Kale and sweet potato salad with turmeric chickpeas is bursting with flavorful turmeric-marinated chickpeas, red onions, ginger, and slices of garlic in a Tahini-lemon kale rub.
If you're familiar with my roasted sweet potato salad with soy ginger dressing or are a sweet potato dip fan - here's a new twist you'll love.
Table of Contents
Recipe Highlights
This recipe is a tasty combination of three relatively effortless steps resulting in three separately prepared ingredients that merge, complimenting flavors and textures. The result? A flavorful salad meal in a jiff with lasting powerful nutrition.
Three steps? Don’t let that scare you off. You won’t begin with a counter full of ingredients or end with a sink full of pots and pans. You'll need a medium bowl for marinating chickpeas, a baking tray for the sweet potatoes, and your salad bowl. Done and done!
Turmeric Chickpeas
The turmeric-marinated chickpeas are a bit of a twist on my favorite pickled red onions.
The ‘marinade’ uses the quick pickling magic of apple cider vinegar. It’s the acid of vinegar that makes pickling happen. Mixing up the ½ cup of vinegar with ground turmeric, minced ginger, and sliced garlic may seem like a lot of liquid. After all, you're just adding a can of drained chickpeas and sliced red onion.
Garlic Options
I really like adding sliced garlic and am surprised by the mellowness of the flavor. If you fear a full-frontal garlic assault, adjust the garlic in three ways (or a combination).
1. Cut the garlic from 2 to 1 clove.
2. Rather than thin slices, mince the garlic.
3. Roast the minced or sliced garlic along with the sweet potatoes. Roasting will mellow and soften the garlic. It’s the best method for making roasted creamy roasted sweet potato dip, and it will work for this recipe.
Why turmeric?
I’m not joy-riding on the turmeric bandwagon by adding it to the marinade. There is a lot of research regarding the nutritional properties of turmeric. I used it for the same reason I use any spice. It’s the right flavor for the moment.
If you’ve ever used it, you already know that a little turmeric goes a long way. Its color has a tendency to wiggle its way into your plastic containers, wooden spoons, and cutting boards. Let’s avoid all that potential mess.
I always get the chickpeas and onions started first and then move to the sweet potatoes; however, the marinating time can be as little as 10 minutes. This means you can get the potatoes baking with plenty of time for the marinating. The timing difference is 10 minutes either way, and you can preheat the oven while you make the chickpeas and then roast the sweet potatoes.
Roasting Sweet Potatoes
I used 2 medium sweet potatoes for this salad. Don’t get precious about the ‘required’ amount; get them peeled, diced, on the baking tray, and into the oven.
Toss the sweet potatoes in a bit of vegetable broth, like a tablespoon, as an alternative to oil. Check them after 15 minutes by piercing them with a fork.
Baking time depends on the size of the potatoes, how old they are, the heat in your oven (they are all different), and sometimes the inexplicable.
Why Massage Kale?
Massage? Did someone say massage? I’m SO in! And so is your kale. The reason to massage kale is just what you think.
Raw kale can be a bit abrasive and rough (sort of like me when I could do with a massage). Gently massage it in dressing before adding other ingredients for a minute or two to relax it. That makes it softer and gives it a pleasanter mouthfeel.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this salad warm or at room temperature. It's a super tasty side salad for classic tempeh burgers, Indian-spiced potato patties, or a batch of baked veggie pakoras.
More Vegan Salad Recipes
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Printkale and sweet potato salad with turmeric marinated chickpeas
This kale and sweet potato salad bursts with flavorful turmeric marinated chickpeas, red onions, ginger, and slices of garlic in a tahini-lemon kale rub.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salads & Bowls
- Cuisine: plant-based
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 cups (1 - 15 oz. or 400 gm. can) of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium red onion, (about ½ cup), thinly sliced
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- 1 Tbsp. grated or minced ginger (a 1-inch knob)
- 2 tsp. turmeric
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable broth
- 4 cups of shredded or chopped kale or another green of your choice
- 1 Tbsp. Tahini
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup mixed fresh herbs such as basil, mint, cilantro, or parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the apple cider vinegar and turmeric. Add the garlic, ginger, chickpeas, and red onion slices. Be sure to coat everything well. Set the bowl aside so the ingredients can marinate. Mix the ingredients a few times as they sit.
- Preheat the oven to 4000 F. (2000 C.).
- Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into bite-sized cubes and toss them with 1 Tbsp. of vegetable broth to keep them moister during the baking process.
- Arrange the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake the sweet potatoes for 20 – 30 minutes, tossing them after the first 15, until they are tender when pierced with a fork.
- While the sweet potatoes bake, add the kale to your salad bowl. Add in 1 Tbsp. of tahini and 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice. Using your hands, massage the kale for 2 minutes until it is coated with the tahini and starts to become softer and more pliable. Allow it to sit in the bowl until the sweet potatoes are done.
- To make the salad, add the entire contents of the bowl of chickpeas and onions to the kale and mix well. Add the chopped herbs and sweet potatoes.
- Serve the salad warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Baking time for the sweet potatoes will depend on how large the pieces are. I recommend cutting the chickpeas in half, then laying them cut-side down and slicing them into round wedges about ½-inch thick.
- The turmeric marinated chickpeas and sweet potatoes can be prepared a day in advance. Keep both ingredients in separate covered containers in the refrigerator. Take them out before prepping the kale and chopping the fresh herbs. That should be enough time to warm them to room temperature.
- Choose any fresh herbs you like to finish this salad. We found that basil and mint are very complimentary with the turmeric and other flavors. Either curly or flat-leaf parsley are good options. You can also use a bit of fresh dill. Try not to overpower the salad with just one herb unless you are its superfan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 376 mg
- Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.6 g
- Protein: 8.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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