Treat yourself to this scrumptious Superfood Salad with Citrus Dressing tonight! This mouthwatering plant based recipe is easy to make, packed with healthy ingredients, and full of fresh flavors you'll love!
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Are you a salad person? I never used to be, but I am quickly turning into one, especially as summer approaches. On a hot day (we have way too many of those in Texas!), I love a tasty, creative salad for a light lunch or dinner.
One recipe I've been turning to lately is this colorful quinoa and kale Superfood Salad. It's satisfied all my cravings, and it tastes amazing. After making this salad a few times, I've decided it's too good to keep to myself, and I'm so excited to share the recipe with you!
This yummy salad is bursting with fresh fruits and veggies, protein-packed quinoa and chickpeas, and crunchy seeds. All of the ingredients are whole foods that are loaded with good-for-you nutrients. It's actually pretty hearty too, so you won't be hungry an hour later. Most important of all though, it's sooo delicious!
You are going to love this salad's scrumptious sweet-savory flavor, great texture, and awesome Citrus Dressing, which may just be my favorite part of the recipe! It makes a super satisfying vegan lunch or dinner, and it's perfect for meal prep, too.
Okay, have I convinced you to try it yet? Then, keep reading for all the details!
Superfoods are generally considered to be foods that have unusually high content of antioxidants, vitamins, or other nutrients. In other words, foods that are really good for you, like fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, and other mostly unprocessed, whole foods. While these foods are not magic cure-alls, eating more of them regularly may help you stay healthier. Read more about superfoods at Harvard Health.
Ingredients
This recipe uses a combination of easy to find ingredients that you can mix and match! I went all out, but feel free to scale back the ingredient list and simplify the recipe if you'd like. Here's what you'll need:
- Quinoa - I love including quinoa in recipes because it's easy to cook, delicious, and nutritious (it's a great source of protein (more than any other grain), fiber, iron, and potassium).
- Kale - Along with the quinoa, kale forms the base of the salad. Kale is full of nutrients that can reduce inflammation, improve your skin's health, and more. Both curly kale and dinosaur kale will work great here.
- Veggies - This recipe uses a combination of roasted sweet potatoes and shiitake mushrooms. The sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin A (which is helpful for protecting your vision and immune system), and the shiitake mushrooms contains nutrients that have cholesterol lowering and anti-cancer benefits.
- Chickpeas - Tasty chickpeas are full of protein to help keep you full longer, along with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Fruits - Using a combination of fresh fruits (blueberries and strawberries) gives this recipe a lovely sweet-savory flavor. Blueberries contain nutrients that may improve your memory by boosting your brain function, and strawberries are a great source of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants.
- Avocado - Fresh avocado (which is full of potassium and healthy fat) gives the salad a great flavor and texture.
- Seeds - I used a combination of pumpkin seeds / pepitas (which contain omega fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber) and hemp hearts (which contains all nine amino acids, as well as other nutrients) for this recipe. Tip: If you're making this recipe in the fall, feel free to substitute freshly roasted pumpkin seeds!
- Dressing - This recipe's easy Citrus Vinaigrette is super delicious ... you'll want to use it for other recipes, too! It's made with fresh oranges and lemons (both of which have lots of vitamin C and other healthy nutrients), fresh ginger (which is known for reducing nausea, improving digestion, and more), sesame oil, and extra virgin olive oil (which helps reduce cholesterol, maintain blood sugar levels, and more), as well as a little soy sauce, maple syrup, and cayenne (which may boost your metabolism).
- Spices - The recipe also uses cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric (for roasted the veggies), each of which has anti-inflammatory effects, among other benefits.
This recipe is naturally vegetarian, vegan, and dairy free. To make this recipe gluten free, use a GF soy sauce or tamari.
You'll Also Need
You'll need a small pot to cook the quinoa, a baking sheet to roast the veggies (these Circulon pans are my fave!), a large bowl to mix the salad together, and a small bowl to make the dressing. A microplane zester (one of my favorite kitchen tools) will also come in handy for zesting the citrus and grating the ginger.
How to Make a Superfood Salad
Let's talk about how to make this kale super salad next! There are a few steps, but each one is very easy. You'll find a detailed recipe card below, but here's an overview:
- Cook the quinoa. You'll start by cooking the quinoa in salted water until tender. If you've never made quinoa before, check out my How to Cook Quinoa guide. It has tons of helpful tips, plus more quinoa recipes for you to try.
