This kale salad is crunchy, tart, and sweet. Eat it as a side salad or add protein for a full meal! It is hearty and keeps for days, making it perfect for meal prep! And if you’re a healthy foodie like me, you’ll love that kale makes this salad fiber-rich and packed with phytonutrients that help reduce inflammation and improve overall health.
My local Mediterranean restaurant in Houston makes this delicious kale salad that I’ve wanted to replicate for some time now. Well, I finally got around to it and now you can enjoy it too!
Why you’ll love this kale salad
Nutritious– Packed with vitamins A, K, and C to help eye, skin, and bone health. The leafy greens keep blood sugar levels in check.
Hearty– Kale makes this salad very fiber-rich and hearty.
Sweet and Crunchy– The various flavor notes are bound to appeal to all palates.
Meal-prep friendly– By far the best reason to love this salad is the fact that it stores really well and even gets better as it sits in the fridge!
Ingredients and substitutions
Kale Curly kale is what I used for the pictures but I prefer Lacinato or dinosaur/Tuscan kale as it is smoother and softer. Use what you can find as they both work in this recipe. You can use any other leafy greens with kale or cruciferous vegetables like cabbage. I used arugula in the pictures.
Bell pepper Brings added sweetness. Use any colored bell pepper; red, yellow, or orange.
Carrots I love to julienne them with a julienne peeler but you can use matchstick precut carrots if in a pinch. You can also use radish instead or leave them out completely.
Apple and cranberries bring tartness and sweet flavor bombs to this salad. This salad is so versatile, you can use pear, strawberries, and blueberries instead of apples and raisins can be used in place of cranberries.
Nuts Pecans, walnuts, or even slivered almonds work well in this recipe. You can boost the nutrition by adding pumpkin and or sunflower seeds.
The dressing contains olive oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. You can use honey instead of maple syrup and vinegar will work in place of lemon juice if that’s what you have available.
How to make the best kale salad
Make the dressing In a bowl add all the dressing ingredients and whisk them all together and set it aside.
Destem the kale kale has a very tough stem that is not very pleasant to eat. I de-stem it by holding the bottom of a leaf at the stem and then using my other hand to remove the leaf by pulling at it as I run my hand down the stem. Then tear the leaf into bite-sized pieces. Add the leaves to a large bowl and massage them.
Massage the kale When using kale in any salad it is of paramount importance to massage it. To do that, drizzle some olive oil and salt onto the leaves and rub them for a few minutes till you see them wilt slightly. This helps make them softer and less bitter. This also tends to help them absorb the dressing better. Set it aside.
Prep the fruit, veggies, and nuts Dice the apple, bell pepper, and pecans. Julienne the carrots. Add the cranberries and dressing and toss to combine.
Some helpful tips
- Massage the kale This is a crucial step. Not doing this will result in tougher kale.
- Destem the leaves The stem is very tough so make sure to de-stem it. Here in the US, you get bags of prewashed kale which may seem more convenient to use but it includes the stems. It’s better to buy a bunch of kale and remove the stems yourself.
Storage
This salad is a meal prepper’s dream! It can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days with the dressing since kale leaves are very sturdy. If you do store it, use just kale for the salad or add cabbage instead of arugula. Arugula is much softer and does not keep for too long.
Faq’s
Yes, you can prepare kale salad in advance. However, if you don’t plan on eating it within 2-3 days, it’s best to keep the dressing separate until just before serving to prevent the kale from becoming soggy.
Incorporating some protein, and topping your salad with an avocado and/or feta cheese will bulk up your salad and elevate it to entree salad status.
What to eat with
This salad will go well with my Sumac Chicken and Masala Lamb Chops. Or you can add some Chicken or Tuna for an entree salad.
Some more to try
If you try this recipe, I’d appreciate it so much if you would rate it! And let me know in the comments how it worked out for you. I love hearing feedback and the recipe rating helps others find this recipe!
Crunchy Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale de stemmed and torn into biite sized pieces.
- 2 cups arugula
- 2 carrots julienned
- 1/2 apple diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1/4 cup pecans chopped
- 1/4 cup cranberries
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a bowl make the dressing by whisking olive oil, maple syrup, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Set it aside.
- De-stem and tear the kale into bite-sized pieces. Add the kale to a large bowl. Drizzle it with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and massage it well till it softens. Set it aside.
- Chop the apple, bell pepper, and pecans. Julienne the carrots and add everything to the bowl of kale. Add the arugula, cranberries, and dressing and toss till everything is coated with the dressing. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
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