Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad (Vegan GF)

A simple, delicious and wholesome massaged kale salad with herby hummus dressing and chunks of bread. With lots of vegetables, protein-rich butterbeans and lots of lovely fresh flavours, it makes a great lunch or main meal.

I love a good Panzanella salad – and if you’re not familiar with the term, it basically refers to a good salad with chunks of day-old bread in there, too. The bread is just delicious in these types of salad – it soaks up all the wonderful juices and is a great way to use up leftover bread. You can use your favourite bread for this Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad – whether that needs to be gluten-free or regular white bread, anything goes. I love a really hearty brown sourdough for example.

Although the temperatures may be taking a dip here in the UK, I still love a good salad. Instead of watery lettuce leaves, the base for this salad is sturdy, hearty kale leaves. These are great this time of year, but the trick is to massage them! This breaks down the rough outside, making them taste much better and they’re easier to digest.

As for flavour, most of it comes from the Herby Hummus. This is one of my favourite hummus recipes and is really adaptable depending on what you have to hand. You can use a mixture of basil, mint, coriander, parsley, chive or even carrot tops, too. Whip up a batch and you’ll have some leftovers, too.

The rest of the ingredients for this Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad are simple and easy to find:

• Carrot: I love the texture and shape when you peel the carrot into ribbons, but you can also grate it to chop it finely.
• Cucumber: one of my salad favourites and makes this kale salad refreshing.
• Radish: I love the pop of colour they add. 
• Butterbeans: I love adding beans or chickpeas to salads as they make them much heartier, more wholesome and add a boost of protein. Butterbeans are my favourite as they are so juicy, but you can use chickpeas, cannellini beans, or even cooked lentils.
• More fresh herbs: fresh is best when it comes to using herbs in salads. I’ve gone for lots of mint and basil here which grow well at home.

Toss all of the ingredients together and wait as the bread soaks up all the wonderful herby hummus flavours. Top the Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad with some mixed seeds and smoked paprika for a gentle heat and crunch on top.

I hope you will love this salad, it’s hearty, wholesome and naturally very plant based. It makes the most of more wintery salad leaves like kale while being refreshing and light still. The beans and bread make this salad meal-worthy and it makes delicious leftovers for lunch the next day. Find the recipe for the Herby Hummus here.

If you are looking for more easy salads, how about my:

• Almond Beetroot and Chickpea Quinoa Salad
• Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Rice Salad
• Grilled Tomato Asparagus and Chickpea Panzanella Salad
• Paprika Roasted Squash and Apple Salad with Ginger Tahini
• Roasted Cumin Carrot Lentil Salad with Cashew Cheese

Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad (Vegan GF)

• Servings: 2-3
• Time: 10 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A simple, delicious and wholesome massaged kale salad with herby hummus dressing and chunks of bread. With lots of vegetables, protein-rich butterbeans and lots of lovely fresh flavours, it makes a great lunch or main meal.

Ingredients

• 1 x batch Herby Hummus
• 100g kale, de-stemmed
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 100g cucumber
• 8 radishes, ends removed
• 1 tin butterbeans, drained
• 2 thick slices old bread, torn
• 3 sprigs fresh mint, chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh basil, chopped
• To serve: 2-3 tbsp mixed seeds, ½ tsp smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Wash the kale and add to a large mixing bowl with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and massage with your hands for 1 minute.
2. Peel the carrot and cucumber into ribbons or chop into thin strips. Thinly slice the radish and add all to the kale. Add in the butterbeans, the torn bread and fresh herbs.
3. Stir 100g of the Herby Hummus with 3-4 tbsp water to reach a pouring consistency and pour most of this over the salad. Toss well with a spoon or your hands. Season to taste.
4. Serve the salad topped with the mixed seeds, smoked paprika and the extra dressing.

Let me know what you think of this easy wholesome recipe for Herby Hummus and Kale Panzanella Salad. Leave a comment below or get in touch on social media and show me your salads! I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With Panzanella salad love x