Air Fryer Brunch Asparagus Kale Salad : with vegan sausage

That’s right….salad for brunch! When it comes to brunch having a balance of sweet and savory is ALWAYS the goal. Unfortunately that often comes in the form of a super heavy meal that leaves you longing for a nap, instead of allowing you to jump into your day with energy. The solution? This brunch asparagus kale salad!

This brunch asparagus kale salad is made with fresh kale, vegan breakfast sausage, potatoes, shallots, asparagus, apples, and pecans. And it’s all tossed in an easy-to-make dressing made with jam, maple syrup, red wine vinegar, lemon, nutmeg, and salt.

This brunch asparagus kale salad is sweet, savory, and vegan! The vegan breakfast sausage, potatoes, shallots, and asparagus are all cooked in the air fryer, making your morning incredibly easy…and tasty. So skip the heavy, sleep-inducing brunch today and make this nutrient dense, DELICIOUS breakfast salad instead!

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Why you will love this brunch asparagus kale salad

• EASY TO MAKE – This brunch asparagus kale salad is soooo easy to make! Half of the ingredients are served raw, so all you have to do is wash and cut them. And the other half are cooked in the air fryer…which couldn’t be easier. This is a perfect recipe when you are looking for an impressive, healthy meal for little effort.
• FULL OF NUTRIENTS – This brunch asparagus kale salad is absolutely LOADED with nutrients! Pretty much every single ingredient in this recipe comes with its own bag of benefits. This is a brunch you can truly feel good about.
• PERFECT BALANCE OF SWEET AND SAVORY – As mentioned above, a balance of sweet and savory is KEY for brunch (in my humble opinion). And this brunch asparagus kale salad has just that! You get the savory from the kale, potatoes, shallots, asparagus, and vegan sausage…and the sweet from the apples and dressing…match made in heaven!
• CAN BE PREPPED IN ADVANCE – We all know what a busy morning feels like. This is the perfect recipe for meal prep! Simply make the salad and the dressing, but don’t combine them. Store the raw ingredients in one container, the air fryer ingredients in another, and the dressing on the side. When you are ready to serve, simply reheat the air fryer ingredients (if desired) and combine everything! Delicious, healthy brunch in a flash!
• CAN BE A SIDE DISH OR MAIN MEAL – This brunch asparagus kale salad is perfect as a main meal OR a side dish! Pair with this Mushroom and Kale Vegan Quiche or these Vegan Bloody Mary Quesadillas and you will really have yourself a drool-worthy brunch!
• EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT – This is a VEGAN salad, but EVERYONE will love it! Thanks to the advances of vegan meat…this vegan breakfast sausage is incredible and meat eater approved.

What you need to make this brunch asparagus kale salad

• KALE – You can use variety of kale of your choice.
• ASPARAGUS
• SHALLOT
• APPLE – I went with Granny Smith apples because they are tart and bring a nice balance of flavor to the dish. But you can use any apple of your choice.
• SMALL POTATOES – For this recipe, I went with small, multi colored potatoes. I did this to bring more color to the dish. Feel free to use any potato of your choice. Even sweet potato would be fantastic!
• VEGAN BREAKFAST SAUSAGE – There are now some FANTASTIC versions of vegan breakfast sausage available at the grocery store now! They taste and texture are so spot on, that even meat eaters are pleased. For this recipe I went with Beyond’s breakfast sausage links.
• JAM / JELLY – Jam is used for the salad dressing. Using jelly in salad dressings in one of my signature moves! It adds a nice tart, sweet, and flavorful element to your dressings…and it’s always in the fridge so it’s super convenient. For this recipe I went with a cherry jelly…but feel free to use any flavor you like.
• LEMON
• RED WINE VINEGAR – can substitute white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• MAPLE SYRUP
• NUTMET
• SEA SALT

How to make vegan brunch asparagus kale salad

This brunch asparagus kale salad looks and tastes impressive…but it is actually incredibly easy to make! Here’s how…

Start by preheating your air fryer to 400ºF. If your air fryer doesn’t have a preheat button, simply turn it on for 5 minutes before using.

Now we will be starting with the potatoes. Dice the 6 small potatoes into small cubes. Then place them in a bowl with 1 tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Mix them until evenly coated.

Place the diced potatoes on an air fryer tray in an even layer. Pop in the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, move ahead to prepare the rest of the salad.

Now it’s shallot time. Slice your shallot into thin pieces.

When the potatoes have reached the 10 minute mark, add sliced shallots to the potatoes. Mix together. Along side the potatoes and shallots, place the 4 vegan breakfast sausage links on the air fryer tray. Continue cooking the potatoes, shallots and vegan sausage links for 5 minutes.

