Southwestern Kale Power Salad
Healthy kale and quinoa power salad with spicy sweet potato, black beans and creamy avocado sauce. This gluten-free salad packs well for lunch, too!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
This hearty salad features a few of my all-time favorite ingredients. Here we have massaged kale, quinoa, spiced sweet potatoes, and black beans served with a dollop of creamy avocado sauce. I added crumbled feta and toasted pepitas for good measure.
I’d cook with only these ingredients if it weren’t for diversity’s sake. This texture-rich vegetarian salad packs great for lunch. If you like to meal prep for the week, this is an excellent candidate. Given the number of components, this is not the quickest recipe around, but it’s absolutely work the effort.
This recipe has been a reader favorite since it was originally published in 2015 (really, nine years ago?). I developed it during a month-long stay in Austin, Texas with my friend Ali. You could probably say that the Southwestern vibes influenced the recipe.
Today, this salad is getting fresh photos and some slight revisions. Enjoy!
How to Make This Power Salad
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a brief rundown with notes and video.
- Cook the quinoa. The recipe uses my foolproof method of cooking quinoa, which will differ from the instructions on your bag. You can make the quinoa a day in advance, if you’d like.
- Cook the sweet potatoes in a skillet. I love roasted sweet potatoes, but these sweet potatoes are cut quite small, so the skillet method is ideal. We’ll add a little bit of water, cover and let them steam until tender, then uncover and cook them until they’re caramelized on the edges.
- Massage and dress the kale. Massaging the kale (literally just scrunching it in your hands until it’s darker and softer) removes all the poky edges and improves the flavor. Then we’ll whisk together a simple olive oil and lime dressing, and toss to coat.
- Make the avocado sauce. Combine the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Add more lime juice, if you’d like. The sauce should be nicely tart, but not overwhelmingly so.
- Toast the pepitas in a skillet. Freshly-toasted pepitas taste amazing and are totally worth the extra few minutes. Keep an eye on the skillet, as it’s easy to turn on the heat and forget until they’re too toasty.
- Assemble! Divide the components between bowls as shown, and enjoy.
Watch How to Make Southwestern Kale Power Salad
More Sweet Potato and Kale Recipes
- Coconut Curried Kale and Sweet Potato
- Quinoa Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale & Pesto Vinaigrette
- Spicy Sweet Potato and Green Rice Burrito Bowls
- Sweet Potato & Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Pepita Dip
- Sweet Potato, Kale and Chickpea Soup
Please let me know how this recipe turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Southwestern Kale Power Salad with Sweet Potato, Quinoa & Avocado Sauce
Healthy kale and quinoa power salad with spicy sweet potato, black beans and creamy avocado sauce. If your lime are particularly big, scale back. This gluten-free, vegetarian (easily vegan) salad packs well for lunch, too! Recipe yields 4 generous salads or 6 medium.
Ingredients
Quinoa and kale
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped into very small, bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium lime, juiced
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Sweet potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 ½ pounds), sliced into small, ¼-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Avocado sauce
- 2 ripe avocados, sliced into long strips
- ¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 medium jalapeño, deseeded, membranes removed and roughly chopped
- 1 handful cilantro leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander, optional
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
Everything else
- 1 can (14 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
- ¼ cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
Instructions
- To cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water for a minute or two. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from heat and let it rest, still covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot, drain off any excess water and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
- To cook the sweet potatoes: In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped sweet potatoes and toss to coat, then add the cumin, smoked paprika and salt. Stir to combine. Once the pan is sizzling, add a scant ¼ cup water, then cover the pan and reduce heat to low to avoid burning the contents. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is easily pierced through with a fork, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Uncover the pan, raise the heat back to medium and cook until the excess moisture has evaporated and the sweet potatoes are caramelizing on the edges, about 3 to 7 minutes (add another little splash of olive oil if the potatoes start sticking to the pan). Set aside to cool.
