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Home › Recipes › The Best Kale Salad Recipe

The Best Kale Salad Recipe

Dinners Recipes Salads & Dressings
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By Janine Waite · Published on Jun 18, 2021
Affiliate Disclosure: This Post May Contain Affiliate Links.

My husband created the Best Kale Salad Recipe. This salad has dried cranberries, nuts, red cabbage, and more. It’s topped with a creamy coleslaw dressing that combines well with the chopped vegetables and fruit.

summer salad
Photo: My Photography

If you haven’t tried a kale salad, well, you are in for a healthy treat. It adds such a great crunch and texture that you can’t get with iceberg or romaine lettuce.

The Best Kale Salad Recipe

kale salad recipe with cranberries
Photo: My Photography

My husband loves food, and so he loves to cook. Over the last year, he came up with the best salad recipe that people are asking for.

Well, I’m finally getting it up on the blog!

Over the years, we have made and eaten our fair share of salads. And my husband made one significant observation. He wanted to create a salad that, in every bite, you got a burst of flavors. So, to accomplish his new mission, he chops up all the ingredients into small pieces.

It does take a little bit of time to chop everything up, but oh my goodness it is the best hearty salad!

healthy meals
Photo: My Photography

I have some salad recipes that might interest you!

  • Asian Salad Dressing
  • French Mayo Salad Dressing
  • Asian Noodle Salad
kale salad recipe

You maybe asking a few questions about Kale, so let’s dig in.

Does kale need to be cooked for a salad?

For this salad recipe, the best way to prepare it is raw.

What is massaging kale about?

Good question. Kale leaves can have a tough texture, so to make them more palatable some recipe suggest massaging the kale. This is done by adding a bit of salt or lemon to the kale and then crunching the leaves with your hands. You want to make sure not to massage it too much or you’ll get mushy kale. 🙂

Do we use the stems?

When making this salad, it’s best to discard the stems. They are tough and hard to eat and can be bitter. I always remove them before chopping up my ingredients.

Which kind of kale should I use?

There are so many types of kale and seriously you can use which ever you prefer. The colored Kale that you see in the nurseries are mostly ornamental, but I read that they are edible.

Here are few types to use in your salad:

Common Curly Kale

This is the kind you see in the grocery store. It has curly ends and is medium to dark green in color. Use the soft parts and discard the tough stem.

Dinosaur Kale or Lacinato Kale

This is an Italian kale and is dark in color. It has a dinosaur texture, thus the name it was given. It is great in soups and salads. Again, discard the tough stems and use the leafy part of the kale.

vegetarian meals
Photo: My Photography
summer salad
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5 from 1 vote

The Best Kale Salad Recipe

This Kale Salad Recipe is packed with dried cranberries, nuts, red cabbage, and more. It's topped with a creamy and sweet coleslaw dressing.
Prep Time40 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Kale, Kale Salad, Salad
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 684kcal
Author: Janine Waite

Ingredients

Salad

  • 15 ounces kale 2 bunches
  • 2 cups spinach chopped
  • 2 cup red cabbage shredded
  • 2 yams small
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp coarse pepper
  • 2 carrots grated
  • 1 cup dried cranberries chopped
  • 1 avocado chopped
  • 1 apples chopped
  • 1 cup almonds sliced

Coleslaw Dressing

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

Salad

  • Preheat oven to 400°
  • Peel yams and dice into ½ inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet and mix with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Bake yams at 400° until golden brown. It takes about 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
  • Chop kale, spinach, avocado, apples into small ½ inch pieces. Place in a big salad bowl.
  • Peel and shred carrots and add to the salad.
  • Thinly slice the red cabbage and add to the salad.
  • Add the cooled roasted yams to the salad.
  • Chop cranberries and top the salad.
  • Lastly, sprinkle salad with sliced almonds.
  • Serve and drizzle salad dressing on the salad.

Coleslaw Dressing

  • Whisk mayo, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, and honey together in a bowl until smooth and creamy.

Nutrition

Calories: 684kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 676mg | Potassium: 2066mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 12018IU | Vitamin C: 136mg | Calcium: 234mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @happyhappynester or tag #happyhappynester!

For the last year and a half, we prepare these big healthy salads. We started with a few ingredients, and as time passed, we added more. Now we enjoy adding lots of things so that every bite is filled with many lovely flavors. My husband and I find that we end up using less salad dressing which is a good thing.

I’m so happy that I finally got my husband’s kale salad recipe on the blog. We make it so much, and I share the story over on Instagram. My followers have asked for the recipe for a few months, and I’m finally delivering this yummy salad!

Bon appetit!

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the best kale salad recipe
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Janine Waite
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Janine Waite
I named my blog Happy Happy Nester because I love everything related to the home. I’ve always enjoyed decorating my surroundings. Get cozy and stay for a bit, thanks for visiting!
Janine Waite
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Comments

  1. Emkay

    January 23, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent salad! I’ll definitely be making this again.

    Reply
    • happyhappynester

      March 16, 2022 at 12:44 pm

      Good afternoon Emkay, thanks for the kind comment. This salad is definitely a family favorite so I’m thrilled to know it’s a favorite of yours as well 🙂

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