This Kale Salad is crisp, colorful, and packed with fresh veggies and lots of crunch. Topped with a simple homemade lemon dressing, it’s perfect to serve alongside baked chicken breasts or garlic grilled shrimp.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Kale Salad
Flavor: A tangy lemon dressing balances this hearty kale salad made with crunchy broccoli, sweet cranberries, and salty cheese.
Why Make It: Leftover kale salad (even with dressing) can be kept in the fridge without getting soggy, making it perfect for meal prep!
Technique: For the best results, massage the kale with oil and salt to ensure it’s tender instead of tough.
Total Time: 20 Mins Servings: 4
Ingredient Notes for Kale Salad
- Kale: Chop or tear into bite-sized pieces and remove any tough stems. Then, massage it with a little olive oil and salt until the leaves darken and soften for the best texture.
- Broccoli: Chop the broccoli into small pieces so it blends into the salad. Swap it for broccoli slaw or bagged broccoli florets to save prep time.
- Carrots: Shredded carrots add sweetness, color, and crunch. Use bagged shredded carrots to save time.
- Cranberries: Dried cranberries bring chewy sweetness that balances the earthy flavors. Replace with raisins, dried cherries, or chopped dried apricots.
- Almonds: Sliced almonds add crunch and nutty flavor. Swap with pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds for a nut-free option.
- Onions: Use a small amount of red onion for bite and color. Thinly dice or soak in cold water before adding to the salad to reduce the bite.
- Cheese: I use cheddar cheese, but feta cheese, parmesan, or goat cheese would work well too.
- Dressing: Fresh lemon juice, Dijon, honey, garlic, and olive oil make this tangy-sweet dressing that balances the kale’s earthy flavor and ties all the ingredients together. Swap maple syrup or sugar for honey, use avocado oil instead of olive oil, or try whole grain mustard for a little texture.
Favorite Variations
- Make it a Meal: Top this salad with grilled chicken, steak, grilled shrimp, or baked salmon.
- Skip the Meat: Sprinkle this salad with your favorite grain, like quinoa, or add in chickpeas to make it a full meal.
How to Make Kale Salad
- Wash and massage the kale (full recipe below).
- Prep the remaining ingredients and add them to a large bowl.
- Place the dressing in a jar and give it a shake (or whisk in a bowl). Toss with the salad.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover kale salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This hearty salad holds up well in the fridge, but some toppings are best added fresh when ready to serve.
This salad does not freeze well.
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.
Did you make this easy Kale Salad? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped kale
- 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups broccoli florets chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded or diced, or crumbled feta, optional
- 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 or add to taste
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon, honey, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a lidded mason jar and shake well to emulsify.
- Massage the chopped kale with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Rub with your fingers until leaves begin to darken and tenderize.
- In a large bowl, combine the kale, broccoli, almonds, cheese, carrots, onion, sunflower seeds, and cranberries.
- Shake the dressing once more and pour 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.