🫘 Dense bean salads
Honey Dijon dense bean salad
Sweet-savory, crunchy, protein-packed meal prep
⏱️ Time estimate: about 40 minutes
A gluten-free, hearty salad with chicken, roasted cauliflower and sweet potato, kale, two kinds of beans, pepper jack, cranberries, almonds, and a tangy honey Dijon dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 whole cooked chicken, broken down and diced
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 bunch kale, chopped
- 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Honey Dijon dressing
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat to 400°F.
- Make the dressing. Add honey, Dijon, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt, olive oil, and vinegar to a jar or bowl; shake or whisk until fully emulsified.
- Roast the vegetables. Toss cauliflower and sweet potato with about one-quarter of the dressing. Spread over a lined sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes, tossing halfway if needed, until browned. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare the kale. Remove the ribs and chop the kale. If serving immediately, massage it with about 1 tablespoon dressing; for meal prep, you can skip this step.
- Toss the salad. Combine chicken, kale, pepper jack, cranberries, almonds, shallot, kidney beans, cannellini beans, and the cooled roasted vegetables in a large bowl. Add the remaining dressing and toss thoroughly.
- Serve or store. Enjoy right away, or portion into sealed containers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Yield: 8 generous 16-ounce servings. Naturally gluten-free; check individual packaged ingredients if serving someone with celiac disease.
Recipe provided by Ann, from Violet Cooks.