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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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!