Kale, White Bean and Tuna Salad {Gluten-Free + Vegetarian}

I’ve been keeping it fresh and healthy in the kitchen for a few months now. Next up on the menu is this Kale, White Bean and Tuna Salad. It’s loaded with flavor and packed full of vitamins, fiber, and protein.

Staying healthy isn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, and this is coming from a firm believer in dessert first. To say I love sugar is an understatement. Well, that and coffee. If I were a planet, sugar and coffee would be my sun.

I’m not saying I don’t splurge, because I do…a lot! Here’s a prime example–I consumed at least two chocolates a day and a handful of the freshest gummy bears last week. I would wake up from a dead sleep at 2 a.m. craving those damn gummy bears. I’m weak, so I would inevitably walk my ass downstairs to grab a handful. It went on like that until the bag was empty.

Needless to say, I won’t be bringing anymore gummy bears into the house for awhile. To compensate for my weak, weak inner core, I made the best dang Kale, White Bean and Tuna Salad known to man. Okay, so maybe not known to man, but I got my family hooked on it, and that’s saying something. I mean, it’s kale, and let’s face it, it’s hard to convince people to like kale–it just is!

I loaded this salad to the brim with all the healthy things: kale, microgreens, radishes, fiber-rich cannellini beans, protein-packed tuna, thinly sliced red onions, salty capers, sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh dill, and crumbled feta cheese. This salad is seriously bursting with flavor.

Because I like my salads to have a bit of texture, I added a handful of toasted Diamond of California Walnuts. To top it all off, the salad gets drizzled with a simple lemon vinaigrette. It’s big on flavor but still healthy and insanely easy to make.

Did I mention this salad is gluten-free? Because it is!

Serve this Kale, White Bean and Tuna Salad up family style, or package it in individual containers for a healthy lunch option during the week. If you’re looking for more salad ideas, I’ve also been quite smitten with this Roasted Cauliflower Quinoa Salad as of late.

Print Recipe

Kale, White Bean and Tuna Salad

Yield: 4-6 servings

Total Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

Salad

• 6 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
• 1 heaping cup microgreens
• 1 (5-ounce) can albacore tuna, drained 
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced seedless cucumber
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radish (I used watermelon radish)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 cup roughly chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta, optional

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

1. Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl and gently toss to combine. 
2. To make the vinaigrette, add lemon juice, honey (or maple syrup), and dijon mustard to a bowl; whisk to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately. 

1. If you’re not going to serve this salad immediately, refrain from dressing the salad and transfer to an airtight container. The salad will stay fresh for up to 3 days. Drizzle with vinaigrette immediately before serving. 

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

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Disclosure: This recipe was developed for the lovely folks at Diamond of California. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting my recipes and site while I work with brands I adore.