Winter Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Croutons. Hearty kale, crunchy pistachios, tart dried cranberries, brown rice, goat cheese and amazing sweet potato croutons. Topped with a delicious mustard vinaigrettes dressing. Vegetarian, gluten-free and so DELICIOUS!

Hello Gorgeous Winter Kale Salad! I don’t know about you but Kale is by far my favorite green and it has so much nutrition its insane!  So versatile as well.  In my opinion the best way to eat this hearty green is in salad form like this Simple Winter Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Croutons.  A statement salad to say the least just like my Mind Blowing Easy Kale Salad. 

Hearty beautiful curly kale, tart dried cranberries, nutty crunchy pistachios, brown rice, goat cheese and the most unbelievable sweet potato croutons.  OMG! This salad simply blew me away and it is so gorgeous!  I dressed it with my go-to mustard vinaigrette dressing and it just shined like the star it knew it should be! I LOVE the combo of kale and sweet potatoes so this salad recipe is right up my alley.

Let’s talk for a quick minute about the nutrition in this Winter Kale Salad

• Iron
• Calcium
• Vitamins A, B and C, 
• Plant – based protein
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Fiber

I know!  Crazy, Insane amount of nutrition and GUESS WHAT?  It’s also DELICIOUS, Gluten-Free and Vegetarian. Hey swap out the Goat cheese with vegan cheese and you have a Vegan version as well! I have made it with vegan feta cheese and it did not disappoint.

I cannot contain my excitement over this salad!  This would be such an incredible salad to serve for the holidays or even for a weeknight healthy dinner. 

How to make sweet potato croutons

Now, kale move aside, it is time for the amazing SWEET POTATO CROUTONS to make their entrance and steel the show!  These croutons are so good my kids can eat an entire pan full.  Plus sweet potato is the most nutrient rich item in the produce section of the grocery store.  Like I said, crazy nutrition in this salad. 

So simple to make:  

• Just dice up the sweet potato and drizzle it with olive oil and my fave spice trio (garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder), salt and pepper.  
• Toss onto a baking sheet and bake in a 425F degree oven for 35-45 minutes.

These come out perfect every time and I should know since I make them at least 2 times a week and my husband could not believe I hadn’t posted the recipe yet.  I was just saving it for all of you to put into this SALAD that I am just going crazy for!

The rest of the ingredients in this Winter Kale Salad

• Cooked brown rice
• Pistachios
• Dried cranberries
• Goat cheese or vegan feta cheese crumbled
• Red onion
• My number one go-to mustard vinaigrette dressing

The combination of these ingredients really matched well together and created such a hearty and easy kale salad recipe that can be served as a meal or just as a side.  So simple and the kind of recipe that just brightens up your mood when you are eating it. I LOVE food like this!  I hope you do to!

Simple Winter Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Croutons

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Simple winter kale salad with sweet potato croutons. Hearty kale, crunchy pistachios, tart dried cranberries, brown rice, goat cheese and amazing sweet potato croutons. Topped with a delicious mustard vinaigrettes dressing. Vegetarian, gluten-free and so DELICIOUS!

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Ingredients

• 2 bunches of curly kale
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 2 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apples cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions

Make the sweet potato croutons:

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Dice the sweet potato and place it into a medium size mixing bowl.
2. Drizzle 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil onto the potatoes, add in the garlic, onion and chili powder, some salt and pepper and toss to coat it all.
3. Place the sweet potatoes onto a sprayed baking sheet in a single layer and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove and let cool.
4. Chop the kale, I like to cut mine into thin strips, and massage it with your fingers for a couple of minutes to break it down a little.

Make the mustard vinaigrette dressing:

1. Add the dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to a small mixing bowl and whisk. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, while whisking to emulsify.

Build the salad:

1. Add the cooked brown rice, diced onion, cranberries, pistachios, goat cheese and croutons to the kale. Toss. Serve and dress with the mustard vinaigrette. ENJOY!

Notes

Vegan options: Use vegan cheese (I like vegan feta or just a soft crumbled vegan cheese or shredded vegan mozzerella)

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 143 Total Fat: 6.4g Saturated Fat: 2.3g Cholesterol: 7mg Sodium: 65mg Carbohydrates: 17.3g Fiber: 2.3g Sugar: 1.8g Protein: 5.2g