This Chickpea Kale Salad With Lemon Honey Dressing is requested at least once a week in my house. It is full of real ingredients, filling and can be whipped up in under 15 minutes. The quinoa and cucumber add some great texture and crunch to it. The dressing is nutty, bright and addictive.

Why Make Chickpea and Kale Salad

It’s quick. This recipe is so easy to whip up and it tastes gourmet and takes 20 minutes.

It’s delicious and has fresh flavors in every bite. The Lemon Honey dressing is addictive. It comes together in minutes and has a bright citrus flavor with a touch of honey.

Chickpea and Kale Salad is gluten free and dairy free! It’s great for those with allergies. You can enjoy it as a side dish, light lunch or pair it with your favorite protein, like my Pistachio Crusted Salmon or Thai Salmon.

Another great salad to try, Kale and Lentil Salad. This salad is more garlicky and savory you will love it as well.

Ingredients Needed

Quinoa. Use any color you enjoy. This Adds some protein, texture, and it pairs with kale perfectly.

Kale. When massaged, it is the perfect vehicle for the Lemon Honey dressing.

Lemon juice. I opt for fresh squeezed as it has the freshest, best flavor.

Honey. High quality and subtle sweet in flavor is best. If you are making this vegan, I suggest you use maple syrup. It is just as delicious.

Olive Oil. High quality EVOO is best, be sure there is no bitter flavor.

Tahini: This is one of the most important ingredients for this salad. It has a mild nutty flavor and it gives the salad a perfect flavorful creamy texture without dairy! You can find tahini in the peanut butter aisle at the grocery store.

All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post. 

Recipe Variations & Substitutions

Kale. If you dislike kale, use spinach or chopped collard greens. Kale however is more hearty, sturdy and works best for this recipe.

Quinoa. You can substitute any grain you prefer; brown rice, barley, farro and more.

Tahini. This is a very important ingredient to the dressing. You can use cashew butter if needed but I highly recommend tahini. I have a lot of recipes that use it like my Tahini Herb Dressing, Chickpea Salad Sandwich or Tahini Pasta.

Toppings and Mix ins. You can customize the toppings to your liking. Feta or goat cheese is great on the salad if you want a more creamy tangy flavor.

How To Make This Recipe

Step 1: Start the quinoa, cook according to the package. Wash and stem Kale. Chop it up into bite sized pieces. Add it to a large bowl. Pour 1 tbs of olive oil and 1 tsp lemon juice over kale. Massage it with finger tips to soften the leaves and make the kale salad taste less bitter.

Step 2: Mix all the dressing ingredients into a small food processor or blender; tahini, honey, garlic, lemon juice, seasoning, water.

Step 3: Taste the dressing and adjust if needed (add more honey or salt as needed) Feel free to add another tbsp or more of water at a time if you prefer your dressing thinner. If the dressing for any reason came out too thin, add 1 Tbsp more of tahini, blitz again and it should be good!

Step 4: Add the quinoa, cucumber, tomatoes and kale to one big bowl. Pour 3/4ths of the lemon honey dressing over the ingredients in the large bowl. Toss the salad with a nice set of tongs or salad tossing forks. Serve and add avocado and additional dressing as needed.

FAQs & Expert Tips:

Recipe Tips

Be patient with the dressing, all tahini brands can vary in texture. Add a little water as you go to nail the perfect consistency. Don’t forget to taste as you go as well, add more salt or honey as needed.

You can easily customize your toppings for this salad. I prefer cucumber, avocado and tomatoes for my mix-ins. This salad is fantastic as a side dish or topped with chicken or salmon for a full meal. I have added some croutons, black beans and chickpeas as well and it’s equally as delicious.

If you want to make your salads more flavorful and satisfying – add herbs! You can literally add any herb to a salad to freshen it up and take the flavor up a notch. I usually go for cilantro, basil or thyme to spruce up my leafy greens.

Recipe Pairings

This salad is wonderful with Pulled BBQ Chicken Burger or Crispy Chicken Burgers. You can also serve it with Maple Chicken. You can’t go wrong with this recipe.

Other Salad Recipes To Try

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