- To prepare the kale: Transfer the kale to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the chopped kale with salt and use your hands to “massage” it, which improves the flavor. Just grab handfuls of kale in your hands and scrunch it up in your palms. Repeat until the kale is darker green in color and more fragrant. Whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of 1 lime and ½ teaspoon salt. Drizzle over the kale and toss to coat.
- To make the avocado sauce: Combine the ingredients as listed in a food processor or blender. Blend well, add more lime juice if desired, and season with salt, to taste.
- To toast the pepitas: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the pepitas, stirring frequently, until they are turning lightly golden on the edges and starting to make little popping noises, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Once the quinoa has cooled down a bit, pour it into the bowl of kale and toss to combine. Divide the kale and quinoa mixture into four large salad bowls. Top with sweet potatoes, black beans, a big dollop of avocado sauce, and a sprinkle of feta and pepitas.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta.
Storage suggestions: This salad keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for a few days. To keep the avocado sauce from browning, store it separately in a small bowl—either press plastic wrap against the top surface or add a wedge of raw onion.
Change it up: Butternut squash or carrots would be good substitutions for the sweet potatoes.
Edits January 11, 2024: Adjusted avocado sauce by omitting 2 tablespoons olive oil (unnecessary), decreasing the salt for the sweet potatoes from 1 ½ teaspoons to ½ teaspoon, and specifying the amounts of lime juice and salt.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi Kate!
I use so many of your recipes all the time and have never left a review, so I just wanted to finally say thanks! I am vegetarian too and your blog is by far my favorite. I am totally obsessed with kale salads and have now made almost every one on your site! Just tried this one today and its absolutely delicious. Thank you again :)
Dede, thank you so much for your note! I’m so glad to hear you’ve been cooking along. And yay, glad you enjoyed this one!
This salad is unreal. I’ve made it at least 3-4 times in the past month. The only thing I change is roasting the sweet potatoes and adding a little chili powder to them. I’ve used queso fresco, and also omitted the cheese and it’s still just as good without. I love how well it holds up so I can make it to bring for lunches all week. Makes a lot! Even halved it usually gives me 3-4 lunch salads. Love love love. Favorite new recipe!
Thank you, Valerie! I want to try your version!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!! It was really flavorful, filling, and I can’t wait to eat my leftovers for lunch tomorrow! This will definitely be a repeat recipe!! Thank you!!
**I’m Vegan so I skipped the cheese, and I skipped the coriander and added a clove of garlic to the avocado sauce because I like everything garlicky!
Thank you, Christina! Happy to hear it. Your version sounds awesome.
Just made this for lunch and it’s absolutely delicious!! I could eat that avocado cream sauce out of the jar with a spoon. Great flavor all around.
The only thing I wanted more from it was more heat. It had a little bit of a kick, but next time I make it, I’d love to get more spicy. Any ideas on how to add more heat without losing any of the amazing flavor?
Thanks, Colleen! I’m obsessed with avocado sauce. I’d add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, or blend some into the avocado sauce. You could also toss a chopped jalapeño into the kale mixture. Peppers vary significantly with their heat levels, so I’d taste as you go!
Great idea – thanks!
I made this salad bowl for dinner last night and it was delicious!! I love the zinginess of the avocado sauce and the whole dish was tasty and healthy. My husband loved it too – thank you!!
Awesome! Thank you for letting me know, Janaki!
HOLY BALLS this was delicious. Integrating this recipe/concept into my cooking repertoire stat. Spices are spot on in the sweet potatoes, and the avocado sauce really ties the dish together. (I didn’t have pepitas or quinoa on hand, so I just used a wild rice blend, which was still delicious. I imagine this works with a variety of grains and greens and beans–yay!) Thanks, Kate!
Thank you, Natalie! :)
This was amazing! Made it twice this week. It’s fun, easy, healthy, and oh-so-delicious. Thank you!
Thank you, Jenn!
