Sauteed Kale, Bean, & Avocado Salad

Search no longer for the perfect sautéed kale salad recipe! This savory salad will not only taste of heaven with its hints of toasted sesame, but it will wholly satisfy your heroic hunger. Brimming with soft beans and smooth avocado, you’ll be forced to forget the days when kale wasn’t cool.

If you’ve never had a warm kale salad before, you’re in for a treat. When this cruciferous leafy green is combined with a sizzling skillet and a spoonful of sesame oil, it’s transformed into something magical. Every mouthful will be memorable and we guarantee you’ll be begging for more in minutes.

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Sauteed Kale, Bean, & Avocado Salad

Author: Michelle Cehn

5 from 7 votes

This sautéed kale, bean and avocado salad is a delicious, healthy lunch and a delightful way to enjoy kale! We love making this sautéed kale with garlic and sesame to serve as a side, but it can easily be turned into a complete meal by adding protein-packed pinto beans, creamy avocado chunky, calcium-rich tahini, and served atop a filling bed of quinoa (or rice). 

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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes minutes

Total Time 17 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil 
• ▢ 2 large bunches curly kale, rinsed, stems removed, and roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces. 
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, or two large cloves of garlic, minced
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds, white or black
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt, adjust to personal taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• ▢ 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• ▢ 1 avocado, diced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tahini 
• ▢ 2 cups cooked quinoa, optional

Instructions

• In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the toasted sesame oil.
• Once hot, add the chopped kale and toss it with the oil using a spatula.
• Add the garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic), sesame seeds, salt, and red pepper flakes and mix it evenly with the kale. 
• Cook for about 5-7 minutes, regularly tossing frequently to prevent burning. Remove from heat. 
• Mix in pinto beans and diced avocado and serve atop quinoa (if desired). Top with a generous drizzle of tahini and enjoy!

Notes

Is your tahini too thick to drizzle? Mix in a tiny bit of water to thin it out. 

Nutrition

Calories: 538kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 891mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 4mg

Course — Lunch

Cuisine — American

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Equipment You’ll Need

• Sauté Pan
• Can Opener
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Spatula

Superstar Ingredients

Our sautéed salad gains Superstar Status from its extraordinarily healthy ingredients, such as:

• Kale – Low in calories while high in calcium, vitamins A, K, B6, and C
• Sesame Seeds – High in fiber, magnesium, calcium, and protein
• Avocado – Good dose of healthy omega-3 fats, lutein, beta-carotene, vitamins, and minerals
• Pinto Beans – High in fiber, thiamine, iron, and magnesium
• Quinoa – Gluten-free and chock-full of protein, fiber, and B-vitamins

With just one serving of this sautéed kale salad recipe, you can get a ton of your nutrients totaled for the day.

How to Serve Up Your Sautéed Kale Salad

Greens go with pretty much anything, so serving your salad with other sides is super easy. Here are a few of our most mouthwatering suggestions:

• Buds Before Beans – Your taste buds might prefer kidney beans over pinto beans. That’s totally fine. Choose the best bean for your belly. Or maybe you’d rather just have mushrooms?
• Not Crazy About Quinoa – Any glorious grain will do and even that is optional. Bring on the brown rice or, better yet, a serving of tabbouleh as a tasty substitution.
• Sensitive to Seed Butter? – Swap peanut (or any nut butter) for sesame seed butter for your sautéed kale salad. Perhaps a variation of our peanut sauce for covering your kale? Salted peanuts, slivered almonds, or toasted pine nuts would also work well in this dish.

Simple Storage

Any leftover sautéed kale salad can be be stored in a covered container in the fridge for a day or two. After that, it’s much better to make a fresh batch. If possible, try to keep the kale and other individual ingredients separate when storing because it will help a lot when re-heating.

If you’ve run out of one or more of the recipe items, feel free to add more. For instance, you still have cups of quinoa and an abundance of beans, but not enough kale, sauté up a skillet-full. When you only have a spoonful of sauce and it will scarcely cover the kale, throw together an additional dollop of tahini with a splash of water.

More Kale Recipes to Keep in the Kitchen:

• Kale Popcorn
• Cheezy Kale Chips
• Spicy Sesame Sautéed Kale

Sautéed Kale, Bean, and Avocado Salad recipe and photos by Michelle Cehn for World of Vegan. Copyright of World of Vegan™, all rights reserved. Article written by Gina House and edited by Amanda Meth. Please note that this article contains affiliate links that help support our work at World of Vegan!