This Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa is both festive and healthy, and it makes the perfect holiday side dish or winter salad.
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Pomegranate Salad with Kale
If I had to choose my favourite green kale would win every single time, no question. It’s such a deliciously deep-flavoured green and the texture is absolutely wonderful. I love Kale salads and this Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa is a total winner for the holidays!
Kale Recipes
If you’ve been a reader of mine for awhile you’ll already know my Kale Chips recipe is a reader favourite. It can be hard for me to find Kale in the grocery store where I live but I recently discovered a local store that carries Kale on the regular and I am hooked! This Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa is my new favourite way to enjoy kale, and with my Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing on top it’s SO delicious! Trust me, you’re going to LOVE it!
Ingredients for Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa
- fresh kale
- cooked quinoa
- pomegranate arils
- goat cheese
- chopped pecans (optional)
- Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (recipe can be found HERE)
How to Make Salad with Kale
Time needed: 25 minutes
Follow my pro tips for the best kale salad every time!
- Rip the kale by hand, don’t chop it.
Ripping the kale by hand helps to soften it, and it also ensures the perfect bite-sized pieces for your salad.
- Massage with some olive oil.
Softening the kale with a few drops of olive oil is the key to the perfect texture and good flavour.
- Add some texture.
Since kale is such a hardy green it pairs great with soft cheeses like goat or feta, crunchy fruit or veggies, and nuts.
- Go for sweet.
Kale typically has a slightly bitter taste so pairing it with sweet pomegranate, citrus fruits, or apples is always a good idea. Also, choose a dressing with some honey or maple syrup in it for even better flavour.
- Go for colour.
Kale is a gorgeous dark green colour so choose bright red fruit, yellow or orange peppers or citrus, purple onions, and white cheese for contrast.
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How much quinoa do I make for the Kale salad?
Add 1/3 cup dry quinoa, 2/3 cup water and a pinch of salt to a pot and cook on medium-high until the quinoa absorbs the water and you can fluff it with a fork. Then it can be added to the salad.
Looking for other healthy recipes for cold days or the holidays? Try these Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts, or this Easy Healthy Roasted Vegetable Soup.
I hope you love this healthy salad recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite way to enjoy citrus fruit? I’d love to know!
Looking for other holiday side dishes? You’ll LOVE these:
- Easy Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Easy Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Roasted Garlic Butter Carrots
- Apple Walnut Spinach Salad
- Roasted Beet Salad with Greens
- Maple Rosemary Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Winter Berry Cocktail (Alcohol Free Version Included)
- Rosemary Dill Roasted Potatoes
Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!
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Pomegranate Salad with Kale and Quinoa
Recipe: Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh kale
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 pomegranate seeded
- 1/3 cup goat cheese crumbled
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 6 to 8 tablespoons Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (recipe link in instructions below)
Recipe: Instructions
- Rip the kale into bite sized pieces and add the kale to a large bowl. Be sure to remove the hard stems from the kale leaves.
- Drizzle the olive oil over it and massage the oil into the kale leaves with clean hands until the kale becomes soft.
- Add the cooked quinoa on top (to cook the quinoa, simply add 1/3 cup dry quinoa and 2/3 cup water and a pinch of salt to a pot and cook on medium-high until the quinoa absorbs the water and you can fluff it with a fork).
- Add the pomegranate arils and pecans (if using), and the goat cheese.
- Drizzle about 8 tablespoons of my Maple Balsamic Salad Dressing (recipe HERE) over the top and toss to combine. Add the dressing only right before serving.
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Loved this salad.
Thanks, Deborah!