This tasty vegetarian Kale Apple Cranberry Salad features tender kale and fluffy quinoa tossed with cranberries, apple, carrots, and a zippy lemon dressing.
Course Salad
Cuisine American, Vegetarian
Keyword Cranberry Apple Kale Salad, Quinoa Apple Salad
First rinse and drain your quinoa using a mesh strainer/sieve.
Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat and lightly toast the quinoa to remove any excess water. Stir as it toasts for just a few minutes. This step is optional but really adds to the nuttiness and fluff factor of the quinoa!
Next add your water, set burner to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for 12-13 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed.
While the quinoa cooks, prep the remaining ingredients, make your candied pecans, and whisk together your dressing ingredients.
Remove kale leaves from the stem. Wash and dry the leaves, then chop into bite sized pieces.
Next gently massage the kale with a drizzle of olive oil. This makes the leaves extra tender and silky, and also makes key nutrients even easier to absorb. Woot!
For the super simple dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Alternatively you can add the ingredients to a lidded mason jar and shake well to emulsify. The addition of a sweetener is 100% optional here, simply use it to help customize the tartness of the lemon dressing to your taste.
Snag your now-fluffy quinoa from the pot and give it a little fluff with a fork.
For a chilled salad, you can pop the quinoa in the fridge for a few minutes prior to adding your veggies or simply let it cool on the countertop for a few minutes for a room temperature quinoa bowl. Totally up to you!
In a large bowl, toss together, kale, quinoa, carrots.
Remove the core and stem from a small honeycrisp apple and slice into thin matchsticks. I usually add about a cup to my salad plus extra to taste.
Toss lightly with a drizzle of whisked/shaken dressing just before serving, leaving the rest to be added to taste. Enjoy!
FOR THE CANDIED PECANS
Heat a skillet or saucepan to medium heat and butter to melt.
Next add in your pecans, brown sugar, and the teeniest bit of salt.
Sauté for 5-6 minutes and pour over parchment paper, using a spatula to separate the nuts. Otherwise you’ll have yummy pecan brittle that you’ll want to break apart over your salad, which is no big deal either.
Allow to cool for several minutes until the coating hardens and your pecans have officially been candied!
Notes
Looking to add a little bit of creaminess to your salad? If you're not dairy-free or vegan, feel free to add crumbled feta, goat cheese, or even gorgonzola cheese to the mix.