I had already planned to make refried black beans today and was hungry for tacos, so made parts of this recipe to put in my tacos….sweet potatoes, avocado dressing, pepitas, kale on top (used cotija cheese because I had some). Everything turned out great (the whole family loved the meal, which is rare). I especially loved the sweet potatoes and am excited to eat the left overs tomorrow in breakfast burritos with eggs (and to try the actual full salad recipe as well). The sweet potatoes were so easy to make and awesome to eat. I was trying to use up some sweet potatoes so ended up using about 2.3 lbs of sweet potatoes with the same amount of spices…still delish (and I thought the kids might like them better with a tad less spice). This is my first Cookie + Kate recipe…looking forward to trying out more.
Leah, thank you for your note! Delighted to hear that your whole family enjoyed the tacos. Hope you enjoy my recipes just as much!
I made this last night for a group of friends and everyone thought it was pretty tasty. I enjoyed the avocado crema- it turned out worth dirtying the food processor in order to make something emulsified with olive oil that acted as a dressing. Though I would make quite a few changes if I were to make it again. Not sure if I would repeat the recipe, just because of the number of dishes it dirties in making it (pot, pan, bowl, and food processor for one dish). Changes I would make—
-reduce the lime to 1 and either split it half/half with the avocado and kale or just add to the avocado; the overall dish was too lime-y for me
-use any extra leftover grains with the kale (I used barley instead of quinoa) otherwise don’t bother with the extra step and dishes (with the beans and sweet potato, the salad already felt well rounded in terms of fiber and protein)
-double the spices on the sweet potato
WOW! I just discovered your website earlier this week and am so excited to try your recipes. The flavors of this salad were wonderful! I did end up making a few changes due to what I had on hand and personal preference. I will definitely put this in my ‘keeper’ collection and will pass it along to my other foodie friends! Thanks Kate! BTW – Cookie is adorable! Looking forward to trying more of your creations!
I made this Sunday night and the quantities in the recipient given have made 5 perfect lunch portions. I had no coriander and messed up the avocado about and it was still delicious cold for lunch the next day!!! I made and extra olive oil, lemon and salt dressing and applied just before eating, it was really good and satisfying, office colleagues v jealous! Thank you for the great recipie will become a staple for sure x
Thank you, Liz! So glad you enjoyed the salad. I’d be happy eating this salad for five days in a row, that’s for sure! :)
Made this salad for lunch today. It is delicious! I love all the flavours! I am looking forward to having this for the next few days. Thanks for the recipe!
This was delicious! The salads were huge too – we definitely had leftovers. Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
Thank you, Courtney! Happy to hear it!
I made this for the hubs and i last evening. i had some brown rice in the fridge, so subbed that for the quinoa. it was SO good! i’ll definitely be making this again. your recipes are the best – i haven’t made one yet that i didn’t love. :o)
I made this salad Sunday and had leftovers for lunch today. It was great fresh, but overnight sitting in the fridge made it amazing today.
Fantastic recipe.
Thank you, Debra!
I LOVE this salad. I’ve made it at least half a dozen times. one of my favourite one dish meals for my husband and I.
Thank you, Karen! That’s great to hear! :)
Searching for a hearty gluten free meal that was easy to make but with interesting flavors and textures. Your instructions are so clear and accessible – my salad actually looked like the picture! I roasted the sweet potato instead of stovetop, and I added cayenne and cinnamon because that’s how I roll. Scrumptious. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hooray!!! Thank you, Jeanne. :) I try my best!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was AMAZING. I had to use pinto beans instead of black, but that worked out just fine. I especially loved the avocado sauce — the mix of spicy and creamy was delicious. <3 Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Sam! Happy to hear it!
I think this salad may be my new favorite! I love it so much that I shared a link to it on my blog so that my daughters could find it. They’re both recently out on their own, and looking for healthy meal options to make at home. Thank you! Here’s a link: pestoandterracotta.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/salad-in-january-you-bet/
Thank you, Leslie!!
We made this for dinner 2 hours ago and can’t stop talking about it! OMG! It was so delicious and full of flavor and it was easy to make. My kids loved it, too. We already can’t wait to make it again :) thank you so much!
