Kale Salad Recipe with Chickpeas

I first had a version of this Kale Salad Recipe at the Ranch at Live Oak. Chef Kurt Steeber made amazing vegan food. This salad is a delicious meal that only takes a short time to pull together and you can make it the night before and it will stay crisp and fresh for more than 24 hours.

What’s so good about Kale?

Kale is a powerhouse vegetable that contains more health benefits than spinach, it may help improve blood glucose control among other amazing things like lowering blood pressure. The nutrients it contains support healthy skin, hair, and bones. The fiber content enhances digestion and contributes to cardiovascular health.

Guess what else? Honeybees pollinate kale and they absolutely love it. Because of its tolerance to pests, kale is easy to grow organically. When kale plants mature enough to go to seed, they produce small yellow flowers that are attractive to honeybees and other pollinators. That’s a good enough reason for us!

How to Make Kale Salad Recipe with Chickpeas

It’s easy to make kale salad, you literally toss together a bunch of ingredients. Our hope is that you will focus on shopping for the freshest and most organic produce that you can find. The basic ingredients to put this salad together are:

• Kale
• cherry tomatoes
• red pepper
• green olives
• carrots
• red onions (pickled)
• chickpeas

The process of making this Kale Salad Recipe is the same as any other. The only thing new that may be new to you is deveining the kale. Why do you devein kale? Because the vein is often really tough and woody. It’s hard to digest because tough it’s rather dry.

Step 1: Devein the kale

To devein the kale, you simply pull the leaf away from the stalk. That’s it. There’s no wrong way to do this. You can use a paring knife if you have to, but pulling the leaf apart is fine, fast and easy.

Step 2: Add the rest of the ingredients

Add the rest of the ingredients to a large bowl, slicing everything that you have to slice. Whichever way you prefer to slice.

Step 3: Mix the dressing and toss the Kale Salad

Mix the dressing. Pour the dressing on top up to 2 hours before your meal/ You can also add some of the pickling juice from the pickled onions to the salad for a little extra flavor. Season the kale salad and mix well before serving.

Adapting this Salad

You know, a recipe is not truly perfect until you’ve added your own touch to it. That’s why we encourage you to play with your food. Call to your inner chef to come out and play and change up this recipe. Here are some ideas:

• Add in your favorite fresh chopped herbs
• Lemon zest would give the salad an extra dose of flavor
• Throw in chopped heirloom baby tomatoes for some bright color
• Serve topped with Honey Mustard Chicken
• Try making these easy pickled onions to go with this kale salad with chickpeas.

If you decide to try making this recipe, share a snapshot with us using #waxingkararecipes on Instagram. We love seeing your photos!