Superfood Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

This superfood salad is bursting with a cornucopia of hearty whole grains, lentils, leafy kale, sweet fruits, and crisp veggies, all drizzled with a homemade maple vinaigrette. 

Superfoods–you know those especially nutrient dense foods like whole grains, legumes, leafy greens, and berries–aren’t just good for the body, they’re completely delicious! In other words, the perfect inspiration for a satisfying salad. 

Brown rice and tender lentils create a hearty base that will ensure you feel full and fueled for hours to come. Shelled edamame delivers a hit of protein while sweet blueberries, juicy tomatoes, and rich walnuts add color, vibrance, and texture. 

Once tossed, these ingredients explode into a festive rainbow of colors, but you’re not done with them just yet, oh no. You’re going to make these superfoods shine with the addition of a homemade maple vinaigrette. You’ll see how easy it is to whip up this homemade dressing which, in addition to being unlike anything you’ll find on grocery store shelves, is the completely craveable, spoon-licking sauce that brings this whole superfood salad together. 

Ingredient Notes

• Mustard – If you’ve ever made a mustard-based vinaigrette before, you already know about its magical ability to emulsify oil and vinegar ingredients together into a smooth and creamy dressing. If you haven’t, welcome to the world of mustard vinaigrettes! Not all mustards are vegan though, as some contain eggs and/or use animal byproducts for processing. I recommend using dijon (Whole Foods carries a vegan dijon mustard!) or spicy brown mustard for best flavor, but yellow mustard will work in a pinch too. 
• Kale – One of my favorite dark leafy greens, kale adds great texture to and color contrast to your salad. I use lacinato (also called dinosaur) kale in mine, but curly kale is okay too. 
• Cooked brown rice – This is a great time to use up leftover brown rice you may have from another meal, or cook a fresh batch according to the package cooking instructions and let it cool. 
• Cooked lentils – Same goes for the lentils, use leftovers if you have them! You can also cook them fresh OR, my favorite tip: shop the canned bean aisle of your grocery store. They offer many varieties of cooked lentils in cans and pouches. Just double check the label for any hidden non-vegan ingredients. 
• Shelled edamame – I highly recommend using fresh or frozen (cooked) shelled edamame here. Canned edamame will do the job but doesn’t have as great of a texture. 
• Red onion – Adds a sharp and savory bite to your superfood salad that nicely balances all of the sweetness. Trust me, this salad is not the same without the onion and once you taste it all together, you’ll see what I mean! 
• Blueberries – Fresh blueberries are best here as they will stay intact. If fresh berries are out of season or not available, you can use frozen, but note that they often get mushy and leak juices after defrosting. I tried using frozen berries in this salad once, and the whole thing became tinted pink! A lesson I also learned while making my Vegan Blueberry Muffins. It was still plenty delicious though. 
• Toasted sesame seeds – The finishing touch! A shower of these tiny little seeds brings a deep, nutty flavor and a layer of light crispness to the salad. If you only have raw sesame seeds, just heat them gently in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for a minute or two until toasty. 

Tips From Ligia

How to stem fresh kale:

Hold the top end of a kale leaf in one hand and straddle the leaf between the fingers of your other hand, then run your fingers down the length of the leaf–against the grain is key here–exerting a gentle pressure as you do so. The leafy sections will tear cleanly away from the woody stem. Repeat as needed!

Superfood Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Ginny McMeans

4.6100 from 23 votes

This superfood salad is bursting with whole grains, lentils, leafy kale, berries, and crisp veggies, then drizzled with a homemade maple vinaigrette. 

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 6 Servings

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Ingredients

  

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For the Maple Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp mustard, either dijon (check for vegan labeling), or spicy brown
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pinch ground black pepper

For the Superfood Salad:

• 1/2 bunch kale, stemmed
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 cup cooked lentils
• ½ cup shelled edamame, fresh, frozen, or canned (I use fresh or frozen in mine)
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, frozen works too, but not as ideal
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine all of the maple vinaigrette ingredients. You’ll be adding your entire salad to this bowl and mixing it later, so definitely choose a vessel that has plenty of room!
• Whisk the salad dressing ingredients together until the mixture comes together into a lightly creamy dressing. At first it may seem like ingredients don’t want to mix, but after a few minutes they will blend.
• Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and place it directly into the bowl with the dressing. Use your hands massage and press the kale into the dressing, so that the acidity can help to break down the tough fibers of the leaves.
• Now add all of your superfoods to the bowl.
• Toss everything all together, until all ingredients are evenly mixed and coated in your delicious maple vinaigrette. Divide the salad into serving bowls and enjoy, it’s that simple! You can garnish each serving with a few more fresh blueberries or another sprinkle of sesame seeds if you like.

Nutrition

Serving:1Serving, Calories:381kcal, Carbohydrates:34g, Protein:7g, Fat:25g, Saturated Fat:3g, Polyunsaturated Fat:6g, Monounsaturated Fat:15g, Sodium:130mg, Potassium:372mg, Fiber:6g, Sugar:13g, Vitamin A:221IU, Vitamin C:6mg, Calcium:104mg, Iron:3mg

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