This delicious kale salad with a creamy tahini dressing is a healthy and satisfying meal that’s perfect for any time of day. Packed with flavor, it’s also a great source of plant-based protein and nutrients from the kale, quinoa, and chickpeas. It’s a perfect choice for a light lunch or a side dish for a summer BBQ.
Check out this Vegan Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables and this Southwest Quinoa Black Bean Salad if you’re looking for more summertime salad recipes next.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Gluten-free, vegan and full of fiber and nutrients.
- The delicious tahini dressing makes the hearty greens taste amazing.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Is great for an easy lunch or as a side salad, or as a main meal.
- Makes a great meal prep option
- Perfect blend of flavors and textures
🥬 Ingredients & substitutions
- Quinoa: Cook according to package instructions, using vegetable broth for added flavor. You can also use couscous, brown rice or farro.
- Raw kale: De-stemmed and massaged with olive oil for a tender texture. You can use curly kale or lacinato kale. Use either curly kale, lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale), or Tuscan kale for this recipe.
- Red onion: Adds a punch of flavor and color to the salad. Use sweet yellow onion for a more mild flavor.
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans): A great source of plant-based protein. You can also use white beans or lentils.
- Cherry tomatoes: Adds sweetness and acidity to the salad. Sun-dried tomatoes also works great.
- Sliced almonds: Adds a crunch and nutty flavor. Use whatever nut or seed is your favorite. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or toasted pine nuts also go well.
- Roasted red peppers: Adds a little sweetness and bright color
- Tahini dressing ingredients: Made with tahini, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic (or garlic powder), maple syrup, water, and olive oil for a salty sweet creamy dressing. Use lemon juice if you don’t have vinegar.
🥙 Variations
- Add in any other leafy greens as you’d like, such as baby spinach or arugula
- For even more protein, top with some crispy tofu.
- If you want to add some crunch, roast them and add some crispy chickpeas to the salad.
- Add roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower or butternut squash for a heartier salad
- Top with crumbled vegan feta cheese for added flavor and creaminess
- Red cabbage tastes great in this as well and adds brightness and even more crunch.
👩🍳 Tips for Success
Be sure to massage the kale with olive oil to soften its texture and make it more palatable.
Use vegetable broth to cook the quinoa for added flavor, since quinoa can be quite bland. Read my article about how to cook quinoa if you want more tips.
Adjust the ingredients in the dressing to your liking, adding more maple syrup for sweetness or soy sauce for saltiness.
🔪 Directions
Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and instructions!
Step one: Rinse and then remove the tough stems from the kale leaves, then chop it up. Add the chopped kale to a large bowl and massage with olive oil for five minutes. Make sure you have clean hands.
Step two: Chop all the vegetables and add to the salad bowl with the massaged kale.
Step three: Make the creamy tahini dressing by combining all ingredients in a mason jar and shaking well
Step four: Drizzle as much dressing over the salad as desired over the salad and mix well
🍴 Recommended Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer for rinsing quinoa
- Large mixing bowl for combining ingredients
- Mason jar for making the dressing
❄️ Storing
This tahini kale salad can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. This tastes even better the next day after the kale has been marinating in the salad dressing.
🥣 What to serve with kale salad
Serve with a side of crusty bread. Sandwiches also go well with this salad. Try out this smashed chickpea sandwich, or this vegan chicken salad sandwich. This tofu wrap would also go very well.
Soup is also a great accompaniment. Try out this lentil veggie soup, vegan broccoli cheese soup, or this black bean soup.
❓ FAQ’s
es, you can substitute with brown rice, farro, or another grain of your choice.
Yes, you can substitute with almond butter, but it it will taste a bit different.
More salad recipes
If you loved this recipe, leave a 5 ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Vegan tahini kale salad with chickpeas and quinoa
Ingredients
Salad
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- 2 heads of kale
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ red onion (thinly sliced)
- 15 ounces chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes (sliced)
- ¼ cup sliced almonds (or nut of choice)
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers (jarred)
Tahini Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini (the runnier the better)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons water (more if needed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
Instructions
Cook the quinoa
- Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and cook it up according to the package. Cook it in vegetable broth to make it more flavorful.
Prepare the kale
- Rinse and de-stem the kale. Chop up the kale and add it to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over olive oil. Gently massage the kale with your hands for five minutes.2 heads of kale, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Chop up and prepare all of the vegetables and add it to the bowl with the massaged kale. Mix everything together.¼ red onion, 15 ounces chickpeas, ½ cup cherry tomatoes, ¾ cup cooked quinoa, ¼ cup sliced almonds, ¼ cup roasted red peppers
Make the dressing
- Add all of the ingredients for the tahini dressing into a mason jar. Add a lid and shake until it's well mixed. If it's too thick, add a little more water. Taste and adjust the ingredients to your liking. If you'd like more sweetness, add more maple syrup, more saltiness, add soy sauce, etc.¼ cup tahini, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 clove garlic
- Drizzle over as much of the dressing as you'd like. Mix it well into the salad.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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