Hooray! Thank you, Tiffany and fam!
I keep making this for lunches because I’m craving the mix of tastes and textures. The avocado sauce is so good I’m trying to think of other things to put it on! (I put basil in it instead of cilantro because I’m one of those people who thinks the latter tastes like soap and the sauce turns out great). Thanks for this well-balanced, yummy dish!
Hey Kate! I made this yesterday so we could pack in some health at a super bowl party. Everyone loved it! Great recipe.
when it says that the salad keeps in the refrigerator for a few days is that the kale with the dressing (not sauce) on it? the kale won’t wilt or get soggy with the lime juice?
I have been making it on Sundays and keeping it in the fridge to eat as lunches throughout the week. No wilting at all. (Though I’m not keeping the avocado sauce on it.)
Since I found this recipe about a month ago, I’ve made it once a week. I’m addicted!! So is my husband. The kids are slowly warming up to it. The only changes we made were just adding avocado slices instead of the sauce and then adding salsa to it. My husband requested it for tonight’s dinner and I am happy to make it! The feta cheese really pulls it together.
Thank you!!
OMG, this looks so delicious and I will most definitely make it this weekend, it has ALL of my favorites including spices!.
Yummy. I put red onion in with the kale and quinoa along with some cherry tomatoes. Tomatoes look pretty and red onion goes in most everything I can get it into.
Had this for dinner with my sister and her fiance and it was fantastic! The recipe made enough to leave us all very satisfied and also for the three of us to pack it for lunch the following day. Thanks so much. love this site.
This is your second dish that I’ve made and can’t wait to try more!
Haven’t tried this yet but plan to later today. I’m perusing the Internet for good vegetarian, gluten free recipes, but have a caveat because I have many food sensitivities. Sadly, they are the foods that I love and make up so many vegetarian recipes such as, quinoa, spinach (lettuce in general), asparagus, dairy, walnuts, squash, oats, and the list goes on. This salad looks yummy and I can definitely substitute brown rice for the quinoa without too much change.
(Just a note to your readers: Although I’ve always been concerned about what I eat, I was a little shocked to find out that so many foods were making me sick. Especially since they were the healthy foods we know are good for us, or some of us. Since I gave up my “bad” foods, I have been feeling so much better.)
This salad looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. Sweet potato and feta together are like a dream come true!
Thanks for sharing a great recipe.
I have a quinoa salad that I love making in the summer.
http://doubletherecipe.com/2016/03/14/black-bean-sweet-potato-quinoa-salad/
I’ve been excited to make this recipe for a while now, and finally did so for dinner last night (with rice as we didn’t have quinoa). My partner and I were both underwhelmed though, sadly! ‘Overpoweringly lime-y’ was the phrase brought to mind – especially the sauce. Maybe my avocados weren’t large enough, maybe not using jalapenos made it unbalanced (my girlfriend can’t cope with spicy), but the flavours were all a bit on the high, sharp side – it needs a little rounding out for my taste. It still holds promise though and I love the idea, so I’d like to try it again with my own tweaks – I’m thinking way less lime and salt, more spices on the sweet potatoes (which may be roasted next time), cheddar instead of feta, and adding in tomatoes.
Love seeing all the fresh veggies and fruits. It looks and sounds amazing. warm wishes, Annelina
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and love it! It’s made its way into my meal plan. I especially love the avocado sauce (I even ate the left overs with chips). Also, I love that it’s vegan and packed with super food! I can’t say enough about it, great recipe.
I replaced quinoa with millet when I made it and added a dash of chili powder to the kale/millet mix just to add a little oomph.
I made this last night for dinner. I must admit, when sampling each part of the salad alone I wasn’t that impressed. But once everything came together…WOW! What an amazing dish… and healthy to boot! I’m having leftovers for lunch and sharing the recipe with everyone I know!
Kate, this recipe looks very appealing, but just one question: How big a “bunch” of kale did you have in mind? Depending on the time of year and the source (grocery store, farmer’s market), what passes for a bunch can vary a lot.
