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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Perfect for a healthy lunch enjoyed by teens and grandparents!
This recipe is insanely good. I fried the broccoli up with a clove of crushed garlic, chili flakes, and a touch of chicken broth and let it cool before adding it in. It goes really well with it if you don’t care for raw broccoli.
Great recipe. The lemon dressing was fabulous! Such a good combination.
Super tasty salad! Fresh, light and flexible, but the best bit – the massage suggestion! Perfect texture. I susbsituted cranberries with half clementine segments and went heavy on the nuts – walnuts and toasted pumpkin seeds. Also used Silan (date syrup) instead of honey for the complete vegan experience… And the nice thing is that kale is so sturdy that the salad kept crisp and tasty also the day after – even though it was already dressed!
AMAZING. Worth every 5 star review. The flavors come together beautifully. I felt weird massaging the kale, but doing so probably enhanced the final product.
Changes I made:
2 tsp honey in the dressing because I have a sweet tooth
Apple cider vinegar for red wine vinegar
Cheddar instead of feta
Forgot to buy sliced almonds so I broke apart whole almonds
Excellent, excellent salad, great use of kale , and it got me eating raw broccoli which I don’t even normally like. I ate the entire batch in less than 24 hours like a pro. Thank you for sharing – this is gold.
So glad you loved it, Heather! :)
This will be in my regular rotation. Absolutely delicious. The dressing was awesome.
Thank you for the recipe! Look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
It’s a nutritious powerhouse that doesn’t compromise on taste. I’ll definitely be making this salad a regular addition to my meals!
This is the best salad recipe ever so versatile and love the dressing .
I didn’t add honey or red wine vinegar (didn’t have them) but this still came out gloriously! We also added spicy dill pickle flavored almonds on top!!
Absolutely delicious recipe. The dressing is a weekly staple in my refrigerator now.
I love this dressing too! So glad you are enjoying it.
I liked the idea of this salad, but I found it too sweet. The dried cranberries and shredded carrots really added to the sweetness. Dressing on its own was great! Next time I’ll work toward a more savory flavor (maybe eliminate the honey altogether?)
You could definitely try that, let us know how it turns out!
Love this recipe! Easy to make, nutritious and yummy. I used the kale from my garden.
Thank you.
absolutely best salad dressing! a definite favorite in my household.
Easy and tasty. I have a couple of other go-to kale salads but really like that this one includes more veggies. Already made it twice this week.
Hands down – favorite kale salad recipe! Even my teens request it! Lots of veggies and super nutritious. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful recipe!
This is by far my most favorite salad recipe I’ve found . It is so delicious and quite simple to make !
I’ve been playing around with kale salads in attempt to evolving the palat and this variation is super yummy! Packed with so much flavor, I learned that the flavor of the red onion with fresh Parmesan cheese & the dressing…WOW! My first time with a yellow onion was good, but red, just wow.
I also added chopped roasted almonds. We typically get the rotisserie chicken at Costco and I’ll shreds some of that in with. Or cubed Black Forest ham or egg. The possibilities seem endless. Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome Faith! Thank you for sharing your ideas too!
This salad is a total winner. I add twice as much kale and a can of drained chickpeas.
Massaging the Kale is a must! What a difference! I happened to leave out the raw broccoli. The dressing is so good, and the crasins MAKE the salad!
Will absolutely make this again!
This salad is delicious! I served it with fried catfish to feel like I was eating a “healthy” meal. I followed the recipe for the dressing and for the salad went with almonds, carrot, feta, pickled onions (yum!) and raw broccoli. Thank you!