If I’m being honest, side dishes are not my forté. Mostly because I completely forget to make them until 5 minutes before dinner is on the table. Which is where kitchen sink salads come in. We’re talking salad recipes so easy that you don’t really need to do much thinking or hunting for ingredients. Salads that contain both a grain and a vegetable (two side dishes in one, because no way are we getting two separate side dishes on the table 😂). So this Quinoa Kale Salad? It’s my Mediterranean kitchen sink salad. It has crunchy kale and fluffy quinoa. It’s drizzled with the tastiest honey mustard dressing. And (most excitingly), it stays fresh for ridiculously long in the fridge (we’re talking upwards of a week, friends). Let’s salad!
Quick honey mustard dressing
Let’s start with the dressing! This is a quick one (aren’t all dressings?), but it packs in some major flavor. Just whisk everything together and you’re good to go! You’ll need:
Extra virgin olive oil: Use the good stuff here, the flavor of the olive oil shines through! Grainy mustard: Whatever mustard you have on hand works well, but I love using the grainy kind for this honey mustard dressing. Lemon juice: Fresh from the lemon is best, but bottled will get the job done. Honey: Just a drizzle of honey balances out the sharp mustard. You can substitute maple syrup for a vegan option. Flavor makers: Garlic, salt, and pepper bring it all together into honey mustard dressing deliciousness!
Ingredients for quinoa kale salad
Apart from the honey mustard dressing, this Quinoa Kale Salad really just has a handful of ingredients!
Quinoa: We used white quinoa here, but you can also use red or multicolored. Kale: Any variety of kale works well here, like curly, dinosaur, or red kale. Red onion: Thinly sliced red onion adds the perfect amount of zingy crunch to this salad. Feta cheese: We love feta cheese around here, and it was begging to be included in this Mediterranean inspired salad. Raisins: Raisins in a salad? Heck yes! Raisins add a much needed pop of sweetness to balance everything out.
Variations on this quinoa kale salad
Change up the grain: You can use couscous, bulgur, wild rice, or even cauliflower rice for this kale salad. Replace the raisins: The raisins can be replaced with dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, or diced fresh apple. Swap out the greens: Not a fan of kale? Use your favorite leafy green here, like spinach or romaine.
Pro-tip: serve this Mediterranean kale salad with these Roasted Chickpea Gyros, Portobello Mushroom Gyros, Vegetarian Moussaka, or Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes!
