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!
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!
I made this for a dinner party tonight and it was so quick and easy and delicious! Everyone raved about it and the host told me she was keeping the leftovers :) I used curly kale since our stores only offer that kind and it worked just as well. The lemon brought out the color so it was so pretty and bright green!!
Thanks for all the awesome recipes!!
We have a True Food Kitchen here in Denver and I am absolutely in love with their kale salad. I made this version on Saturday night and it tastes JUST like the TFK one! I was blown away. I’m brining it to my soon-to-be inlaws’ tomorrow for Christmas and am crossing my fingers they at least give kale a chance :)
yay! excellent news :) Merry Christmas!
My daughter in law brought this for Christmas brunch, with the “Parmesan” cheese. Served alongside her strawberry pineapple mix. So wonderful, I’m buying the book on Amazon. Thanks for a great website.
Hi Erin, I’m so happy it was enjoyed! Thank you so much for pre-ordering my book :) Merry Christmas!
I made this today and used dried cherries instead. Also I added finely chopped carrots and grapeseed oil instead of EVOO (just what we had on hand). It is DELICIOUS. Another fine recipe Angela!
I made this salad for Christmas and it has been an out-of-control hit. My meant-and-potatoes dad went back for FOURTHS, and my junk-foodie mother-in-law took leftovers home! I’m now printing out a bunch of copies for my mom to give out to everyone who has asked about it, and a friend that I gave the recipe to sent me a picture of an empty bowl at her in-laws’ holiday party this afternoon! I thought you would like to know that you have created a bunch of kale-eating monsters in Michigan. Thank you so much for giving me a recipe that could get all of the meat-eaters in my life eating their veggies!
Oh that makes me so happy!! Thanks so much for letting me know Emily :) Happy New Year to you!
1-2 handfuls of sweetened dried cranberries is a lot!
I recently posted about my visit to a cranberry bog and Followed it with a how to on dehydrating your own unsweetened cranberries.
Good luck to all with the detox
I made this salad on Christmas day, I forgot the cranberries by accident and it still tasted very good. I cant wait to make it again with the cranberries. This was my first tim cooking with nutritional yeast, WOW! it really tastes like parmesan cheese in this recipe.
I absolutely LOVE this salad! I have it almost every day for lunch. It’s so easy, and so good!
“I topped the salad with my homemade toasted pecan “Parmesan” topping and a handful of dried sweetened cranberries”
Parmesan is not listed in the ingredients or the instructions.
What am I missing?
Hi Kem, It’s the pecan Parmesan in the recipe.
Looks so so amazing, especially the pecan Parmesan – what an interesting idea!
I made a kale salad on my blog too, it would be great if you could check it out :)
addalittle.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/massaged-kale-salad/
I took this salad to a New Year’s Eve party last night and it was a hit. One young woman said she’d eaten kale before but this was the first time she liked it! How cool is that?
Wash the kale _before_ you chop it. You’re washing away tons of goodness if you wash it after it has been cut!
Made this for a New Year’s Dinner party and it was a HUGE hit. So tasty, great texture – all my guests (all meat eaters) could not figure out what the cheesy texture was. I plan on making this many more times. Thank you Angela!
LOVED this salad! Incorporated it into our New Years Day turkey dinner and everyone liked it, while I went back for seconds and thirds! Simple and delish, (had to add some maple syrup to the dressing though, as my husband doesn’t like his salad too tangy)
This salad was delicious!!! Thank you SO much for sharing. Loved it!
Delicious salad! I tried it tonight using hazelnuts instead of pecans. Worked well. Many thanks for sharing.
I tried this with the kale slightly cooked (cold day) and its delicious warm. Thank you!
This salad was great even my husband and daughter like it. They are very skeptical about any recipes I try. This salad was a hit for my family.
Eating this right now, for lunch. It is, indeed, the BEST chopped kale salad! Thank you! One question… I had walnuts not pecans, so I toasted and used those. Followed all the directions to a T and it came out of my nutribullet as a big wet clump o’ nuts. I put a dollop on top of the salad and it still tasted good. Just not crumbly. Do you think it was the walnuts? I also had almonds… Should I have subbed those instead? Thanks again!
Made this last night and it was a hit. I used roasted sesame seeds instead of pecans (much cheaper) and it was fantastic. I love this site!