Easy Black Bean and Kale Salad

An Easy Black Bean and Kale Salad recipe perfect for lunch all week or as a veggie-packed side dish to serve with dinner. Made with black beans, kale and fresh herbs in a sweet and spicy lime dressing, this salad is good and good for you too.

Does a quick and easy lunch get any better than this?

This easy-peasy superfood salad (I mean, we are talking black beans AND kale here) is definitely gluten free, vegan possible (when you use maple or agave instead of honey) and good for you too.

I am definitely on team make lunch once and eat for a couple days and this recipe is definitely that. Just knowing that I don’t have to think about what to eat for lunch for a couple days of a busy week makes everything easier. And even easier when I know lunch is this good too!

And I love the flavour combination here – a little bit zesty from the lime, a little bit sweet from the honey, a little bit spicy from the chili powder, cumin and hot sauce (if you’re using those), a little bit earthy from the kale and parsley and so much texture from the beans and chopped veggies. There’s a little bit of something everyone will love with this salad.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLACK BEAN AND KALE SALAD RECIPE…

I used 2 cups of canned black beans here (drained and rinsed well) because canned beans are so easy. If you have some cooked beans on hand you can use those instead but canned beans are so easy.

My kale of choice here was the darker, lacinato-type kale (AKA black kale, tuscan kale, dinosaur kale, etc) but any kind of kale you can find in the grocery store will work. I usually go for the curly kale because that’s all my supermarket stocks but I was able to find this black kale and I must say I like it a lot.  And especially when mixed with lots of fresh parsley too.

As for the veggies, I used red onion, red pepper and shredded carrots. You can use whichever kind or colour of onion and pepper you have on hand – just make sure you chop it really fine so it blends and fits in better with the salad. You could even add in some spicy jalapeño pepper or other hot pepper too. And those shredded carrots, you can chop them too (or substitute more peppers instead if carrots aren’t your thing) but there’s just something about the texture of the shredded carrot.

The dressing for this salad is lime (or lemon), honey, olive oil and some spices. Adding the ground cumin and chili powder into the dressing gives this salad a little bit of tex-mex flare (especially with all those black beans!), which will always be favourite in my kitchen. You can adjust the spice levels of this salad by adding a little hot sauce or skip the spices all together.

To assemble? Just mix everything all together, massaging the kale as you go to allow it to become tender and delicious. This salad is a great make-ahead lunch or addition to any dinner and will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.

Rebecca | NOURISHED. the blog

Serves 4

Easy Black Bean and Kale Salad

An Easy Black Bean and Kale Salad recipe made with black beans, kale and fresh herbs in a sweet and spicy lime dressing, this salad is good and good for you too.

15 minPrep Time

15 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

For the Dressing:
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon honey (or use other liquid sweetener - agave or maple syrup, if vegan)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin (optional but recommended)
• 1/8 teaspoon chili powder (optional but recommended)
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste (optional)
For the Salad:
• 3 cups kale, washed, tough stems removed and finely chopped
• 2 cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed well
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup carrot, shredded (from 1 small peeled carrot)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup; or use any colour pepper)
• 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

Instructions

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the dressing until smooth - olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt, cumin, chili powder and fresh ground black pepper or hot sauce if using. Season the dressing to taste, adding more salt, pepper, lime juice, honey or hot sauce if needed.
2. To a large mixing bowl, add the kale. Drizzle half of the dressing over the kale and massage for a minute or two until the kale is wilted and softened.
3. Add the black beans, parsley, carrot, bell pepper and onion to the kale. Pour the remaining dressing over top and mix well. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
4. Serve immediately or keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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https://www.nourishedtheblog.com/black-bean-kale-salad/

NOURISHED. | www.nourishedtheblog.com | 2017

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