A fresh salad is a perfect lunch or side for almost any meal.
This easy kale salad is packed with fresh veggies and lots of crunch for in a simple homemade lemon dressing.
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A Family Pleasing Kale Salad Recipe
This kale salad recipe is quick and easy.
- Kale salad can be made ahead – prep it the night before and pack it in lunches the next day.
- Unlike tossed salad, I love how leftover kale salad (even with dressing) can be kept in the fridge without getting soggy!
- The zesty homemade lemon dressing takes just minutes to prep and is so much better than store-bought.
How to Prepare Kale for Salads
Kale is ideal to prep ahead for salad and sandwich greenery because it holds up like a champ in the fridge – it stays fresh without wilting! Prepare kale quickly over the weekend, and it will keep fresh and crisp all week long.
- Rinse the kale leaves in cold water.
- Remove the thick stem by pulling off the leaves.
- Spin dry in a salad spinner or shake dry and dab with a kitchen towel.
- Massage the kale; more on that below.
How to Massage Kale
Say what?! Massage the kale. Massaging kale releases some of its bitterness and helps tenderize or soften it for salads. You can skip this step, but I’d say try it at least once. It changes the texture and flavor of the salad. I use curly kale but have also used dinosaur kale in this recipe.
- Tear or chop the washed kale into bite-sized pieces, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Next, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands. Pick up some of the kale and rub it, massaging the leaves until they darken in color and become tender.
I swear that a massaged kale salad tastes a million times better—we wouldn’t prep kale any other way! If you prefer to massage your kale without oil, try a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice instead!
How to Make Kale Salad with Cranberries
This is one of the best kale salad recipes around! It has cranberries, almonds, and a quick and fresh lemon dressing.
- Wash and massage the kale per the recipe below.
- Prep remaining ingredients and add to a large bowl.
- Place dressing in a jar and give it a shake (or whisk in a bowl). Toss with the salad.
Variations
This is a raw kale salad with cranberries and many other tasty mix-ins. I chose to add carrots, broccoli, red onion, dried cranberries, cheese, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds, but get creative!
- Replace cranberries with raisins or other dried or fresh fruit like apples!
- I used cheddar cheese, but feta cheese, parmesan, or goat cheese would work well too.
- Swap out almonds for other nuts like pecans or walnuts.
- Make it a meal and top with cooked chicken, steak, grilled shrimp, or salmon.
- Skip the meat and sprinkle with your fave grain like quinoa or add in chickpeas.
More Kale Recipes
Leftover kale can be stirred into pasta, blended into pesto, and even baked into crispy kale chips if the craving strikes! The possibilities are endless. I even love a little kale on my pizza when I have it handy.
- Tropical Mango Kale Smoothie – SO GOOD!
- Quick Homemade Kale Pesto
- Cilantro Lime Mexican Kale Salad
- Sausage & Kale Soup
Did you make this easy Kale Salad? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped kale
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups broccoli florets chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese optional, or shredded cheddar
- ¼ cup shredded carrot
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Lemon Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar, adjust plus add to taste
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Dressing:
- Combine olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon, honey, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a lidded mason jar and shake well to emulsify. Dip a kale leaf in the dressing and adjust sweetener, salt, and pepper to taste. You can make this dressing as sweet or tart as your heart desires!
Salad:
- Massage the chopped kale with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Rub with your fingers until leaves begin to darken and tenderize. This makes it taste great and gives the kale a silky texture!
- In a large bowl, combine massaged kale, broccoli, almonds, cheese, carrots, onion, sunflower seeds, cranberries. Shake your dressing once more and pour about ⅓ of the dressing over the salad. Toss to coat and add extra dressing, to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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This was very good… I massaged avaocados into the leaves. Does the same as oil but the leaves stay bright green. A little too much acid in the dressing for my taste…I kept adding more honey to balance it out. But overall a great recipe. Colorful and nutritious!
This is the best kale salad I’ve ever made! The dressing and ingredients make it the favorite salad for my boys!
