Infused with flavorful spices, this Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad has Kale added for an extra nutrient boost. With a slight sweetness from the dried cranberries and crunchiness of the sliced almonds, this is definitely a meal prep worthy recipe.
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Ambitious Kitchen – or should I call her Monique?, either way – posted a recipe on Insta a short while ago with her One Pot Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad, and I really really wanted to try it out. It looked so vibrant, and the combo of chickpeas and quinoa just sounded amazing.
Pre-Cooked or Dry Quinoa
Came home last night and took the packet of uncooked quinoa out of my pantry to get everything ready, and saw that I had like 1 Tbsp worth left. Yeah that was not going to happen.
But I did have a ton of cooked quinoa stashed away in the freezer. So I decided to use the pre-cooked quinoa instead.
The other modifications:
- Cooked the chickpeas in a seasoned broth! The recipe pretty much rides on cooking the quinoa along with the spices and onions so that the flavors infuse into the dish. To compensate, I decided to apply that treatment to the chickpeas instead. Still a Moroccan Chickpea Salad.
- And then to pack a even more fiber in – considering Chickpeas and Quinoa already have quite a bit – I added in a bunch of kale.
Turned this into a Quinoa Kale Salad to get in half the daily recommended veggie intake. - Upped the onions for a little more flavor, kept the cranberries and almonds for the sweetness and crunch.
And there you go: My super power Vegan Moroccan Quinoa Salad!
A delicious, flavorful and nutritious recipe!
Some more things things:
- Meal prep this and keep it in the fridge for even 4 days, and it’ll be just fine.
- With a ton of plant-based protein from chickpeas and quinoa, its a great filling Vegan lunch.
- Actually a super easy quinoa bowl that comes together in under 30 minutes.
Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Salad with Kale
Ingredients
- 1 cup Quinoa, Cooked, 185g, or ⅓ cup uncooked
- 2 cups Kale, Shredded, 66g
- ¼ tsp Oil
- ¼ cup Onion, Chopped, 40g
- ¾ tsp Ginger Paste or Grated, 4g
- ¾ tsp Garlic Paste or Minced, 4g
- ¾ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ⅓ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ cup Broth
- ½ cup Chickpeas, Canned (130g) or Cooked from dry (37g)
- 2 Tbsp Dried Cranberries, 15g
- 1 Tbsp Sliced Toasted Almonds, 10g
Instructions
- If using uncooked quinoa, cook according to instructions in notes.
- Simmer ½ inch of water on a large skillet over medium heat and add kale. Cover and cook, stirring until bright green, soft, and wilted. About 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
- Pour oil on skillet and fry onions for about 3-4 minutes until translucent.
- Add ginger and garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add spices and mix well.
- Pour in broth, reduce to simmer and add chickpeas.
- Stir, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until flavors develop, chickpeas are softened, and liquid is mostly evaporated.
- Add quinoa and kale to skillet and stir to combine. Cover and cook until quinoa is warmed through. About 2 minutes.
- Add cranberries and fold.
- Transfer to bowl, garnish with toasted almonds and serve!
Notes
- Rinse quinoa thoroughly in cold water (this is required to avoid any bitter taste).
- Bring ⅔ cup water and quinoa to a boil in saucepan.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and all the water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer to bowl.
- Servings: 4 cups | Serving size: 2 cups
- Calories: 288kcal
- Fat: 6.8g | Saturated fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 48.7g | Fiber: 8.4g | Sugar: 10.4g
- Protein: 11.4g
First time trying kale and doesn’t look like I’m stopping at this!!!
Yay! All that flavor really does make you like Kale doesn’t it?!