Whenever I’m in the Phoenix area, I make a point to dine at True Food Kitchen. For those who aren’t familiar with True Food, the famous Dr. Andrew Weil (along with restaurateur Sam Fox) opened this restaurant in 2008. There are now several locations. The entire menu is based around Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet and food pyramid with an emphasis on local and organic food whenever possible. And I can tell you, every time I’ve been the restaurant is absolutely packed (and it’s a huge restaurant!).
[image source: True Food Kitchen]
Everything I’ve had at this restaurant has been ah-mazing. Even though it’s not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant, I always find a few great options on the menu. My last visit was no different. I ordered The Autumn Ingredient salad and I was blown away. It’s bursting with roasted squash, brussels sprouts, pomegranate, cauliflower, mulberries, and white beans. It was the first time I’ve had roasted pomegranate seeds and I can tell you I’ll be doing this real soon. The only thing that I didn’t care for was the Horseradish Vinaigrette that came with it (but I’m not a horseradish person, so what do I know).
Also intriguing, was my mom’s Tuscan Kale Salad – I love the idea of shredded kale (it just seems so much easier to chew!). The shredded kale was tossed in a simple lemon garlic dressing with a few handfuls of breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese thrown in. I decided I had to make a vegan version of this salad as soon as possible. I knew it would make the perfect salad starter for any holiday menu!
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The Best Shredded Kale Salad
Yield
4 small bowls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Inspired by a kale salad my mom enjoyed at a restaurant called True Food Kitchen, I knew I had to make my own dairy-free version as soon as I was back in my kitchen. The key to this salad is finely chopping (or shredding) the kale. The lemon-garlic dressing will coat each and every tiny piece of kale, working its magical softening powers and infusing the shredded kale with so much flavour. I prefer to use Lacinato (or dinosaur) kale in this salad because it's much more delicate than traditional curly kale and it has a milder flavour. Instead of cheese, I topped the salad with a toasted pecan "Parmesan" topping and a handful of dried sweetened cranberries. The result is one of the best kale salads I've tried to date and you'll find yourself wanting to inhale the entire bowl. Two bunches of dinosaur kale might seem like a lot, but once it's shredded, it only makes about 8 cups and then it further reduces in volume by almost half as it marinates. If you are making this salad for more than 4 people, I suggest doubling it.
Ingredients
For the salad and dressing:
- 2 medium bunches destemmed lacinato/dinosaur kale, finely chopped (8 to 9 cups/300 to 340 g chopped)
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) fresh lemon juice
- 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (just eyeball it)
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup (35 to 70 g) dried sweetened cranberries, for garnish
For the pecan Parmesan:
- 1 cup (120 g) pecan halves, toasted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the pecans onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden.
- Remove the stems from the kale and discard. (You can save them for smoothies if you are hardcore!) Finely chop the kale leaves (the smaller, the better).
- Wash the kale and spin dry. Place dried kale into a large bowl.
- For the dressing: In a mini food processor, process the garlic until minced. Now add the lemon, oil, salt, and pepper and process until combined. Adjust to taste, if desired. Pour the dressing onto the kale and mix it into the kale with your hands or toss with spoons. Keep mixing for about 1 minute to ensure everything is coated perfectly.
- For the Pecan Parmesan: Rinse out the mini processor and pat dry. Add the pecans into the processor and process until the pecans are the size of peas or a bit larger. Now add in the nutritional yeast, oil, and salt and process again until it has a coarse crumb texture. Be sure not to overprocess—we still want a nice crunchy texture here, not powder.
- Sprinkle the Pecan Parmesan all over the salad. Toss on a handful or two of dried cranberries. Wrap and place in the fridge for 30 to 60 minutes to soften, or you can simply enjoy it right away. In the past, I've tried letting this salad sit overnight in the fridge and I greatly prefer the flavour of the salad served the day of, so I don't recommend making this salad the day before and letting it sit in the fridge overnight.
