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    Home » Recipes » American

    Easy Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing

    Published: Apr 29, 2020 · Modified: Jan 6, 2023 by Sherri · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments

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    closeup of kale salad with parmesan cheese and sliced almonds.

    Get your daily dose of greens with this delicious Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing. Packed with nutrients and bursting with flavor, it’s an easy, healthy addition to any lunch or dinner.

    Like this Spinach, Asparagus, Tomato Salad with Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette, this Kale Salad is a fresh salad you can make it just a few minutes. The added sliced almonds and parmesan cheese pair perfectly with the tangy lemon dressing.

    A bowl of kale salad with slices of almonds

    I love using kale as a base to my salads. Kale is also one of those fabulous “volume” foods, foods that will make your belly feel full. You can eat a lot of it and not be consuming loads of carbs. 2 cups of kale (85 grams) has only 9 carbs.

    When using kale leaves in a salad, I highly recommend is to massage the kale for a few minutes. Kind of like you are kneading bread. Doing this will get rid of the bitterness that kale is notorious for. It will turn a lovely darker green in color.

    Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette2

    The ingredients need for this kale salad are very basic. You just need one bunch of kale with the fibrous stems (in the middle of the leaf) removed, grated parmesan cheese and slivered almonds. Then you simply create the simple lemon vinaigrette with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and dijon mustard.

    How to make this Kale Salad Recipe

    Remove the fibrous stems from the kale leaves, leaving just the greens.

    A close up of a piece of kale

    Place the leaves on top of each other and massage with your hands (like you are kneading bread) for about three to five minutes. It may sound strange but it gets rid of the notorious bitterness.

    Break or cut the kale into bite size pieces.

    For the dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until combined.

    Kale Salad recipe

    Place the kale into a large bowl and top with sliced almonds and Parmesan cheese.

    Pour some of the dressing over top and toss to combine.  (using more or less as desired)

    A bowl of kale salad, with dressing being poured over.

    ENJOY!!

    closeup of kale salad with parmesan cheese and sliced almonds with lemon vinaigrette being poured over.

    Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing

    Get your daily dose of greens with this delicious Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing. Packed with nutrients and bursting with flavor, it's an easy, healthy addition to any lunch or dinner.
    4.95 from 17 votes
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    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 281kcal
    Author: Sherri Hagymas

    Ingredients

    • 8 ounces kale fibrous stems (in the middle of the leaf) removed
    • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
    • ½ cup slivered almonds

    For the dressing:

    • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
    • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
    • ½ teaspoon garlic grated
    • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • ⅛ teaspoon pepper

    Instructions

    • Remove the fibrous stems from the kale leaves, leaving just the greens.
      8 ounces kale
    • Place the leaves on top of each other and massage with your hands (like you are kneading bread) for about three to five minutes. It may sound strange but it gets rid of the notorious bitterness.
    • Break or cut the kale into bite size pieces.
    • For the dressing, add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until combined.
      2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ⅛ teaspoon pepper
    • Place the kale into a large bowl and top with sliced almonds and Parmesan cheese.
      ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, ½ cup slivered almonds
    • Pour some of the dressing over top and toss to combine. (using more or less as desired)

    Notes

    Add dried cranberries.
    Swap out the almonds for pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or roasted pecans. 
    Add in any other favorite salad ingredients, if desired.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 227mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 5770IU | Vitamin C: 71mg | Calcium: 259mg | Iron: 1.5mg

    Nutritional Disclosure

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jen

      January 04, 2025 at 7:02 pm

      I have made this recipe/salad and my family loves it because it’s different. We eat salad and this is the best. I added slivered almonds, sunflower seeds grape tomatoes cucumbers and black olives with yellow onions. It’s delicious!!!

      Reply
    2. Dan

      July 15, 2024 at 7:23 pm

      5 stars
      I would never eat kale until I tried this . I shared the recipe with my mom.sisters and kids everyone loves it .

      Reply
      • Sherri

        July 16, 2024 at 9:36 am

        That makes me so happy to hear!

        Reply
    3. Lorna

      May 15, 2021 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      Perfect! Delicious! Healthy! Thanks for sharing the recipe

      Reply
    4. Miz Helen

      September 01, 2016 at 3:04 pm

      5 stars
      Congratulations!
      Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Enjoy your weekend and your new Red Plate!
      Come Back Soon!
      Miz Helen

      Reply
    5. April J Harris

      August 30, 2016 at 6:55 am

      5 stars
      I’ve heard massaging kale can make a real difference to the flavour. Your salad looks delicious – love the dressing! Will pin your Salads post pin. Thank you for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Hop. Hope to ‘see’ you again this week!

      Reply
    6. Easy Peasy Life Matters

      August 27, 2016 at 1:00 am

      Gotta love kale and with this lemon dressing, so good! 🙂

      Reply
      • Susie

        June 10, 2022 at 5:23 pm

        5 stars
        I added a teaspoon of honey and four drops of DoTerra wild orange essential oil to the salad dressing and added dried some dried craisins to the top of our kale salad and it was a huge hit. My 2 year old grandson loved it so much he kept saying more Nanna, more!

        Reply
    7. Kate

      August 26, 2016 at 10:17 am

      This looks delicious! I love Kale!
      Kate | TheOrganizedDream.com

      Reply
    8. Camille

      August 25, 2016 at 9:20 pm

      4 stars
      This looks delicious. Good to know about “massaging” kale.
      Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    9. Janet Vinyard

      August 24, 2016 at 11:58 am

      Hi Sherri, I recently overcame my reluctance to eat kale based on memories of tons of it lining salad bars in the past! I tried the kale salad at Chick Fil-A after a friend dared me to do so and lo and behold I liked it! So, I look forward to trying your version of kale salad. Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Janet

      Reply
    10. Cathy Lawdanski

      August 23, 2016 at 5:17 pm

      I love a good Kale Salad! Pinning this one!

      Reply
    11. Naomi@WhatJoyIsMine

      August 22, 2016 at 4:28 pm

      Sherri…We eat kale regularly in our home so I am looking forward to trying this recipe of yours. It sounds and looks delish. Thank you for sharing at Monday’s Musings. 🙂

      Reply
    4.95 from 17 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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