Are you enjoying the summer weather so far? When it gets hot outside, I like to keep my meals simple and refreshing. That is exactly what you get from this blackberry kale quinoa salad. It is a great combination of crisp kale and summer blackberries. Toss in a little quinoa for protein and you have a perfect summer salad.

This salad makes a great lunch or, as we do in our house, you could easily pair with some grilled chicken or fish to complete a meal. Yum!

Blackberry Kale Quinoa Salad Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup kale leaves, torn
1 cup blackberries
 Dressing:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp olive oil

Let’s Make It:

1) Bring water to boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add quinoa and return to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in kale and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, honey and olive oil. Pour over quinoa mixture and stir well. Top with blackberries.

 Blackberries are perfect in this salad because they are firm enough that they won’t crush when stirred in with the quinoa and kale. Adding the kale in with the quinoa at the end gives it a perfect amount of wilting so it loses a little bit of its bitter taste. All together, the flavors are just amazing.

What are some of your favorite summer flavors? Do you like to add quinoa to salads for extra protein?