I’d shoot for a medium bunch, around 8 ounces.
This looks amazing. I will be trying this soon!
I enjpy looking through a post that can make men and women think.
Also, many thanks for permitting mee to comment!
Wow! I used this for my lunch prep this week (yes, I can eat the same thing ALL week long with no problems) and LOVED it. Everyone at school had to try a bite, as well. It was extremely easy to prep and I stored all the ingredients separately to throw together at lunch. The toasted pepitas and creamy avocado really make this an outstanding meal. Thank you for this recipe!
This has got to be one of the best and tasty vegetarian recipes I have ever had. Each item could be on its own, or all 4 of them make a very tasty feast. This recipe definitely goes on the top of my list for food to make!
This was GREAT! A co-worker made it for me and I can’t get over how light but filling it was. It’s def a feel good meal!
I am just making this again for the second time in less than 2 weeks. It is sooooo good and I look forward to eating it, I may just have it for breakfast tomorrow. This is the first recipe I have ever commented on. I love it!!!!!
Yum! My daughter grudgingly tried it and loved it! She has a citrus allergy so we substituted 1 tbsp. cider vinegar for the lime. Not everyone in the family can eat quinoa so this has been the perfect lunch!
Love this recipe. I make it all the time. The only change I’ve made to the recipe is that I heat and add onion and spices (garlic, cumin, smoked chipotle peppers) to the black beans. And although your avocado sauce is way better, if I’m in a hurry I do occasionally substitute pre-made guacamole.
I made the Southwestern kale salad with quinoa and sweet potatoes. Wow!
I had only 1 good lime and half a leftover avocado, and chipotle powder in place of the smoked paprika! Fantastic! The sweet potatoes were delicious and tender, perfect ! Great great recipe! Thank you for putting it out for me to find. Also thanks for the excellent method for fluffy quinoa!
Delicious!
This is now one of my absolute favorite recipes ever! I added zucchini and yellow squash to the sweet potatoes because my garden is booming! I LOVE the sacue also… And even my husband who hates avacados loves the sauce on it!
I love this salad! I make it just about once every two weeks :-)It is perfect in every way, and the pepitas absolutely make it.
Very Yummy. Made 2 changes : Added 3 Tbl. Greek Yogurt & 1 large Garlic clove, crushed to Avocado sauce.
I made this tonight in a huge hurry, with hardly any time before having to leave the house. It was easy and quick to throw together. The colors were gorgeous and it was out of this world delicious!
Having just ribboned a bunch of kale last night, I didn’t feel like taking the time, so I whipped out my food processor and pulsed it. I’ve never done this before but think I will again. Quick and easy. It did the chopping and massaging for me.
My husband eats kale because I make it, but he loved this one. The only bummer was that we ate in the car and couldn’t have seconds.
Definitely a winner!
Thanks, Lucy! I never thought to use the food processor to pulse kale. Interesting! So glad you both enjoyed this one.
I made this tonight as written, and it looked just like the picture, but I wish I had listened to those who mentioned making changes. It was ok, but we thought it was such a waste of good ingredients on this when better options are available. After tasting I added in a bit of garlic since we both found the flavor lacking, and I see others also added in spices.
The lime totally overpowered the avocados so we could barely taste them. So much better to have just sliced them on top with salsa as another reviewer said. I’d have omitted the sweet potatoes and saved that for another recipe.
My spouse, who’s the least picky eater I know, refused to eat the leftovers, so all that was pitched. He said these ingredients minus the sweet potatoes would have made a great bean taco salad and tasted so much better. I completely agree. I really wanted to love this, but sadly could not. Next time just layer on a plate the following: sml handful of crushed tortilla chips, warm brown rice, warm black beans, mixed salad greens, chopped tomatoes, onions,avocados, cilantro,olives, salsa, and optional sour cream or yogurt or lite ranch dressing.
Hi Susan, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one.
Love it, beautiful and delious! Thank you,
Pat
Thank you, Pat!