This easy quinoa and kale recipe is perfect for a quick and healthy vegan lunch or a side dish to go with any meal! You can whip up this dish in just 1 pot in about 15 minutes. It tastes great warm or served cold as a quinoa salad!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's super quick and easy!
- It's Gluten-free, vegan, and soy-free clean eating!
- This dish is packed with healthy mushrooms, kale, and quinoa of course.
- It's Great for meal prep, easy weeknight meals, or packed lunches.
- This is delicious warm or cold!
Quinoa just seems to go well with kale, and adding mushrooms to the mix makes the combo even more delicious. Quinoa can be a little boring on its own, but it has a delicious nutty flavor and interesting texture that you don't get from other grains.
This is one of my family's favorites! We add tofu or vegan chicken strips to make it a meal or simply serve it as a side. It keeps well in the fridge and can be served hot or cold as a quinoa kale salad, so it's perfect for meal prep too!
❔How to cook quinoa
There are plenty of recipes out there for cooking quinoa, but I find many of them to be too wet. Especially for recipes like this one where you fry the quinoa in a skillet after it has cooked, you want a light and fluffy quinoa.
I cook my quinoa with a 1:1.25 ratio - so, add 1 cup of quinoa to 1 1/4 cups of water or broth. This recipe from The Pioneer Woman always comes out with the dryer fluffy texture that is ideal for skillet quinoa recipes.
✨ Make this easier
If you don't have the time or don't want to cook the quinoa yourself, many grocery stores sell pre-cooked quinoa in the frozen food section, usually near the frozen vegetables.
Aldi sells frozen pre-cooked quinoa and kale made by Season's Choice which is delicious! Costco also sells a similar frozen quinoa and kale mix too. This will allow you to skip the quinoa and kale prep and make this in just minutes!
🥄 How to make quinoa and kale
Step 1 - Pre-cook quinoa by adding 1 cup of washed quinoa to 1 1/4 cups of salted water or vegetable broth. Heat until boiling, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit for another 20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa before adding it to the skillet. (This will yield 2 cups of cooked quinoa).
Step 2 - Slice mushrooms and wash and chop kale into small pieces.
Step 3 - Saute mushrooms along with 2 cloves of minced garlic in 2 tbsp of olive oil for about 3 minutes over medium heat.
Step 4 - Wash and chop kale into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Massage the chopped kale with your hands until it becomes bright green and shiny.
Step 5 - Toss in the kale and stir-fry the kale with the mushrooms for another 2-3 minutes. (Omit this step if you are using frozen quinoa with kale already in it).
Step 6 - Add the pre-cooked quinoa or a bag of frozen quinoa. (If using frozen quinoa and kale, omit the steps of cooking the quinoa and preparing the kale).
Step 7 - Fry for another 5 minutes until the quinoa is fairly dry and gets slightly crispy. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice if desired.
This dish is also delicious tossed with some vegan feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, or roasted chickpeas.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Make sure to use quinoa that is light and fluffy.
- Some recipes call for a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water when cooking. This will make quinoa that is very wet. This may be good in other recipes, but not when frying quinoa.
- Some frozen quinoa gets very wet when thawed. You can thaw it first and then squeeze out the water before adding it to the skillet.
📖 Variations of quinoa and kale
- Saute vegan chicken strips along with the mushrooms and kale for a more filling meal.
- Toss in some vegan pesto and cherry tomatoes towards the end of cooking for a burst of flavor and pretty color.
- Add crispy tofu on top for a delicious protein-packed meal.
- Top with green onions and/or toasted pine nuts for extra flavor
🍴 More easy weeknight meals
- Vegan Goulash
- Southwest Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Risotto
- Easy Vegan Stroganoff
- 15 Bean Soup
- Simple Vegan Tomato Pasta
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Quinoa and kale recipe
Quinoa and Kale
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup mushrooms washed and sliced
- 1 cup kale finely chopped
- 2 cups quinoa cooked (or replace with frozen pre-cooked quinoa)
- 2 tablespoons green onions chopped (optional for garnish)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
Instructions
- Pre-cook quinoa by adding 1 cup of washed quinoa to 1 1/4 cup salted water or vegetable broth. Heat until boiling, then cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit for another 20 minutes. (This will yield 2 cups cooked quinoa).
- Slice mushrooms and wash and chop kale into small pieces.
- Saute mushrooms in 2 tbsp of olive oil for about 3 minutes over medium heat.
- Wash and chop kale into small pieces. Rub the chopped kale with your hands until it becomes bright green and shiny.
- Toss in the kale and stir fry with the mushrooms for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the pre-cooked quinoa or a bag of frozen quinoa. (If using frozen quinoa and kale, omit the steps of cooking the quinoa and preparing the kale).
- Fry for another 5 minutes until the quinoa is fairly dry and slightly crispy. Salt to taste.
- Garnish with green onions and serve either hot or cold.
Notes
- Make sure to use quinoa that is light and fluffy.
- Some recipes call for a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water when cooking. This will make quinoa that is very wet. This may be good in other recipes, but not when frying.
- Some frozen quinoa gets very wet when thawed. You can thaw it first and then squeeze out the water.
- Saute vegan chicken strips along with the mushrooms and kale for a more filling meal.
- Toss in some vegan pesto and cherry tomatoes towards the end of cooking for a burst of flavor.
- Add crispy tofu on top for a delicious protein-packed meal.
- Top with green onions and/or toasted pine nuts for extra flavor.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I was so excited when I got your email and had all of the ingredients on hand to make this! I have made it 3 more times in the last week. I'm obsessed! Thanks so much for the recipe!
You're welcome Sarah! So happy that you like it! 🙂
Oh yes! This is right up my alley 🙂 Def giving this a try soon!
Oh how I love this recipe! Maybe it's because I love every single ingredient and it looks so easy. I will be pinning this and making it WITH TOFU!
Thanks Jules! It's delicious with tofu and can be a main meal that way and not just a side. Hope you love it as much as we do! 🙂