So glad they loved it Iryna!
This is delicious …. the dressing makes it addictive! I made it without the cheese and without the raw onion and it was very tasty. Keeps exceptionally well and tastes better the next day. Would be a great picnic salad.
Best Kale salad recipe I’ve tried — lasted for a third day lunch after two nights dinner side dish for two people. Covered it with plastic wrap and it didn’t get soggy at all. Loved the dressing. Added some cucumber as well. FYI — I rarely post comments, but this was to good not to post one.
Glad you loved it Gail! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Exactly as the recipe says easy to prepare and so delicious and healthy
This is delicious! Massaging the kale really does make a difference.
After you have added the dressing would this still be ok the next day or would it go soggy?
It will soften the longer the dressing sits on it, Dana. But kale and broccoli and hearty vegetables so they should be okay. You can toss in some fresh kale and broccoli the next day for added crunch if you prefer, or only top the portions you are eating with dressing and store the remaining salad without the dressing to ensure maximum deliciousness!
This was super easy to make and was SO GOOD! I used pepita seeds (instead of sunflower seeds) and a dried berry mix from Aldi. I also added croutons to my bowl and peeled/sliced orange. It was so delicious. I’ll absolutely make this again. Maybe add some baked & cubed beets?
Oh my, Mary, my mouth is watering! All of those ideas sound so yummy!
This kale salad is the BEST. I followed the instructions to the letter and got rave reviews. The dressing is to die for. I made just the dressing for our regular salads later in the week. Thank you, delicious!!!
Keep making this salad over and over.
Just plain awesome I really enjoyed this salad and the must have dressing! There are so many versions of this I’m not sure if there’s enough room! I added some apple and dark grapes along with strawberries! Almonds and cheese with either chicken or turkey slices were also a wonderful combination! Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Many Thanks Jennifer! First time making at home this kale (raw!) salad – this is so easy and a very delicious!
I have used peanuts oil, figs balsamic dressing, added a few slices of the organic cucumber & a few of the fresh chopped green beans.
Oh, figs would be delicious! Great idea.
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So Good!!!!!
I made this – w/o cheese (vegan). I also added two stalks of chopped book choy; instead of cranberries I used raisins and I omitted a couple of thing I personally am not a fan of. This is a very delicious salad – so fresh with such a great variety of flavors and textures!
Massage kale, nonsense.no science behind it imo. Salt draws moisture adds flavor perhaps breaking down cell walls.
The only time kale flavor changes is after a hard frost .
Ribs or not it’s all fiber. I’ve grown many varieties Russian white & red have large leaves and not as curly. I live in nw Ohio it will hold in the garden into January. I have grown it in containers.
All the best
If you haven’t tried it massage a couple of pieces and then try it next to ones that haven’t been massaged. The color will turn a bright green, the texture is much softer and we find the flavor a bit softer.
Of course many people enjoy kale without massaging but we love it this way!
How many servings for this recipe?
Hi Crissa, this recipe made 4 servings for us. That is serving it as a main dish though, not as a side salad.
Excellent recipe! I’ve never liked raw kale until now. Have made this 3 times now and my husband, daughter & I all love it.
Wonderful kale salad! Even better the next day! I used dried cranberries and a shallot instead of red onion. I also used Sicilian lemon olive oil. It was amazing! Topped with feta cheese. Thanks for the recipe!
I first saw this wonderful salad on food network and it has been my go to salad. I usually use lots of different fruits.-always blueberries since they are so healthy. I also use sesame seeds. I ay very little attention to amounts and prefer to use the ‘ dump method”. For this salad. It is very flexible. Leftovers are wonderful!
Delicious and easy kale salad that has a perfect blend of savory, acid and sweet. I made a double-sized batch for a pot luck lunch, and the bowl was empty by the end! I used fresh baby kale from the farmer’s market, so did not bother to massage the tender leaves. I toasted the almonds for increased depth of flavor and added about 1/8 cup of chopped dried apricots.