Kale and Quinoa Salad with Honey-Dijon Dressing

Kale and Quinoa Salad with Honey-Dijon Dressing makes a big bowl of goodness! I love salads with all sorts of gems to discover tucked between the greens, don’t you? Bonus: the golden drizzle of delicious dressing.

Who gets excited over salad? Sounds weird, but I definitely do! There are a few restaurants in town that have salads I swoon over, but who can eat out all the time?

One of my favorite spots opened up pretty close to home recently, so of course I made my husband stop by while we were out running errands last weekend.

Don’t let a recipe for salad fool you into thinking, “Meh. A salad is a salad is a salad…” I recreated Kale and Quinoa Salad with Honey-Dijon Dressing at home, and I’m hooked!

There are all sorts of goodies tucked into this salad, like corn, tomatoes, smoked almonds, and snap peas. And then there is the golden, delicious honey-Dijon dressing for drizzling. All together? So good!

The only tricky part for me to make this salad was to find dehydrated corn. It’s a thing, if you haven’t seen it. I used to find it at my local grocery store and Walmart, but I had to get myself to Whole Foods to find it this time.

You don’t *have* to use dehydrated corn for this dish, but I just love it. I don’t know what it is that makes it so tasty, but I hope you can try it for yourself to find out! Otherwise, use canned corn kernels.

Are you a kale lover? I’m a kale lover and we eat it all the time at my house. The next time you make cornbread, save some of the leftovers (or make extra) to use to make my Kale and Cornbread Crouton Salad.

If you think kale is only about salads you’ll want to try my Kale Pesto Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes and White Beans. It makes a satisfying and flavorful dish for sure. Or maybe you’d be more into Mushroom and Kale Enchiladas with Red Sauce. So good!

This recipe makes enough for about four servings, and the added quinoa helps make this salad even more satisfying. Pairing two superfoods, kale and quinoa, is pretty fabulous, and you’ll love the honey-Dijon dressing, too (also easy to make).

Tips for Kale

If you massage kale before eating it raw, it makes it more tender and takes a bit of the bitterness out of it, too.

Massage kale? Right about now you’re probably thinking, “If anyone around here needs a  massage, it’s me! You want me to massage my KALE? What the what?!”

Give your kale a bit of a rubdown before serving it raw. You won’t be disappointed! Just pile the leaves in your hands and mush them around for several minutes before tossing them into your serving bowl.

It might sound funny, but it works. Your fingers will turn a little green so don’t forget to wash up!

Enjoy this Kale and Quinoa Salad with Honey-Dijon Dressing the next chance you get!

Patricia Conte/Grab a Plate

Yields Serves 4

Kale and Quinoa Salad with Honey-Dijon Dressing

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Ingredients

For the dressing:
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the salad:
• 1 cup cooked quinoa, chilled
• 4-5 cups kale leaves removed from stem, packed, and massaged several minutes until soft
• 3/4 cup snap peas, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup dehydrated corn kernels
• 1/4 cup smoked almonds, diced
• 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

For the dressing:
1. Combine the ingredients. Mix well. Set aside until ready to serve (mix before serving).
For the salad:
2. Add all the salad ingredients into a large bowl and toss to combine.
3. Mix the dressing and drizzle over the salad. Toss to combine.

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https://www.azgrabaplate.com/kale-quinoa-salad-honey-dijon-dressing/