Walnut, Grape & Kale Quinoa Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

Walnut, Grape & Kale Quinoa Salad with White Balsamic Dressing is a salad that is perfect to make ahead and is filled with sweet, savory, nutty grains and greens to keep you healthy and full! 

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This salad and this smoothie is how I coup with 15-degree weather.

I guess there is always margarita’s but this seems much more of a grown up thing.

I hate being grown up sometimes.

On the other hand, it has quite a few perks. I get to eat ice cream for lunch, if I wish. Stay up past 10 o’clock. (<– Read that as hardly ever.) Wear my pj’s all day with no one nagging at me. Orrrrr have nutritious salads to balance the cocktails that we enjoyed to celebrate the hubs birthday!

In all honesty, the older we get, the less exciting turning another year older becomes. Especially when that next birthday involves the number 3 and ends in 0. Whoa. Someone please tell me the hype is just that. Hype. I like to keep things optimistic and think that the best is yet to come.

Speaking of the best, this salad is the best to come for your week. The flavors marry perfectly as you can make it ahead of time. Hello perfection! The quinoa absorbs the dressing…which is very similar to my favorite balsamic dressing but I swapped out the regular balsamic vinegar for white balsamic vinegar which is great for salads as it won’t change the color of the salad. Not that balsamic is ugly…but brown food is rather unappealing sometimes. So white balsamic it is!

The grapes add the perfect tart and sweetness to the salad. The pears and pecans are mellow yet provide the crunch we all crave.  I love the chopped kale in the salad, as it brings in some earthiness to make this salad the perfect balance of sweet and savory. No need to precook the kale as the dressing marinates it to soften it up a bit. Which is why I love to prep this salad on a Sunday and munch on it all week long!

Nutritious, sweet and savory. What else do you need in a meal?

Tools I used to make this recipe:

• Mixing Bowls
• Chef’s Knife
• Wooden Spoons

Walnut, Grape & Kale Quinoa Salad with White Balsamic Dressing

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Walnut, Grape & Kale Quinoa Salad with White Balsamic Dressing is a salad that is perfect to make ahead and is filled with sweet, savory, nutty grains and greens to keep you healthy and full!

Author: Megan

Recipe type: Salad

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1½ pears, chopped
• 1 cup halved grapes
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
• Dressing:
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup oil
• ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa according to the package.
2. Once cooked, let cool.
3. Dressing: Meanwhile, mix the vinegar with the garlic powder, dijon, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until mixed. Set aside.
4. Toss with the kale, pears, grapes, pecans and blue cheese crumbles. Toss with the dressing.
5. Serve immediately or place in a air tight container and let chill in the fridge.

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Hungry for more quinoa dishes?

Caramelized Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad with Goat Cheese and Roasted Grapes

One Pot Thai Quinoa Bowl with Chicken and Spicy Peanut Sauce

Ranch Quinoa Encrusted Chicken Fingers with BBQ Mustard

 If you make this recipe, make sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #WITHSALTANDWIT. I’d love to see what you are cooking up in your kitchen!