Kale is a staple in my fridge and I have a kale salad at least once a week. This salad is packed with protein and crunch and is dressed with a lemon oil dijon vinaigrette that is light and refreshing. Ready to enjoy in less than 10 minutes, it is vegan, dairy free, and sugar free!
To prepare this recipe:
- Start by washing your kale and drying it well. If it is too wet, the dressing won’t hold. I like to spin my kale in a salad spinner to help it dry.
- Remove the kale off of the stem. The stems are not tasty and I just rip the leaves off by hand.Chop up your kale into smaller pieces and place them in a large bowl. If you have extra kale, you can store it in a salad spinner which seems to make it last longer.
- Prep your pomegranate. There are methods to get the seeds out easily with warm water, but I typically just cut it into quarters and pop the seeds out.
- Rinse and drain lentils under cold water for about 20 seconds to remove any residue!.Prepare the dressing.
For this recipe, I used:
- Tuscan Kale: this is a thinner kale variety, but is still packed with vitamins and nutrients.
- Pomegranate Seeds: I find these add a great crunch to a salad with a refreshing taste and they are high in antioxidants.
- Lentils: these are a great source of plant based protein with vitamins and nutrients including iron. I use canned lentils to make this easy and fast to prepare but you could cook any dried lentils in advance and store them in your fridge just as easily.
- Almonds: this adds another crunch to the salad and almonds are full of healthy fats, fiber, and protein.
Pro Tips:
- To save time, make your dressing ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Remove pomegranate seeds from their skin in advance and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can use already sliced almonds to save time.
- Pre-chop kale and store in a salad spinner to keep it fresh for a couple of days.
- For extra protein, you can add shrimp or salmon on top of the salad.
Substitution Ideas:
Kale: you can swap out tuscan kale for any other kinds of kale or greens (spinach or arugula would taste great)
Lentils: you can swap these out for white beans or chickpeas
How to Store:
- I don’t recommend storing your assembled salad for longer than a couple hours because it will get soggy, but you can store the salad dressing in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tuscan Kale Salad
Cooking & Baking Supplies
- Salad Spinner
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups chopped tuscan kale
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup lentils, cooked
- dill and scallions (optional)
Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- sprinkle salt + pepper
- sprinkle of dried thyme
Instructions
- Wash and dry your kale and remove the stems if needed.
- Chop up the kale into small pieces and place in a large bowl
- Drain and rinse your lentils.
- Add pomegranate seeds, almonds, and lentils to the bowl.
- In a small bowl or jar, mix together all of the dressing ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over salad (the amount is based on preference) and mix together. Garnish with some fresh dill and chopped scallions. ENJOY!
Did you make this recipe?Tag @girlswhoeat!
