This easy kale and white bean salad recipe stars savory roasted vegetables and tender Israeli couscous in a zesty avocado-lime dressing.
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Don't you just love a good dinner salad? This kale and white bean salad is hearty and satisfying. And the dressing is absolutely addictive!
If you love a bean salad, don't miss my collection of bean salad recipes! And if a hearty dinner salad is what you're after, you'll also love sesame shiitake kelp noodle salad and quinoa pomegranate salad. Perfect for a light meal.
Love white beans and greens together? Try my pillowy, crispy sheet pan gnocchi recipe with spinach and mushrooms!
💖 Reader feedback
This is one of the best salads I've ever eaten- ever since we finished the leftovers, I've been craving it again. The only change we did was roasting some zucchini in addition to the carrots and broccoli. Sooo good!
- Anonymous
🥕 Ingredients and substitutions
- carrots and broccoli are the roasted veggies for this salad. Feel free to mix things up with other vegetables, if you prefer. Just make sure you use around three to four cups total. Brussels sprouts, summer squash, parsnips, and radishes all work well in this recipe. Roasting time will vary by vegetable.
- Israeli couscous is a small, pearl-shaped pasta. The cooking -- like with any pasta -- is very hands-off. That means you can prep the rest of the salad ingredients while the pasta boils.
- avocado is the base for the creamy dressing.
- lime juice brings acidity to the dressing. If you don't have lemon juice, you can use lemon juice or rice vinegar instead.
- ground cumin and garlic boost the flavor of this dressing. You can omit or reduce the amount of garlic, if you like. The cumin gives this salad a really lovely, earthy flavor. You can also add other seasonings, like ½ teaspoon of ground coriander or a teaspoon of chili powder and/or paprika, if you want.
- massaged kale brings some more greens to this salad. If kale isn't your thing, feel free to omit or replace with chopped, fresh spinach or arugula. Do not massage the spinach or arugula.
- white beans add a dash of protein, really pushing this salad into meal territory. You can use chickpeas or butter beans instead, if you prefer.
- red onion adds a little crunch and umami flavor. Green onions will work instead, if you prefer.
🔪 How to make white bean kale salad
Toss the carrots in one teaspoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread them onto half of a lined sheet pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the broccoli in the other teaspoon of olive oil.
Remove the pan from the oven, flip the carrots over, and add the broccoli to the other half of the same sheet pan.
Bake the carrots and broccoli together for 10 to 15 minutes, until the broccoli starts to get crispy and the carrots start to brown. If one finishes before the other, just remove it from the sheet pan and let the other veggie finish roasting.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the Israeli couscous, reduce the heat, and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes, until it's tender. Drain and rinse, like you would any other pasta.
Combine all of the dressing ingredients in your blender or food processor. Puree until you have a nice, smooth dressing. Add salt and black pepper, to taste.
In a small bowl, spoon 2 tablespoons of the avocado dressing onto the kale. Massage with clean hands until the kale softens.
Add the roasted vegetables, white beans, and onions to the bowl with the massaged kale.
Add the Israeli couscous and remaining avocado dressing from the blender.
Toss well, then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or cold.
💡 Helpful tips
- This recipe is all about making the most of passive cooking time. While the veggies are roasting, you have plenty of time to massage the kale, chop the onion, drain the beans and make the quick blender dressing!
- Make sure that you don't overcook the Israeli couscous. It's a very small pasta and goes from not done to al dente quickly. If you overcook, it will get mushy!
🫙 Storage directions
You can serve this kale and white bean salad warm or cold! I like it warm for dinner and cold for lunch the next day.
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for two to three days. This is a great meal prep recipe!
I do not recommend freezing this salad. The texture changes when it thaws, and it's not ideal.
🫘 More bean salads
📖 Recipe
Kale and White Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables
- 2 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 2 carrots sliced into ½" coins
- 1 ½ cups broccoli florets about 1 small head of broccoli
For the Israeli couscous
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup Israeli couscous
For the avocado dressing
- 1 Haas avocado
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2-3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic
For the kale
- 1 cup stemmed and chopped kale
For the salad
- 15 ounce can of white beans drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup minced red onion
Instructions
Roast the vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Toss the carrots in 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread them onto half of a lined sheet pan, and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the broccoli in the other teaspoon of olive oil.
- Remove the pan from the oven, flip the carrots over, and add the broccoli to the other half of the same sheet pan. Bake the carrots and broccoli together for 10-15 minutes, until the broccoli starts to get crispy and the carrots start to brown. If one finishes before the other, just remove it from the sheet pan and let the other veggie finish roasting.
Make the Israeli couscous
- In a saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the Israeli couscous, reduce the heat, and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, until it's tender. Drain and rinse, like you would any other pasta.
Make the avocado dressing
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in your blender or food processor. Puree until you have a nice, smooth dressing. Add salt and black pepper, to taste.
Massage the kale
- In a small bowl, spoon 2 tablespoons of the avocado dressing onto the kale. Massage with clean hands until the kale softens.
Assemble the salad
- Add the roasted vegetables, white beans, onions, Israeli couscous, and remaining avocado dressing to the bowl with the massaged kale. Toss well, then season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve warm or cold.
Video
📝 Notes
Nutrition
💬 Frequently asked questions
Israeli couscous is different from more common, Moroccan couscous. Israeli couscous is a small, pearl-shaped pasta and has that nice, chewy consistency and neutral flavor of pasta. It's larger in size than Moroccan couscous.
It's a lovely alternative to rice or quinoa in a grain salad, if you're looking to mix up your textures a bit.
Pearl couscous and Israeli couscous are just different names for the same thing: a small, pearl-shaped pasta.
Chances are, you overcooked it. Israeli couscous is just a type of pasta, so as soon as it's al dente, drain and rinse like you would any other pasta. It is easy to overcook, because of its tiny size, so check it frequently for doneness, starting at the 10-minute mark.
It is! Like most pastas, Israeli couscous is naturally vegan. If you're dining out, you do want to check what else is in the restaurant's Israeli couscous recipe. Sometimes it's cooked in chicken stock, for example, or served with feta cheese.
Anonymous
This is one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten- ever since we finished the leftovers, I’ve been craving it again. The only change we did was roasting some zucchini in addition to the carrots and broccoli. Sooo good!
Becky Striepe
Oh I love to hear that! Thank you so much!
Best Recipe List
Your Israeli couscous salad Recipe caught our attention, so we added it to our list.
You can find it here: 20 Purim Recipes
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. Keep up the good work!
Becky Striepe
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know about the list, too.
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
Pinned and tweeting! Looks fabulous Becky!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Amy!