Kale Salad Recipe
This 5-Minute Healthy Kale & Quinoa Salad is easy to make and uses ingredients that give you the flexibility to make in a hotel room! I know because I’ve made this salad in a hotel room (that was equipped with a mini-fridge and microwave) and my family was able to eat a little bit healthier while on vacation. In fact, we had friends visit our hotel and when we fed them this salad they were begging for the recipe! Don’t forget to watch the video below and follow my tips if you are traveling and want to make this in a hotel room 😉
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How to make this in a hotel room or dorm room
As I mentioned, you will need a mini-fridge (to store your salad in) and a microwave (to make the steamed broccoli and quinoa). A few other items you should have…
Here are a few other tips to make this salad in a hotel room/dorm room:
- You can skip adding diced onions if you don’t have a sharp knife available
- If you have a sharp knife available, use something like a paper plate or bowl as a cutting surface if you don’t have a cutting board
- A plastic knife should work fine to chop the broccoli or tomatoes
- Check the freezer section for steamable quinoa or the dry foods section next to minute rice for a microwavable version
- Use an empty water bottle to store the salad dressing in (bonus if the bottle has a squirt mouthpiece!)
- Use a large ziplock bag for storage if you don’t have a large bowl/serving dish
- Paper plates or bowls and plastic forks and knives are all you need to eat the finished product 🙂
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Healthy Kale & Quinoa Salad
Serving Size – 6
Ingredients:
For the Salad:
- 6 cups of raw Kale
- 1 bag of Frozen Steamed Broccoli
- 3/4 cup Craisins
- 1 cup Cooked Quinoa (or use microwavable quinoa)
- 1 Red Onion, Diced
- 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup EVOO
For the Dressing:
- 1/2 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 & 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup EVOO
- 1 tsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Dill
Instructions:
For the Salad:
- Remove stems (ribs) from kale leaves while breaking each leaf into smaller pieces and place in a large serving dish.
- Pour olive oil over kale leaves and toss to evening coat all leaves (this will reduce the roughness of the kale).
- Cook quinoa. Using microwavable quinoa will speed things up. Check the freezer section for a steamable quinoa or the dry foods section next to minute rice.
- Steam the broccoli, let cool, then chop into small pieces. For a faster cooling process, run cold water over broccoli, drain well, then chop.
- Add broccoli, quinoa, onion, tomatoes, and craisins to the kale and toss to combine.
For the Dressing:
- Add all ingredients to a container and stir well to combine flavors
Enjoy!

Healthy Kale and Quinoa Salad
Supplies
- 6 cups Raw Kale
- 1 bags Frozen Steamed Broccoli
- 1 cup Cooked Quinoa or use microwavable quinoa
- 1 cup Red Onion Diced
- 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes Halved
- 3/4 cup Craisins
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Garlic
- 1 tsp Dill
Instructions
- Remove stems (ribs) from kale leaves while breaking each leaf into smaller pieces and place in a large serving dish.
- Pour olive oil over kale leaves and toss to evening coat all leaves (this will reduce the roughness of the kale).
- Cook quinoa. Using microwavable quinoa will speed things up. Check the freezer section for a steamable quinoa or the dry foods section next to minute rice.
- Steam the broccoli, let cool, then chop into small pieces. For a faster cooling process, run cold water over broccoli, drain well, then chop.
- Add broccoli, quinoa, onion, tomatoes, and craisins to the kale and toss to combine.
- For the Dressing: Add all ingredients to a container and stir well to combine flavors.
Nutrition
Watch the Kale and Quinoa Salad Video
Here are the items that I used in the video…
Meal planning is a since when you have a large cutting board for chopping all those fruits and veggies! Ours was handmade but this one looks very similar and high quality.
You can’t have a great cutting board without a great knife or knife set. Ours were handed down from my father-in-law (who owned a cafe) so the knives we use are top quality chef knives but this chef knife looks very similar and has good reviews.
Cooking and meal prepping require mixing several meals in one day so having extra mixing bowls is a must. We have some similar to these and these.
Use wide-mouth mason jars to store salads and fruits for the week. I prep kale salads and house salads in advance and store them in these large mason jars until it’s time to eat them. I also like to make fruit salad jars in these small mason jars, which is perfect for the kids to grab for a healthy after-school snack.
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