This one is a keeper. I gave this one a try and it was amazing…now it’s a weekly salad. We are always looking for kid-friendly vegetarian dishes and salads that are great for a picnic in the park and this one is perfect.
There has been a definite rise and fall in the popularity of kale, over the years. In our house, we are on team loving kale. So, when we had to bring a salad to a family party this summer I decided to share the kale love with others. This kale pesto salad came to life.
Who doesn’t love a good crispy chick pea? And pesto is always a winner. To my surprise everyone at the party – even the kids – really loved this salad. So, now it has the honour of being made on almost a weekly basis.
This kale salad is a complete meal – protein, veggies and grains – which means it is super simple to serve on weeknights when you are feeling a little uninspired. I even share a few recipe short cuts that speed up the making of the salad (shortcuts are at the end of the recipe).
So, now you have to decide are you on team loving kale?
Hearty Kale Salad with Pesto Dressing and Crispy Chick Peas
For the pesto
2 cups of fresh basil (loosely packed into a measuring cup or 2 bunches of basil)
1/3 cup of chopped almonds
1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp grated parm cheese
wedge of lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
For the salad
2 cups of chopped kale – we used one bunch of curly kale
1 1/4 cups of dry quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1 can chickpeas
1 pint of cherry tomatoes – sliced in half
1/2 cup of english cucumber – chopped in quarter slices
parmesan cheese
Begin by preheating the oven for the chickpeas. You’ll need a 375° oven.
First up is the quinoa. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiled pour in 1 1/4 cups of dried quinoa.
Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving a small opening for some of the steam to escape. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
Now, spread the quinoa on a large baking sheet and set it aside to cool. You don’t want to add hot quinoa to the salad greens.
While the quinoa is cooking, you can begin prepping the other ingredient.
For the crispy chickpeas – begin by draining and rinsing the can of chickpeas. Spread the chickpeas out on a baking sheet.
Place in the preheated 375° oven, for 10 minutes – shake the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Until they are crispy.
Once the chickpeas are crispy, remove them from the oven – shake on a little salt and set them aside to cool.
Next up, it’s time to toast the pumpkin seeds. Simply place the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, over medium heat. Toss them around, over the heat, until they are toasted. They will look a little browned and some of the seeds might even “pop”. This will only take about 2-3 minutes. Once they’ve toasted, transfer them to a plate and set them aside to cool.
The next step in making this salad is making the pesto. The pesto will be the “dressing” for the salad. Add the basil, almonds, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a food processor. Squeeze in the juice from the wedge of lemon.
Process the ingredients, until they are finely chopped.
With the processor on, drizzle the olive oil into the basil mixture – through the little opening on the top of the food processor. The pesto will start to come together as you add the oil. Taste the pesto and decide if you need more salt. Because this pesto is going to act as a salad dressing, it is okay if it is a little looser than you might make it for pasta. Pour half of the pesto into the bottom of your salad bowl and set the other half aside. Having the dressing in the bottom of the bowl will help when it comes time to toss the salad.
Now that you have the crispy quinoa, the chickpeas, the pumpkin seeds and the pesto, it’s time to get the greens ready. I find the easiest way to work with kale is to cut the leaves off the thick stems.
Then chop the greens into small pieces. When the chopping is done, I place the chopped leaves into a salad spinner to clean and dry the kale.
Prepare the cherry tomatoes – either leave them whole or slice them in half. The cucumber can be chopped into pieces that are about the size of the cherry tomatoes.
When everything is cooled it is time to assemble the salad. Drop the dried kale onto the pesto with the cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices and give it a toss, to coat the kale. Since kale (especially curly kale) has so many nooks and crannies, we will toss this salad a few times.
Next, add in the pumpkin seeds and the chickpeas. Add the rest of the pesto and give the salad a good toss. Coating everything in the pesto. Once the salad is fully tossed, shave a little more parmesan cheese over top.
The salad is ready to go.
