quinoa cooks twice in this recipe! The little bit of crispness it gets from the oven is brilliant texturally on this salad. Can’t wait to make some for lunch!
Debra Klein
YES….it’s one of my favorite salad toppings! Nice and crispy.
Dana
I absolutely love big dinner salads with crunchy textures like this! Whenever I eat them I think to myself that I could seriously live off of them. I love the veggies this recipe calls for; veggies I haven’t actually used in one of my big salads before. I’m very much looking forward to giving this a go. Beautiful!
Debra Klein
Thank you. Totally agree!
Christie Gagnon
These ingredients come together so nicely in this salad -delicious!
Debra Klein
Totally agree…the combo is so tasty.
Emily Flint
I’ve always wanted to try crunchy quinoa and now I know how! This salad was delicious and healthy.
Debra Klein
Thank you, glad it was helpful.
Amy
Love a good quinoa salad just to have on its own too! Love that you added Brussels sprouts. My fav!
Marina
I love adding nuts to salads for extra crunch
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This Crunchy Quinoa Salad looks SO deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right now!
Sue
Thank you for explaining a new way to enjoy quinoa in my salads! I never get tired of it!
Leslie
What a gorgeous salad you have created!!! I love how GREEN it is! Great textures and flavors as well!
michele h peterson
Enjoyed this salad for dinner and lunch the next day!
Jen Talley
I love this salad! I never would have thought to use tofu in dressing! Great idea!