Ever just crave a big, refreshing, flavor-packed salad? I know I do! And on that occasion, I turn to the endlessly customizable and always satisfying Every Day Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing. Bonus! It keeps really well in the fridge for four days. Chop everything once, enjoy yummy salads all week.
Recipe Overview:
The Everyday Kale Salad involves kale massaged with olive oil and salt, toasted almonds, crunch carrots, radishes and cucumber, flavorful red onion, feta cheese and sweet golden raisins. We’re also throwing in an “everyday” salad dressing, which is my go-to for any salad I make at home.
How to Customize this Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Keep all the ingredients separate if you’re worried about sogginess and assemble salads as needed. I like to pre-assemble them in containers just to make life easier and then add the dressing before eating. Otherwise you could end up with very soggy salads. (Get more tips on how to avoid soggy meal preps.)
- Feel free to add protein to this salad! Simple grilled chicken or chickpeas would be my first choice, but really anything could work. Salmon or shrimp works well, too
- Dairy-free or vegan? Skip the feta! Nutritional yeast on top of this salad would be a delicious swap.
- If you just don’t like feta, swap it out for gorgonzola, blue cheese, or goat cheese!
- Red onion is delicious in this salad, but can be overpowering. I love the color, so adding red cabbage instead might be a good idea if you can’t eat onions or are more sensitive to the strong taste of red onion. (The other option? Put the sliced red onion in a couple tablespoons of lemon or lime juice before adding to the salad. It tames the bite!)
- If you don’t like almonds, try walnuts, cashews, peanuts, seeds, or croutons instead for some crunch.
- Golden raisins were another addition to add sweetness and another color, but you can skip them or use dried cranberries or regular raisins.
- You could also use pickled veggies instead of raw if you have them on hand or feel like adding even more flavor!
- Adding avocado would be awesome if you have any!
The one thing that would be hard to swap is kale.
If you hate kale, I recommend using spinach or other salad greens, but here’s the caveat: Consider tossing the salad together right before you eat it to avoid wilty greens.
Also: if you aren’t using kale, there’s no reason to “massage” the greens. Only kale needs such coaxing to soften up a bit!
How to repurpose this salad and/or make it more filling
For some of us, a salad isn’t enough for lunch or dinner, and that’s totally understandable!
Stuffing a pita with this salad (with a dressing) would be a great option to make it more filling.
Adding a bed of grains (think quinoa, farro or couscous) would also be an easy option and it would still keep well in the fridge as a meal prep. Even orzo would work, too.
Need more inspo? Get 20+ more meal prep salad recipes here.
Storage Notes
This kale salad with homemade dressing lasts in the fridge for up to 4 days. As you might expect, it’s just not freezer friendly. There’s nothing here to reheat, but it taste great cold or at room temperature. Happy Prepping!
The “Everyday” Kale Salad With Homemade Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 cup almonds or nuts of your choice
- 6 cups kale chopped small
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup cilantro chopped, or parsley
- 3 carrots chopped, grated or peeled into ribbons
- 1/2 red onion sliced as thinly as possible, or shallots
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 6 radishes sliced
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1-1/2 cup feta cheese optional, or gorgonzola or goat cheese
For the dressing
- 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
- 2 TBSP honey
- 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP tahini
- 1 lemon for juices
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Toast the almonds in a DRY (no oil) skillet over a low-medium heat for 5 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until golden and fragrant. (Note: Almonds burn easily, so keep your eye on them!) Transfer to a plate and let them cool, then chop them roughly.
- After the kale has been cut and washed, add it to a big bowl with the olive oil and salt. Use your fingers to "massage" the olive oil into the kale, until it's shiny and bright green in color and the kale has begun to soften a bit. You can add more oil and salt if you want during this process, but a little goes a long way (plus, you don't it to get too soggy).
- Combine the mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper to a measuring glass. Mix well; taste and adjust flavors to your preference. Pour the dressing into a container to use on the side.
- Add the kale to your meal prep containers and push it down slightly. Top it with the remaining ingredients: cilantro, carrots, red onion, cucumber, radishes, toasted chopped almonds, and feta cheese if using. Keep the dressing on the side until right before you eat. Toss together with the dressing and serve!
Emily Chapman says
Amazing salad. It’s the perfect mix of flavours: salty, sweet, sour. There is so much colour, flavour, and texture in this salad that I plan on eating it multiple times this week! I used mixed greens because I didn’t have Kale on hand, and don’t prefer it – it worked but I will try the kale at some point!
The dressing is super simple, and works amazing in this salad. 10/10, would recommend if you like salads!
Marisol Velez says
The beat salad I’ve ever made! Really good!