Because you are using kale, the salad will keep for a few days in an air-tight container, in the fridge. However, it is best (to keep everything super crispy) when it is served immediately.
If you are taking the salad to a party, toss in the seeds and chickpeas at the party. Again, you want to keep the seeds toasty and the chickpeas crispy.
A few simple substitutions can be made in this salad. First of all, if you have a favourite ready made pesto sauce – go ahead and use it! No need to make pesto if you have a fave. Also, go ahead and use pre-toasted chickpeas and whatever seeds you like. This recipe is totally flexible.
How to make this recipe even more kid-friendly – If your kid isn’t keen on quinoa then omit the quinoa. Most kids love couscous and that’s a super simple substitution. Also, a combined salad can be overwhelming to kids – go ahead and serve the salad broken down into individual ingredients. A little pile of pesto coated quinoa and kale, a little pile of crispy chickpeas and toasted seeds, and a little pile of cucumber and tomatoes. Yep, it’s that simple to help picky eaters enjoy this dish.
Kale Pesto Salad with Crispy Chick Peas
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 2 cups of fresh basil loosely packed into a measuring cup or 2 bunches of basil
- 1/3 cup of chopped almonds
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp grated parm cheese
- wedge of lemon
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the salad
- 2 cups of chopped kale - we used one bunch of curly kale
- 1 1/4 cups of dry quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
- 1 can chick peas
- 1 pint of cherry tomatoes - sliced in half
- 1/2 cup of english cucumber - chopped in quarter slices
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven for the chick peas. You'll need a 375° oven.
- First up is the quinoa. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiled pour in 1 1/4 cups of dried quinoa.
- Turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving a small opening for some of the steam to escape. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy.
- Now, spread the quinoa on a large baking sheet and set aside to cool. You don't want to add hot quinoa to the salad greens.
- While the quinoa is cooking, you can begin prepping the other ingredient.
- For the crispy chick peas - begin by draining and rinsing the can of chick peas. Spread the chick peas out on a baking sheet.
- Place in the preheated 375° oven, for 10 minutes - shake the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 10-15 minutes. Until they are crispy.
- Once the chick peas are crispy, remove them from the oven - shake on little salt and set aside to cool.
- Next up, it's time to toast the pumpkin seeds. Simply place the pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, over medium heat. Toss them around, over the heat, until they are toasted. They will look a little browned and some of the seeds might even "pop". This will only take about 2-3 minutes. Once they've toasted, transfer them to a plate and set them aside to cool.
- The next step in making this salad is making the pesto. The pesto will be the "dressing" for the salad. Add the basil, almonds, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper into a food processor. Squeeze in the juice from the wedge of lemon.
- Process the ingredients, until they are finely chopped.
- With the processor on, drizzle the olive oil into the basil mixture - through the little opening on the top of the food processor. The pesto will start to come together as you add the oil. Taste the pesto and decide if you need more salt. Because this pesto is going to act as a salad dressing, it is okay if it is a little looser than you might make it for pasta. Pour half of the pesto into the bottom of your salad bowl and set the other half aside. Having the dressing in the bottom of the bowl will help when it comes time to toss the salad.
- Now that you have the crispy quinoa, the chick peas, the pumpkin seeds and the pesto, it's time to get the greens ready. I find the easiest way to work with kale is to cut the leaves off the thick stems.
- Then chop the greens into small pieces. When the chopping is done, I place the chopped leaves into a salad spinner to clean and dry the kale.
- Prepare the cherry tomatoes - either leave them whole or slice them in half. The cucumber can be chopped into pieces that are about the size of the cherry tomatoes.
- When everything is cooled it is time to assemble the salad. Drop the dried kale onto the pesto with the cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices and give it a toss, to coat the kale. Since kale (especially curly kale) has so many nooks and crannies, we will toss this salad a few times.
- Next add in the pumpkin seeds and the chick peas. Add the rest of the pesto and give the salad a good toss. Coating everything in the pesto. Once the salad is fully tossed, shave a little more parmesan cheese over top.
Notes
Nutrition
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