Prepare the asparagus spears by cutting off the bottom inch or two to get rid of the harder part of them.

At the 5 minute mark, add the asparagus to the air fryer tray along side the potatoes and vegan sausage. Flip the vegan sausage over to allow it to cook evenly. Also give the potatoes and shallots a quick mix. Cook everything for 5 more minutes or until done.

Everything is done when the potatoes are tender and shallots are tender, the vegan sausage is crisp, and the asparagus is slightly tender. Remove ingredients from the oven.

(While ingredients are cooking, move ahead and prepare the rest of the salad)

Cheat Sheet for ingredient timing is as follows :

• Potatoes – 20 minutes total
• Shallot and vegan sausage – 10 minutes total
• Asparagus – 5 minutes total

While the ingredients are air frying, use your time to focus on the rest of the salad.

Remove the stems from you bundle of kale. Chop or rip your kale into bite sized pieces.

Place you ripped kale into a mixing bowl. Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Massage the kale with your hands for about 30 seconds. (This allows the kale to soften and become a nicer texture)

Add 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp jam, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp sea salt. Mix until kale is evenly covered.

Chop up apples into small pieces. Add apples and nuts to the kale salad and mix. Set aside.

When your air fryer ingredients have finished cooking, remove from air fryer.

Chop up the vegan breakfast sausage into small pieces.

Add the air fryer ingredients into the salad and mix.

Serve and enjoy!

Tips for making brunch asparagus kale salad

• MASSAGE YOUR KALE – Massaging your kale is super important. Kale is pretty rough in texture when untouched. Can you eat it this way? Yes…but I don’t recommend it. Take the 30 seconds to massage the kale with your hands. This allows it to breakdown and soften, resulting in a much better texture.
• PREHEAT YOUR AIR FRYER – Always preheat your air fryer before using it. This ensures it at the correct temperature when you put your ingredients in it, which means the cooking times with be correct. Make sure your air fryer is EMPTY when you preheat it. Do not leave parchment paper in there…if it’s not weighed down by ingredients it could end up hitting the heating elements and cause a fire.
• AIR FRY YOUR INGREDIENTS IN A SINGLE LAYER – I know it’s tempting to overcrowd an air fryer tray and layer ingredients so you can fit more in…but don’t do it! You need to cook things in your air fryer in a SINGLE LAYER to allow everything to cook evenly.

Questions Answered

• Do I have to use an air fryer – Of course not. An air fryer is faster and more efficient, but you can always use an oven instead. Just adjust time as needed.
• What flavor jam should I use – For this recipe I went with cherry jelly. My other go-tos are apricot and raspberry. But do whatever makes you happy!
• Can I make this in advance – Yes! Simply make the salad and the dressing, but don’t combine them. Store the raw ingredients in one container, the air fryer ingredients in another, and the dressing on the side. When you are ready to serve, simply reheat the air fryer ingredients (if desired) and combine everything!
• What if I have a small air fryer – If you have a small air fryer and can’t fit everything at once, just air fry in batches. Potatoes take 20 minutes total, shallots and vegan sausage take 10 minutes total, and asparagus takes 5 minutes total.

Additional topping for brunch asparagus kale salad

The salad as is has a lot going on and is fantastic as is. But don’t let that stop you from adding and swapping additions to the salad. Here’s some ideas…

• Vegan Feta
• Vegan parmesan cheese
• Spinach
• Fresh mint
• Fresh basil
• Pine nuts
• Red onions
• Red peppers
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Nutritional yeast
• Lemon zest
• Black pepper

What to serve with vegan brunch asparagus kale salad

This brunch asparagus kale salad is hearty and filling enough to be served as a meal on its own. But it also makes an excellent vegan side dish for any breakfast or brunch spread! Here’s some other tasty plant-based brunch recipes that would be fantastic served with this salad…

• BREAKFAST AIR FRYER PURPLE POTATOES (PANCAKE SUBSTITUTE)
• VEGAN BLOODY MARY QUESADILLAS
• EASY MUSHROOM AND KALE JUST EGG VEGAN QUICHE
• CARROT LOX VEGAN DIP WITH BAGELS (VEGAN SMOKED SALMON)
• AIR FRYER SILKEN TOFU SCRAMBLE WITH PURPLE SWEET POTATOES
• KOREAN BAKED JUST EGG AND RICE – VEGAN BREAKFAST
• CARROT LOX TOAST WITH SWEET MUSTARD CREAM CHEESE

More Vegan Air Fryer Recipes Perfect for Brunch