Vegan Kale Crunch Salad

5 from 7 votes

This Vegan Kale Crunch Salad is the perfect balance of textures to make your mouth feel like a happy ride every single time. It's a salad you'll love year round.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 752kcal

Author: Andrew Bernard

Ingredients

For Sweet Potatoes and Chickpeas

1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 sweet potatoes, cut into fries (or desired size)
1 15oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
3 tablespoon olive oil, divided

For the Breadcrumbs and Pinenuts

1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup pine nuts (sub with cashews, macadamias, or sunflower seeds)
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

For the Remaining Salad

5-6 cups kale leaves, stems removed, chopped, rinsed well, and massaged*
1 avocado diced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 mini cucumbers, sliced

For Vegan Honey Mustard Dressing

⅓ cup olive oil
3 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon tahini
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F. Into a small bowl, combine all the spices (chili powder to black pepper) and stir together. Set aside.
Add the cut sweet potatoes and chickpeas to a large baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with 3 tablespoon of oil, sprinkle with the spice mix and toss to combine, making sure everything is seasoned. Return to a single layer and bake for 20 mins. Remove from oven, toss together and cook another 15-20 minutes. Chickpeas should be crispy and sweet potatoes soft. Careful not to burn.
On a separate baking sheet, add pine nuts and breadcrumbs. Drizzle olive oil over along with lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss well to combine and spread in an even layer. Bake for 5-8 minutes, careful not to burn.
When everything is done, add kale to the bottom of a salad bowl, top with all the remaining and cooked ingredients. Top with dressing.

For the Honey Mustard Dressing

In a container with a lid, add all the ingredients and shake or whisk together well. Place in the fridge, covered, until ready to use.

Notes

*You may wish to massage your kale to make it easier to digest. If you do, after rinsing, drizzle over 2 tablespoon of lemon juice and massage the kale with your hands. Proceed with the recipe as otherwise instructed.

Nutrition