Chickpea Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing: Healthy Never Tasted so Good

A nourishing and refreshing chickpea kale salad with a creamy tahini dressing. Naturally vegan and gluten-free.

❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe

• This kale salad recipe has a beautiful medley of textures and flavors.
• The homemade creamy lemon tahini dressing used in this salad is super rich and creamy, yet packed with healthy ingredients.
• You can make this kale tahini salad to enjoy right away or store it and enjoy later. It makes a great meal prep salad!
• This is a filling salad that is suitable as both a main course and a side salad.
• Dark leafy kale is one of the most nutritious foods and makes for one healthy salad.
• This kale salad is naturally vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free and soy-free.

🥬 Ingredients and Substitutes

Kale: I like to use regular curly kale in this recipe, but lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale) works very well, too. You can use any type of kale you prefer, but keep in mind different types of kale take different amounts of time to massage sufficiently until tender.

Olive oil: Extra virgin olive works well in this kale salad recipe. If you do not have olive oil, avocado oil makes a great alternative.

Tahini: A nice creamy tahini without any other additives other than sesame seeds works best for the tahini dressing in this recipe.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice pairs well with tahini and adds the needed acid for flavor balance in this salad. If you do not have lemon juice, use apple cider vinegar instead.

Mustard: A good stone ground brown mustard or Dijon mustard adds a nice dose of flavor to this salad. If on a gluten-free diet, check out this list of gluten free mustard brands.

Salt: Salt is used to massage the kale, and is added to both the chickpeas and dressing to ensure maximum flavor. I like to use sea salt or pink Himalayan salt.

Red chili flakes: Red pepper flakes add a subtle heat and a nice touch of flavor, but if you are sensitive to spice, feel free to omit it.

Chickpeas: Roasted chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, add a crunchy element, not much unlike croutons, to this kale chickpea salad recipe.

Maple syrup: A little bit of maple syrup adds a nice flavor balance to this roasted chickpea kale salad. You can swap it out for any other sweetener your prefer. Honey, coconut sugar and agave syrup make nice alternatives.

Bell pepper: A simple bell pepper adds a nice refreshing crunch. If you are not a fan of bell pepper, simply replace it with another crisp vegetable like cucumber or broccoli.

Carrot: Shredded carrots add a slight sweet taste, plus additional color, flavor and nutrition.

Onion: Red onion, white onion, yellow onion — it all works!

Garlic: Grated or minced garlic adds a nice pop of garlic to the dressing that works very well with both the kale and the chickpeas. If you do not have fresh garlic, use 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder instead.

🥣 How to Make Kale Chickpea Salad

1. You will start by roasting the chickpeas on a baking sheet in the oven until they are golden and crispy.
2. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, massage the raw kale leaves with oil and salt until tender.
3. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the chopped kale and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the tahini salad dressing ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
5. Add the crunchy chickpeas and the dressing to the salad.
6. Toss this tasty salad to combine, serve and enjoy.

💭 Top Tips

• You can massage the kale as little or as long as you would like to achieve the texture you prefer. Different types of kale take longer than others to tenderize, so you will need to adjust the massage time based on the kind of kale you are using.
• You can make this even more filling and nutritious by adding other ingredients like roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes, brown rice, pumpkin seeds or pomegranate seeds.
• If you are not vegan, a handful of shredded vegetarian parmesan cheese works well in this salad.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make kale less bitter for salad?

The longer you massage kale, the less bitter it becomes.

How early can you dress kale?

Kale can handle being dressed for a good stretch of time before becoming soggy, compared to most leafy greens. In fact, dressing at least 1 hour prior to serving, ensures more tender leaves.

How long is kale salad good in the fridge?

Kale salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

🥗 More Delicious Salad Recipes

Beetroot Feta Salad

Halloumi Salad

Mango Salad

Southwestern Salad

Korean Cucumber Salad

📖 Recipe

Chickpea Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing

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Previously Published on moonandspoonandyum

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Photo credit: Kristen Wood