Everyday Kale Salad Recipe | Wholesome + Tasty

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A simple, hearty, and wholesome kale salad for weeknight dinners or meal prep. Made from budget and fridge-friendly ingredients, you’ll make this over and over! 

I eat at least one serving of leafy greens per day – it helps me to feel my best, and honestly I just really love salads.

However, I know that not everyone feels this way, which is totally okay. But! Let me change your salad-hating mind with this easy, wholesome, and hearty kale salad. 

ingredients for everyday kale salad on grey background

Introducing: the Everyday Kale Salad 

Not only is this salad so dang good that you’ll want to eat it every day, but it’s pretty easy to, too. This salad (or slaw, some might say) is made from 7 plant-based ingredients that just so happen to be:

  • budget-friendly,
  • fridge-friendly (aka they won’t wilt or go bad quickly),
  • and highly versatile, making it actually easy to eat your greens every day.

kale, cabbage, and carrot in large glass mixing bowl

The salad starts with a base of curly or lacinato kale massaged in a simple marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, and s&p. You can also replace the oil with runny tahini or 1/2 of a mashed avocado, if that suits your fancy. Massaging the kale helps to remove its bitter flavor and make it easier to both chew and digest.

After the kale becomes tender and translucent, fold in your crunchy veggies! I opted to use a combination of red cabbage and shredded carrot for the ultimate textural experience. Fold in some freshly chopped herbs for an extra flavor kick, then plate and sprinkle with some slivered almonds for some healthy fats. That’s it, friends!

close up photo of details of everyday kale salad in white bowl

Time-Saving Hacks:

You can easily make this salad in less than 15 minutes, but if you’re looking for an even faster day of meal, you can:

  • Buy pre-chopped veggies (kale, cabbage, and/or carrots)
  • Prep the salad ahead of time! The hearty ingredients in this recipe won’t wilt in the fridge and can be made up to 3 days in advance. Simply top with slivered almonds and a little extra s&p before serving and you’re good to go!

kale salad in large white bowl with lemon wedges and slivered almonds on the side

Serve this Kale Salad with:

kale salad in serving bowl topped with crispy tempeh

If you’re looking for more easy salad recipes, you’ll also love this Crunchy Broccoli Salad,  this Simple Harvest Salad and this Warm Lentil Salad! And finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂

A simple, hearty, and wholesome kale salad for weeknight dinners or meal prep. Made from budget and fridge-friendly ingredients, you'll make this over and over! #kalesaald #kale #mealprep #vegan #vegansalad | frommybowl.com

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Everyday Kale Salad

A simple, hearty, and wholesome kale salad for weeknight dinners or meal prep. Made from budget and fridge-friendly ingredients, you’ll make this over and over! 

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 Minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 2-4 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 head lacinato or curly kale, de-stemmed and chopped 
  • Juice of 1 lemon (or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar)
  • 12 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • ¼ head red cabbage, finely shredded
  • ¼ cup fresh herbs, chopped (parsley, cilantro, basil, etc)
  • Slivered Almonds or Pumpkin seeds, for garnish 
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the chopped Kale to a large mixing bowl with the oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Use your hands to firmly massage the kale for 30-60 seconds, until it has noticeably reduced in size and the leaves become translucent.
  2. Fold the carrot, cabbage, and herbs into the salad, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving plates, then garnish with slivered almonds and serve.

Notes

  • Oil Substitutions: you can replace the olive oil with 2-3 tablespoons of runny tahini or ½ of a mashed avocado, if you so desire.
  • Meal Prep: the salad mix can be prepared up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge 

Keywords: kale salad, kale slaw, easy kale salad, vegan kale salad, healthy kale salad, kale recipes, vegan salad recipes, easy vegan salads

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About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. Made this salad with your cashew dressing from the Kale Waldorf salad – A-freakin-mazing!

  2. Hi Caitlin, I commented on September 29th at 9:45pm. I stupidly wrote my full name and it is now appearing in a basic google search. I am quite concerned about my online privacy and would really appreciate it if you could either replace my full name with ”Ellie” on the original comment, or delete it. I am happy to write the same comment again with my nickname. Thank you

  3. Made it tonight with the baked tempeh as seen on your video and served it with quinoa, absolutely delicious! I added spring onion to the salad, as well as a heaped tablespoon of tahini, half a teaspoon of mustard and a drizzle of maple syrup to replace the olive oil. Will make again 🙂

  4. I wish I remembered how easy and delicious lemon juice + olive oil is for a quick salad dressing. Your recipes always inspire me Caitlin!