The Trick to Creating a Tasty Kale Salad

Sure, you've had kale salad before.

But have you ever had a kale salad that you actually enjoyed eating?

I'm waiting...

The issue with the kale leaves most of us consume is that they're not all that fresh. Most of our country's kale is trucked across the US from California to your plate, which means the varieties you're eating have been bred to hold up for long road trips and lots of time on refrigerated shelves.

Sound appetizing? I didn't think so.

The trick to ending up with the freshest, best-tasting kale is to grow your own. (You knew I was going to say that, didn't you?)

Good news: Kale is one of the easiest things to grow in your kitchen garden, and the taste is so much better than the grocery store varieties, you'll actually want to eat this good stuff.

If you're just getting started growing kale, explore the best types to grow at home and our complete guide to growing kale.

The Healthiest Kale Salad You Can Eat

I talk a lot about plant families in my book, Kitchen Garden Revival. Plants that are found inside the same plant family often grow well together in the garden and combine well in the kitchen (they also make good ingredient substitutions for each other).

Kale comes from the brassica family, along with so many of our super healthy dark leafy greens, including mustards, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, mizuna, kohlrabi, radishes, and arugula. Plants in this family are some of the healthiest you can eat.

The healthiest kale salad, then, is filled with kale and other brassicas enjoyed while they're fresh and at their flavor and nutritional peak.

I kept the recipe below fairly simple (because that's how I do my kitchen time), but feel free to add or subtract based on what you can pull from your kitchen garden or find fresh at the farmers' market. 

If you have a raised bed or a large container, you can grow loads of kale down the center of your kitchen garden. These plants take longer to grow to maturity but will give you harvest after harvest of delicious dark greens you can use as a base for so many great salads and smoothies.

Radishes and arugula are small plants and can be planted on the outside border of your kitchen garden. Radishes can be harvested within 45 days of planting from seed, and you can harvest arugula greens as sprouts or baby greens in just about the same amount of time. Arugula tastes best when you can cut fresh, small leaves, so if you’ve tried the grocery variety and didn’t love it, don’t give up until you try it from the garden. 

Kale Salad Ingredients 

Salad Ingredients:

• Toscano Kale Leaves
• Blue Curled Scotch Kale Leaves
• Red Russian Kale Leaves
• Fresh Radishes
• Baby Arugula
• Dried Cranberries
• Sunflowers or Cashews

Dressing Ingredients:

• Local Honey
• EVOO
• Apple Cider Vinegar

Step one

Wash your kale a couple of leaves at a time. Discard any wilted or discolored leaves. (If leaves show signs of pest damage, I typically give them a good rinse and eat them anyways. Pest-damaged leaves are actually filled with nutrients. Read more about why here.)

Cut off the stems and midribs of the the three varieties of kale (or whichever kale varieties you have on hand). Finely chop the leaves as the base of your salad.

Step two

Use a mandarin slicer to create very thin radish slices and work into your kale greens.

Step three

Cut baby arugula or arugula microgreens to top the salad.

Step four

Top with dried cranberries or cherries and your choice of nuts.

Step five

Use equal parts local honey, EVOO, and apple cider vinegar to make the kale salad dressing, and shake vigorously to mix.

Lightly dress the salad and mix in thoroughly.

You can get fancy with this salad and roast some Brussels sprouts in oil and balsamic vinegar to top it off, or add in some roasted broccoli or cauliflower.

Serve the salad right away or wrap and store in the fridge to allow the dressing to soften the kale leaves and the flavors to come together.

When you bite into this kale salad, you’re doing so many good things for your body, and you’ll be surprised how much you suddenly love kale. I promise!