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!
This is probably one of my new favorite dishes. I just made it for a get together with friends and it was a huge hit – even the two friends who have never liked kale got seconds and thirds! This would also be a great potluck dish. It is impressive enough for your foodie guests but simple enough to whip together for a quick weeknight side dish! Another major win, Angela! I fall in love with your blog and recipes more and more each time I make something!
This salad is SO good!
True Foods is awesome, but you totally have to make sure to check out Nourish next time you’re here – talk about adventurous food! You’ll love them! http://www.nourish123.com/
We eat SO much kale here – hubby tells me I have a “death grip” from massaging for our salads so much – one whole box bed is just kales in our side yard! Thanks for another great kale recipe! And thanks for offering such a lovely blog!
Hea XX
Tried this recipe yesterday and I absolutely loved it! Tastes very decadent, despite being full of amazingly healthy things.
I will be making this many more times. Thanks! xx
Is the soak time just letting the salad sit for an hour?
Yes you are correct!
This salad is soooooooo good! I’ve made it three times in the past week and took it to a BBQ (summertime here in Australia) and had heaps of compliments – mostly from the boys! My husband loves it too, and he is definitely not a salad person. Thanks Angela for another superb recipe.
This looks unbelievably awesome!! I posted a new recipe for kale salad on my blog today so I’m on a kale kick. Looks like I’ll be having this for lunch tomorrow! Thanks for the inspiration, as always. — Lizzie
My granddaughter introduced me to Kale which I had never eaten in my 79 years. I willing to try making this salad but I”m not familiar with nutritional yeast. Where would I find it?
Hi Donna, You can usually find it in the organic or natural food section of the grocery store – or online and sometimes in bulk bins too. It is yellowish in colour and has a flaked appearance. Enjoy!
This salad is awesome. Great with added quinoa to make it a complete meal. It’s been a staple in my fridge since Christmas!! I’ve added a little Dijon mustard, and blend up a whole Meyer lemon into the dressing with my Vitamix. YUM!!!
Oh- and I’ve subbed the pecans with pistachios before- it worked well!!
I’ve tried this salad with Collard, mustard,and turnip greens (we are in the South), it works perfectly! We are also in a small town where different ingredients are impossible to find, thankfully Amazon can get it to us fast!
I made this for dinner tonight, it was really good! I used a mixture of kale and beet greens, and used toasted almonds instead of pecans since that’s what I had on hand. Another wonderful recipe from Oh She Glows!
I’ve made this twice now, the first with cranberries and the second with cherries. It’s delicious!
This salad is delicious!!! I’ll definitely be making this one again soon.
This was stellar. It will definitely become a staple. Thanks for all the work you do on this site. It is my go-to for inspiration and salivation.
Made this tonight, and my vegetable-hating stepdad who takes two leaves of lettuce whenever we say that he “should” eat salad had a SECOND HELPING of this! Such a delicious salad, so glad you shared with us!
No really. This is the BEST kale salad ever. I ate it a few days ago and have been craving it ever since. You are so awesome for sharing this recipe, thanks!
Sounds amazing . What could I use instead of the nuts . Someone with nut allergy
This is by far my favorite salad of all time. Thanks for the recipe….soooooooo good! I am wanting to make it again and have everything on hand except pecans. I don’t want to leave the nuts off (it was the best part!). Do you think walnuts would work? I have those!
You are a genius!! This has become an almost daily mainstay. I can eat that Pecan Parm with a spoon, it’s SO good! A thousand thanks for this great recipe.