If I’m being honest, this is not really my family’s favorite type of meal, but it is mine! I loved this kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans and lemon garlic vinaigrette. I ate the leftovers for lunch for 3 days after we had it. It held up SO well in the fridge with the dressing already on. That is rare for salads.
In addition to the yummy roasted sweet potatoes and black beans, this salad also has roasted shallots (SO good), farro, crumbled feta and either sunflower seeds or pepitas (I used sunflower seeds because I had them). The dressing is light and has just the right amount of garlic.
If you can get it, use Lacinato kale for this, as it is a bit easier to chew and digest in raw form. If you have not cooked with farro, it is hulled wheat grains that are dried and then cooked in water to soften. Farro has an amazing chewy texture and is a great vehicle for the delicious dressing here.
Check out my other salads here too if you want a good dinner salad recipe to make tonight and this one isn’t your thing.
Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Black Beans and Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the sweet potatoes and shallots:
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 thick wedges
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ancho chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- fresh black pepper
- 6 shallots peeled and quartered
For the dressing:
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
For the salad:
- 1 lb kale washed, stemmed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 1 can black beans rinsed
- 1 cup farro cooked according to instructions on package
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup roasted and salted pepitas or sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. Place the sweet potatoes and shallots on the sheet and toss with oil, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake another 5-10 minutes until well browned.
- Meanwhile cook the farro according to instructions and allow to sit.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and taste and season with salt and pepper. Put the torn kale in a large bowl and drizzle a little of the dressing on. Massage the dressing into the kale with clean hands until the kale is bright green, shiny and reduced in size a bit. This makes it much nicer to eat.
- Toss the kale with the farro, feta, black beans and sunflower seeds and drizzle a bit more dressing on. Top with sweet potatoes and shallots and serve with extra dressing on the side.