My favorite kind of lunch to have at home is a salad. They are easy to make, and I always feel great afterwards. This Kale Salad is perfect for a weekday lunch because it is light but full of flavor, and will travel well to the office. Made with easy to find ingredients and the addition of my candied walnuts, this would be a great recipe to add to your holiday menu. It rounds out the table well without adding much time to your cooking.
How to Make Kale Salad
How to Cut Kale Leaves
I like to chop up my kale pretty small for this salad. To do that, first cut out the rib in the leaf. Then cut the kale leaf in half, and in half again. Now finally chop it from one end of the leaf to the other.
Massaged Kale Salad
One of the key steps to this recipe is massaging the kale. Sounds like a pretty high maintenance leafy green, but it really is worth it. Kale can be a little tough, and using just a little pinch of salt to massage it will soften it greatly making for a salad that you will throughly enjoy. Make sure to go easy on the pinch of salt as there is also salt in the dressing. I you are looking to lessen the sodium, you could massage it with a few drops of olive oil or a little lemon juice instead.
Kale Salad Dressing
Like any good salad, this one comes with the perfect homemade dressing. This recipe is very similar to my Balsamic Dressing with just a few alterations to make it perfect for this salad. Most of these ingredients are already in your pantry waiting for you.
Olive OilBalsamic VinegarLemon JuiceHoneySalt
Variations and Substitutions
One of the things I love most about salads is how easy they are to change up. Since you came here for a Kale Salad, let’s assume you still want kale. But here are some switch ups for everything else.
Swap the Candied Walnuts: These can be replaced with other nuts that aren’t candied. Pecans and pine nuts would be great options. Or you can make Candied Pecans instead!Swap the Dried Cranberries: A great replacement for these would be some fresh strawberries or blueberries. Raisins could work here too.Swap the Goat Cheese: Goat cheese is definitely not for everyone. You could replace it with another soft cheese like some feta or blue cheese.
I hope you have the happiest of holidays! If you make his salad recipe leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you.
