by This easy Chickpea Kale salad with Tahini Ranch comes together in less than 30-minutes and is the perfect healthy main or side dish! We combine my crispy 15-Minute Air Fryer Cooked Chickpeas, my The Best Vegan Ranch, and The Easiest Quick Pickled Red Onions, plus lots of nutritional yeast on top of massaged kale for an easy vegan salad recipe that you’ll actually crave!
Friends, let’s cut right to the chase; absolutely no one wants to eat a sucky salad, which is why I’ve spent so much time as a Registered Dietitian try to rebrand healthy salads to be something that you actually want to eat, rather than loathe.
In my humble opinion, the best way to do that is to make sure you have lots of different flavors and textures in the salad.
Because let’s be real, no one’s getting excited over a pile of plain lettuce with a sad drizzle of dressing. A truly good salad needs contrast: crunch and creaminess, freshness and richness, a little sweet, a little salty. And luckily for you, I’ve tested this easy kale salad to perfection to make sure that’s alllllll here.
When you’ve got all those elements working together, just like in my Apple Radicchio Salad with Rosemary Thyme Tofu that’s when salad magic happens.
A Healthy AND Tasty Salad?!
Here’s how:
- We use my 15 minute Crispy Chickpeas that kind of take the place of croutons, but are higher in protein and fiber, meaning we’ll stay feeling fuller for longer!
- We use my absolutely drool-worthy Tahini Ranch Dressing that takes less than 5 minutes to throw together but adds the most creamy, tangy flavor.
- We massage the kale so that it’s nice and tender and soaks up alllll the flavor.
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Dietitian tip: If you’ve never massaged kale before, don’t worry, it’s super simple! Just drizzle a little olive oil and a pinch of salt onto the kale, then use your hands to massage the leaves until they’ve darkened in color a bit and have decreased in size. This usually takes 2-3 minutes!
Perfect on Its Own Or With a Pairing
You can totally eat this salad on its own, but it also pairs well with my absolutely mouthwatering and cozy Easy Vegan Lasagna Soup!
Actually Tasty Chickpea Kale Salad with Tahini Ranch
Ingredients
- 1 batch Quick Pickled Red Onion, Or ~1/4 small red onion, sliced
- 1 batch 15-Minute Air Fryer Canned Chickpeas
- 1 batch Vegan Ranch Dressing
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 1 tbsp olive oil, For massaging kale
- 1/4 tsp salt, For massaging kale
Equipment
- Air fryer optional
Instructions
- If you're making your own Quick Pickled Red Onion, these need to be made about two hours ahead of time, so start by doing that. If you're not making your own, move onto step 2!
- Make a batch of the 15-Minute Crispy Chickpeas. While those are cooking, whip up the Vegan Ranch Dressing.
- Now it's time to massage the kale! Start by adding the chopped kale to a large bowl, then drizzle with some olive oil and a pinch of salt. Using your hands, massage the kale for 2-3 minutes until it deepens in color and becomes wilted.
- Add the batch of crispy chickpeas, about 1/4 cup of the pickled red onion, the ranch dressing and nutritional yeast to the bowl. You may want to adjust the quantities based on your desired taste preferences of dressing, onion, chickpeas and nutritional yeast. Mix well to combine and enjoy!
How much kale do you use in the crispy chickpea salad?
Hi Ron, I used about 4 cups of chopped kale! You may want to adjust the portions of chickpeas, salad dressing, and red onion to suit your tastebuds!