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Kale Power Salad with Spicy Almond Dressing

5 from 63 reader reviews
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 -6
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Ingredients

Spicy Almond Dressing

  • ½ cup sliced almonds, soaked for 1 hour and drained
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon Tamari
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce of choice, or to taste
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Kale Power Salad

  • 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500 grams), peeled and diced into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 350 gram block firm OR extra firm tofu, drained and torn into little pieces
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • 2 tablespoons cornmeal
  • 6 cups chopped kale, lightly packed
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thin
  • ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Make the spicy almond dressing. In an upright blender, combine the almonds, garlic, nutritional yeast, water, olive oil, white wine vinegar, lime juice, Tamari, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Blend the mixture on high until smooth and creamy. If it's a little thick and pasty, just add a big splash of water and blend it again. Taste the dressing and check for seasoning, adjust if necessary, and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, make a little spice blend: stir together the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chili powder. Set out two medium bowls. Place the chopped sweet potatoes in one of the bowls and the tofu pieces in the other. Using a clean kitchen towel, really do your best to blot all moisture from the tofu.
  • Divide the spice blend evenly amongst the sweet potatoes and tofu. Drizzle both the sweet potatoes and the tofu with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. Season both with salt and pepper. To the tofu only, add the arrowroot and cornmeal. Toss the sweet potatoes until evenly coated. Then, using a spatula, toss the tofu bits until evenly coated.
  • Spread the sweet potatoes and tofu out on opposite sides of the baking sheet. Give each piece as much space as you can. Pop the baking sheet into the oven and roast for 35 minutes, stirring and flipping the pieces at the halfway point. At the end of the roasting, the sweet potatoes should be tender and the tofu bits should be crunchy on the outside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the kale, remaining tablespoon of olive oil, lime juice, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to massage the kale until it’s slightly tenderized, about 1 minute.
  • Drizzle the top of the kale with some of the spicy almond dressing. Then top with roasted sweet potatoes, crispy spiced tofu bits, avocado, and red onion. Drizzle more of the dressing on top. Finish the salad with the toasted sliced almonds. Enjoy immediately.

Equipment

Recipe Notes

  • I go up to about 1 tablespoon of hot sauce total in my dressing. I like the zing and the hot sauce that I typically use for things like this (Cholula) isn’t overly hot. 
  • If you’re using coconut aminos in place of the Tamari, I would double the amount to 2 teaspoons. 
This vegan kale power salad is so satisfying and loaded with flavour. Kale is topped with tender roasted sweet potatoes, crispy baked tofu bits, avocado, red onion, and a super creamy spicy almond dressing that you'll want to drizzle on everything!