This winter kale salad is full of protein and healthy fats! With roasted butternut squash, lentils and a honey-mustard dressing it's a perfect main dish or side!
Happy Sunday! Hope you're having a nice and relaxing weekend so far!
Ours has been pretty dang chill. We took it super slow yesterday, kinda just hung around the apartment, snuggled, cleaned, cooked, drank some wine and ate lots of this winter kale salad.
It was perfect. Exactly what I needed after a semi-hectic week of travel and playing catch up on work.
One of the things I value most is quality time at home. I'm definitely an introvert at heart and NYC can sometimes get a bit overwhelming. Weekends like this – the slow weekends – those are my favorite!
If you didn't see my post from Friday, we just got back from a week-long trip to England and whenever I get home I always find myself craving greens. Like giant salads for lunch and dinner.
So that's what we did this week. We flooded our system with greens. And I'm feeling SO great!
That's what I love about greens: they give your body tons and tons of nutrients so you can feel energized, alert, mentally clear. Not to mention it helps get things moving through your digestion track too!
I wanted to change things up for us and decided to make this insanely huge, and insanely delicious, loaded winter kale salad. It lasted us two days and it was incredible!
I tried to pack in LOADS of veggies, a mixture of cooked and raw, as well as some healthy fats and protein.
For our base, we've got finely sliced kale, some shredded radicchio as well as some shredded brussels sprouts. I love the combo of leafy greens with something bitter (like radicchio). The brussels sprouts are there for texture and the fact that they're a cruciferous vegetable and amazing for digestion!
It's a base I use for a lot of salads, but I have to say it was the mix-ins that made this one so special!
I'm a firm believer that salads need to be color-FULL and tasty, so we're adding roasted butternut squash, roasted fennel and beluga lentils. And we're finishing it off with a delicious, and definitely addicting, creamy honey-mustard vinaigrette!
The contrast between the crunchy/tangy raw base and the sweet/tender toppings is heavenly. It makes the salad hearty, comforting and definitely winter-worthy! Because let's admit…sometimes eating salad in the wintertime can be a total drag.
Not this time! This salad is so full of flavor and textures! It's a perfect balance and you're going to L-O-V-E it ❤️
I can't wait to see your recreations of this Winter Kale Salad! If you end up making it, I'd love to see a picture ???? you can tag me on Instagram using @simplyquinoa or #simplyquinoa!
That just helps me easily find your photo and give you a little love in return! XO
More Kale Salads To Try:
- Kale + Shredded Brussels Sprout Quinoa Salad
- Thai Superfood Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas
- Christmas Kale Quinoa Salad
- Creamy Kale Salad with Smoky Tempeh Croutons
- Creamy Superfood Kale & Lentil Quinoa Salad
- Asian Kale Quinoa Salad
Loaded Winter Kale Salad with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 fennel bulb quartered
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2/3 cup dried beluga lentils
- 1 2/3 cups vegetable broth
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 head lacinato/dinosaur kale
- 1 small head radicchio
- 3 cups brussels sprouts
for the dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place butternut squash and fennel on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast on the center rack for 35 - 40 minutes until the butternut squash is golden brown and tender, making sure to flip halfway through.
- While the vegetables are roasting, add the lentils, broth and bay leaves into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 35 - 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, wash and stem the kale leaves. It's easiest to do this by placing the leaf with the stem facing up and using a small knife to slice the leaves off. Then finely slice the leaves into thin strips. Add to a large bowl.
- Using a mandolin slicer, or very sharp knife, finely shred the radicchio and brussels sprouts. Add them to the bowl as well.
- For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed. Pour half the dressing over the bowl ingredients and toss to combine.
- Once the vegetables and lentils are done, allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes. Thinly slice the fennel, then add this along with the squash and lentils into the salad. Add the rest of the dressing and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for 1 - 2 days.
Nutrition
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