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Kale and Cabbage Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

Kale and Cabbage Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

This is one of my favorite salads of all time. It is tangy, nutty, savory, and quite aesthetically pleasing if I do say so myself. It features massaged kale and cabbage as the star players, tart Granny Smith apples, fresh green onions, a garlicky tahini dressing, and crispy chickpeas on top. This balanced salad is refreshing and delightful any time of the year. It’s perfect for parties or for keeping in the fridge as an easy side-dish.

salad

This salad was inspired by a nearby health food store that I frequent. They have a delicious salad very similar to this one, but they sell it in small, plastic containers and it ain’t cheap! So I took mental note of the ingredients and went to create my own, adding crispy chickpeas for protein (and because they’re delicious). It’s one of my go-to’s and I hope you all like it too!

salad

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients

For Salad:

  • 4 cups of chopped kale (one medium sized bunch)
  • 1.5 to 2 cups of shredded cabbage (red or green)
  • 1 medium Granny Smith apple (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 4)
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 1/3 cup pepitas

For Tahini Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • juice from 1/2 lemon (1 to 2 tbsp)
  • 3 tbsp of water (more if needed)
  • 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder, whichever you prefer
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • freshly cracked black pepper

For Crispy Chickpeas

  • 1 can of chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Wash, de-stem, and roughly chop kale; then place it in a large salad bowl.
  3. Add one tbsp of olive oil (or omit if you wish) and massage kale.
  4. Add shredded cabbage to the bowl and massage some more.
  5. Next, add chopped apple and green onions.
  6. Drain, rinse, and pat dry canned chickpeas.
  7. In a small mixing bowl, toss the chickpeas with olive oil, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
  8. Place chickpeas on baking sheet, leaving room for airflow in between. Bake for about 12 minutes, shaking pan halfway. They should be slightly brown.
  9. While the chickpeas bake, mix together tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, salt, and pepper (the lemon juice will make the tahini seize up a little. That’s okay, just add water until it’s liquidy again. Warm water is especially effective.
  10. Mix dressing into salad. When you’re ready to serve, top with crispy chickpeas and pepitas so they don’t get soggy.