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A satisfyingly crunchy kale salad with carrots, cabbage, and crunchy quinoa all tossed with buffalo sauce and blue cheese

Buffalo Kale Salad

A satisfyingly crunchy salad!
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bunch kale approx. 11oz full bunch; approx. 6oz with tough stems removed
  • 8 oz cabbage, red or green approx. half a small head of cabbage
  • 5 oz julienned carrots
  • 1/2 red onion medium sized
  • 1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
  • 1/4 cup buffalo sauce more to taste
  • 2 oz crunchy quinoa see Notes below

Optional add-ins

  • blue cheese crumbles
  • cheddar cheese, grated or cubed
  • chickpeas
  • shredded chicken
  • thinly sliced jalapeno
  • diced avocado

Instructions
 

  • Roughly chop the kale, discarding tough stems. Thinly slice cabbage and red onion.
  • Place kale, cabbage, carrots, and red onion in a large bowl. Toss to combine.
  • Mix ranch or blue cheese dressing with buffalo sauce. Pour over the veggies and toss to coat well. Rest for 5 minutes to allow the greens to soften.
  • Toss veggies again after resting to be sure they are well coated. Add crunchy quinoa and any other add-ins. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes

to make the crunchy quinoa:
Cook 1 cup of quinoa and preheat your oven to 400°F. Spread cooked quinoa in a sheet pan and salt to taste. Bake 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. After 30 minutes, check more regularly so you do not over-crunch the quinoa. This will yield approximately 6.5 ounces of crunchy quinoa. 
simplyfy it!
Most of these ingredients can be found pre-chopped at the grocery store. If you are not in the mood for extra slicing and dicing, check the produce section for chopped kale, julienned carrots, and sliced cabbage. The kale is typically found with the bunched greens; remove any tough stem pieces before using. The carrots are sometimes labeled matchstick carrots; typically found with the bags of whole and baby carrots. The cabbage is likely to be found near the salad kits. Some of my local stores have cabbage only bags, others have coleslaw blends. The coleslaw blend will work here - you may even be able to skip the separate bag of carrots if the blend has a ratio to your liking. 
leftovers:
The salad will keep a few days in the refrigerator, however, the added quinoa will soften. If you are expecting leftovers, hold the crunchies and toss them in before serving.
Keyword buffalo, kale, salad