Kale Salad
This is my favorite Kale Salad, tossed with candied pecans, blue cheese, and cranberries. It’s a simple and delicious starter for any meal, or you can add Grilled Chicken Breast or Grilled Flank Steak and make it an entree!
Salad is often thought of as health food, but I honestly eat this salad because it tastes good.
Kale has a mixed reputation, which is captured pretty well by comedian Jim Gaffigan in one of his bits on Kale.
“Can we stop with the kale propaganda?” 😂
With all the talk about kale as a superfood, I understand where Jim is coming from, but all of that aside I think kale is TOTALLY delicious! Dino kale, curly kale, red kale, I love it all.
Like many vegetables, kale needs to be prepared right. One of the secrets is to massage the kale first.
This salad here is how I eat my kale about 75% of the time. Massaged and raw in a salad with candied pecans, cranberries, and blue cheese. I devour the stuff.
I’m a big believer in adding fun ingredients to salad, and candied pecans here are a real treat.
They’re incredibly simple to make, and quick too. A lot of candied pecans are made in the oven, but my recipe only takes a few minutes on the stovetop.
For the dressing, Balsamic Vinaigrette is my favorite to pair with these flavors, but a Lemon Vinaigrette would also work nicely.
Massage the kale leaves with a pinch of salt and the vinaigrette of your choice, and toss with the candied pecans, some crumbled blue cheese, and dried cranberries. Then you’re in business. It’s easy and delicious!
Also, I want to emphasize not to skip the pinch of salt. This is one of the secrets to a really good salad, for bringing out all the flavors. It makes a world of difference.
Warm Brussel Sprout Salad with Crispy Goat Cheese, Tomato Burrata Salad, and classic Caesar Salad with REAL Caesar Dressing are a few more of my favorites for dinner. Enjoy!
Kale Salad with Blue Cheese, Cranberries, and Candied Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 bunches dino kale (aka lacinato kale)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup candied pecans
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Strip the kale leaves from the stem by pinching at the base of the stem and pulling it through. Once all leaves are removed, discard the stems and rinse the leaves well.
- Dry the kale in a salad spinner or with paper towels, very thoroughly. Any water that's leftover on the greens will water down your dressing, which you really don't want!
- Place the kale in a large bowl, and add the balsamic vinaigrette and salt. Use your fingers to massage the vinaigrette into the leaves, for about 1 minute, until the greens reduce slightly in volume.
- Add the pecans, blue cheese, and cranberries, and toss. The salad is ready to serve. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in December 2019. Originally published May 2015.
12 Comments on “Kale Salad”
joanne~
picked up swiss chard this morning at my farmer’s market and found this recipe so subbed out the kale for the swiss chard. not a lot of time so just toasted the pecans. the dressing was so simple and so wonderful. everyone in the family loved it and they are not big salad eaters. going to make a jar of dressing to keep in the fridge.
thanks again for another great recipe.
jude
Hi Jude, that’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing this, and happy cooking!
Thank you! I was looking for this very combination of ingredients with the kale and blue cheese and cranberries. It went beautifully with a fall lunch I hosted. I added some minced garlic and shallots that I heated on the stovetop to the oil and lemon juice for the dressing.
That sounds great, Marisa. So glad this turned out well!
Simple and delicious. This has become one of my favorite salads!
This is one of the best ways to make kale.
Craig and Mary are absolutely right about massaging the kale. However, I take it a step further and squeeze the heck out of it. I slice the leaves into thin strips, then put them in a bowl of water and squeeze squeeze squeeze until they turn very dark green (bruised, I guess). The kale loses any trace of bitterness and becomes nutty and sweet. It was a revelation the first time I did this, and I haven’t looked back. So good!
Very cool tip, thanks for sharing Emily!
The salad looks so healthy and delicious! Massaging kale makes a world of difference. Thanks for sharing!
This is our favorite kale salad. Messaging the kale is essential to releasing the flavors.
That’s wonderful, Craig. Hope you’re enjoying the warm weather these days!
This salad looks amazing!