- Roast the veggies. Once the quinoa is started, you'll toss the sweet with olive oil and spices, then roast for 15 minutes. Next, you'll add the mushrooms to the same pan, then continue cooking the veggies until they're tender. Tip: I like to use my (clean) hands to mix the sweet potato, oil, and spices right on the baking sheets. It helps save on clean up, and makes it easy to evenly coat the potato with spices.
- Massage the kale. While the veggies are roasting, remove the stems from the kale, slice it, and place it on your biggest bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then stick your hands in the bowl and massage the oil and salt into the kale. After a couple minutes, the kale will soften up and turn a darker green color. Tip: If this process seems a little foreign to you, read my Massaged Kale Salad recipe. It has tons of tips (and recipes) for making kale salad, plus a quick video that shows the process.
- Prepare the Citrus Dressing. After you've finished the kale, work on the dressing. Start by zesting and juicing the orange and lemon. Once you've done that, whisk the zest and juice together, along with the fresh ginger, cayenne, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil, and olive oil Tip: If you're using a microplane zester, hold it upside down while zesting the fruit, and it will "catch" the zest. You can use it to grate the ginger, too.
- Mix salad. When all your ingredients are ready, you'll combine the kale, quinoa, roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and the dressing. Toss everything together, then gently stir in the blueberries and strawberries.
- Add garnish and serve. Finish by topping the salad with the fresh avocado, pumpkin seeds, and hemp hearts.
How gorgeous is this colorful plant based Superfood Salad? I don't know about you, but I want to dive right into these pictures and start eating!
Tip: The quinoa and roasted veggies can be added to the salad warm, or you can let them cool off first. Either way works and is delicious.
Variations
This recipe is easy to customize based on your preferences, as well as the ingredients you have on hand. Here are a few tips to inspire you:
- Simplify - This Super Food Salad has a lot of ingredients, but don't let that long list put you off. Feel free to leave a few ingredients out to simplify the recipe, or you can swap in your favorite fruits and veggies. For example, you could do all blueberries and no strawberries (or vice versa), skip the chickpeas or shiitake mushrooms, etc. You could also add your favorite veggies, such as cauliflower, broccoli, or bell peppers. It's up to you ... this recipe is really flexible, just try to keep the proportions the same
- Cheese - I skipped the cheese here to keep the salad vegan, but crumbled feta or goat cheese would make a tasty addition
- Dressing - An easy way to change up this salad's flavor is by using another dressing. Try my super simple Lemon Dressing (only two ingredients!), Maple Vinaigrette, or Red Wine Vinaigrette.
Storage
If you have leftover salad, store it in an airtight container in your refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for two to three days.
Tip: if you're making this salad for meal prep, keep in mind that strawberries and avocado don't hold up well. To make this salad stay fresh longer, you can either skip them or add them just before serving.
Related Recipes
Looking for similar recipes? Then try one of these delicious salads next:
- Farro Kale Salad with Feta
- Grilled Halloumi Salad
- Kale Quinoa Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Greek Quinoa Salad
- Massaged Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing
- Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad with Maple Vinaigrette
- Watermelon Basil Quinoa Salad
- Lemony Chickpea Salad
- Harvest Salad
Superfood Salad
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped (about 3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 9 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1 large bunch kale, sliced (about 8 cups)
- 1 (15.5 ounce / 439 gram) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 medium avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 4 teaspoons hemp hearts
- kosher salt
- pepper
For Citrus Dressing:
- 1 large orange
- 1 large lemon
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare Quinoa:
- Combine quinoa, 1 cup water, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a small pot.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Cover pot and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Roast Vegetables:
- While quinoa is cooking, place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with cardamom, cinnamon, and turmeric. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper.
- Bake sweet potatoes for 15 minutes. Add mushrooms to pan; stir well. Continue baking until veggies are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
Assemble Salad:
- Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
- Massage oil and salt into kale for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Set aside.
- Zest and juice orange and lemon. Then, whisk together 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, olive oil, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, maple syrup, and cayenne. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add quinoa, sweet potatoes and mushrooms, chickpeas, and citrus dressing to kale. Mix well.
- Gently stir in blueberries and strawberries.
- Serve salad topped with sliced avocado and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and hemp hearts. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
What are your favorite superfoods?