Tip:
- Instead of a mini processor, you can chop/whisk the dressing and pecan "Parmesan" by hand.
- For a nut-free version, try using breadcrumbs instead of pecans.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Like I said, I felt like I could’ve polished off the entire salad on my own. It’s that good. I hope it’ll convince you to give kale a shot if it’s not already on your regular rotation!
Best ever!!! I
Delicious, started eating before letting it sit in refrig. Will try again in 1/2 hr. New to vegan.
SO DELICIOUS!! I am SO glad I found this salad. I’ve been wanting to incorporate kale into my diet because it has endless health benefits, but I just don’t like kale. However, this salad is a game changer! The kale leaves were tender, thanks to your tips to chop finely and let it rest in the refrigerator with the dressing for 30-60 min. The dressing is zesty, umami, garlicky goodness. Thanks you so much for creating and sharing this gem of a recipe. PS – I love all of your cookbooks too!
This truly is the BEST kale salad!
This is one of those recipes I make over and over and over. My husband who generally hates kale loves this salad. I think I could eat an entire bunch of kale in one sitting, in the form of this salad. I don’t know what else to say — the pecan/nooch topping and the cranberries are just perfection. Very holiday-y too but I will make it on an average Tuesday. Note — you don’t need to use lactino kale. If you chop regular kale VERY fine, it has the same effect.
I make this all the time but we use regular kale it’s wonderful and better the next night.
Made this tonight with kale from our garden. It was killer! Couldn’t stop eating it! Used a garlic press and a jar to shake it up in for the dressing. And chopped the toasted pecans. One day I’ll try your pecan Parmesan. It sounds GREAT!
This salad has been go to for get togethers for several years. It’s always a fan favorite w veg and non veg people. It’s just perfect, honestly. And if I don’t have something I can easily switch out something for another thing. Ie cranberries for cherries or pecans for any other nut. You really knocked it out of the park with this one!
Has anyone tried this with almonds?
I was so excited to try this salad after a friend gave it a glowing review and seeing all the positive ratings here. I followed the recipe, save for the pecan Parmesan (I used real Parmesan instead). My partner and I found this salad incredibly mediocre. It just didn’t have much flavour besides the raw garlic and Parmesan.
This is one of my favorite salads! I don’t rinse the processor after making the dressing. I add the vegan parm ingredients and use the dressing residue instead of the extra olive oil. Also, When out pecans, I find sunflower seeds or walnuts are a fine substitute.
I absolutely love this salad! I’ve been making it for years from the cookbook. The cookbook version has a couple tiny tweaks that I find make it even better. The dressing has a teaspoon of maple syrup, and then the pecan “parm” has a clove of garlic grated in the mix. The flavors are divine. I’m always asked for this recipe when I take it to bbqs!
Hi! My colleague brought this salad at work for a potluck. So delicious! She gave me the link to your recipe. Thank you for posting!
I just tried your vegan kale salad recipe, and it was amazing! The combination of fresh ingredients and the tangy dressing made it so flavorful. This is definitely going to be a staple in my meal prep!
It was so yummy.
This is our go-to salad. My kids will eat the entire thing if we let them!
This salad is PHENOMENAL. I made it three times within one week , once for family, once for friends and once for my boyfriend and in all 3 occasions everyone polished it off and begged for more! My bf said he didn’t like kale, but he was merely unenlightened because after trying this he’s obsessed. It’s incredibly flavorful, filling, and I could inhale it all in one go without any help from others (and over the years, I have.) HIGHLY recommend!
This was just delicious! Served by a friend at luncheon. We couldn’t stop eating it. LOL.
If you could extrapolate this into a recipe for 2 that would be wonderful. I’m old, I cannot do this myself given my poor eyesight. I live alone & I do want to try this recipe. Is it convenient for you to break it down into a smaller quantity recipe? Thanks so much & if not, I understand.