Autumn Kale and Quinoa Salad with Chutney Dressing
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This hearty kale and quinoa salad is filled with crisp veggies, juicy grapes, and cashews, but the chutney dressing is what makes it shine.
This kale and quinoa salad is one of my fall favorites. It’s packed with crisp veggies, grapes, and crunchy roasted cashews, but what really makes it shine is the dressing made with mango chutney and curry powder. It would make literally anything taste good! If you’re in the mood to mix things up, you can easily swap the grapes for diced apples or toss in some dried cherries or cranberries. To make it a bit heartier, consider adding chickpeas. And the best part? Thanks to kale’s sturdiness, this salad is great for making ahead and keeping in the fridge for weekday lunches. Finally, a time-saving tip: you can find cooked quinoa in the freezer aisle of most supermarkets. It’s great to have on hand for tossing into salads for a boost of protein and nutrients.
What You’ll Need: Autumn Kale & Quinoa Salad with Chutney Dressing
To cut down on prep time, you can buy the kale, quinoa, and carrots already prepared. However, note that the kale that comes washed and prepped in a bag still needs to be chopped into smaller pieces, and some thick stems need to be removed.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the lemon juice, chutney, honey, garlic, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the olive oil, whisking to emulsify.
Add the kale, quinoa, carrots, bell pepper, celery, grapes, and cilantro to the dressing.
Toss until the ingredients are evenly coated with the dressing.
Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or until ready to serve (up to 1 day ahead). Right before serving, mix in the cashews.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, before serving.
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Autumn Kale and Quinoa Salad with Chutney Dressing
This hearty kale and quinoa salad is filled with crisp veggies, juicy grapes, and cashews, but the chutney dressing is what makes it shine.
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 3½ tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 to 2 lemons
- 3 tablespoons store-bought mango chutney
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1¾ teaspoons curry powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the Salad
- 4 cups chopped kale (thick stems/ribs removed)
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (I buy it frozen; see note)
- 1 cup shredded carrots, from 2 to 3 carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper, from 1 pepper
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery, from 1 to 2 celery stalks
- 1 cup grapes, halved
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
- ⅔ cup roasted salted cashews
Instructions
- For the Dressing: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the lemon juice, chutney, honey, garlic, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the olive oil, whisking to emulsify.
- For the Salad: Add the kale, quinoa, carrots, bell pepper, celery, grapes, and cilantro (if using) to the dressing. Toss until the ingredients are evenly coated with the dressing. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or until ready to serve (up to 1 day ahead). Right before serving, mix in the cashews. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, before serving.
- Note: If you are cooking the quinoa, you'll need about ⅔ cup raw quinoa. Rinse and cook the quinoa according to package directions.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 545
- Fat: 33 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 58 g
- Sugar: 27 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Sodium: 505 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Would Spinach work in this recipe?
I think it would, but probably won’t last quite as long in the fridge as it’s not quite as sturdy as kale.
It was so good nothing left to put in the fridge LOL.
I will make it with Kale next time.
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Glad to hear it — thanks for reporting back! 🙂
Whoa, this is amazing! Ur such a good chef. Thank you so much for sharing ur talents with us!
We loved this — I’m unable to chew kale, so used a baby super greens mix. There’s a bit of prep work, but the payoff is worth it!
Not a big fan of kale, but, the recipe looked so healthy with all the vegs, so I gave it a try. It is SO good! Made it several times in recent months. Just made it again as I’d made your Cranberry chutney for Christmas and needed to use it up. Substituted it for the mango chutney. Yum!
Hi Jenn
Quick question, do i measure the Kale by chopping and putting in a 1 cup measuring cup or weigh it by how many grams equals 1 cup?
Thanks so much
Hi Melissa, I usually buy already chopped kale and put it into a measuring cup without packing it too tightly. That said, if you have a kitchen scale, that’s a great way to get a really accurate measurement. You’ll need a total of 170 g. (I just realized that this recipe doesn’t have conversions to metric; I’ll have to add them.) Hope you enjoy the salad!
I made this for my family and then my book club and it was such a huge hit! I omitted the quinoa to serve as a side. Soooo delicious – and my husband does not like fruit or nuts in his salads and he gobbled it up. It is also great for leftovers because the kale is so hearty!
Thank you for providing such a lovely way to use kale and quinoa. My family completely enjoyed this salad.
I just made this and it came out great! Super flavorful and healthy. My daughter even liked it and she keeps telling me she doesn’t like quinoa. I doubled it so I could share it with my friends.
This was sooo good! I loved the hint of curry in the tangy sweet dressing. I used apples in place of grapes and it turned out great. My store bought mango chutney was pretty sweet so I only added a little bit of honey. I think this will be my go to lunch because it’s so easy and can be made ahead. Maybe I will add some chickpeas next time to make it more of a meal 🙂
Thank you again for another wonderful recipe!
I inadvertently used farro rather than quinoa; the flavors were amazing (as are the flavors in all your recipes I’ve tried … which are a lot!). This is absolutely a keeper. It’s like eating a salad at a ‘hip’ restaurant, but without breaking the bank. Great with grilled chicken or shrimp on top. Thank you, Jen for another terrific recipe.