Kale Chickpea Salad

Kale and Chickpea Salad in a large clear glass bowl with a bottle of white balsamic vinegar to the side

5 from 12 votes

This recipe calls for white balsamic vinegar, which sweetens up the dressing. If you prefer, use red wine vinegar or even apple cider vinegar to impart more of a tang.

Course: salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 52kcal

Author: Judy DeLorenzo

Equipment

large bowl

Ingredients

1 medium bunch curly green kale
1 medium bunch curly red kale
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 14-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium-small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 sweet bell pepper (orange, red, or yellow), diced
1/2 large cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch thick quarter moons
16 sun dried or dehydrated tomatoes (see notes)
16 basil leaves

Instructions

Remove the kale stems.
Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces then rinse. Drain well, or roll up in a kitchen towel to dry.
Put the leaves into a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale. This will evenly spread the dressing, and will also tenderize the leaves.
Add the chickpeas, red onion, pepper, cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, and basil leaves to the bowl. Toss well.

Notes

Look for sun dried tomatoes that are not packed in oil. Better yet, make your own.

For this recipe, I used grape tomatoes that I "moist dried" last summer in my dehydrator. You may find this tutorial helpful, Dehydrating Grape or Cherry Tomatoes.

Nutrition