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!
Just made this for dinner tonight – yum! Similar to what many other commenters have said, my mom was skeptical because she said she didn’t think she really liked kale, but once she tried it she said she liked it, and she said she liked it more and more as she kept eating. That pecan parmesan is SO good!
I’d use some caution on the Saigon Cinnamon. The usually cheapest of cinnamons is stronger and has blood sugar regulating properties, which is good for diabetics, however it also contains more coumarin, which in high doses can cause liver damage in some people. What I’d recommend is blending the usually cheaper Saigon Cinnamon with other types of Cinnamon, which don’t have the high coumarin content. (More info from Michel Greger from Nutritionfacts.org)
Also I do not buy McCormick spices anymore. They are the cheapest supermarket spices and I am not sure how clean they are, McCormick also paid large amounts of money to prevent GMO labeling. Go figure
I’m a long-time reader of your blog, and I just have to share in the love of this amazing kale salad. My obsession began when I spotted the post on my way up to Chicago for (American) Thanksgiving with my brother. I decided that I would make it, and although I was missing some key ingredients (good olive oil and nutritional yeast), it was still pretty tasty.
Fast forward to a little Christmas party I had with some friends. I made kale salad…and kale salad was DEVOURED. I mean, I’ve taken salads to parties, but they are usually only nibbled at by people trying to maintain a veneer of healthfulness in a generally over-indulgent atmosphere. At one point in the evening, my brother’s friend was eating what remained straight from the bowl, using crackers to scoop up its deliciousness.
I made it again for a new year’s party, and once again mostly devoured. One friend said that she was jammed up against the wall (it was a crowded party), eating piles and piles of kale. Made it again for another social gathering, and we all could not keep inhaling it, although there was so much delicious food.
This week my friend’s birthday rolled around, and we asked what food we could bring, and she requested the KALE SALAD. Once again, people approached it cautiously, but by the end of the night, everyone was talking about how delicious it was and begging for the recipe. One woman got a small dab (hesitant about kale) and returned for a large helping. The salad was completely gone by the end of the night.
Because I had on hand and/or various food allergies, I have varied the recipe a bit: I’ve made it with cashews instead of pecans, and I’ve subbed in fresh pomegranate aryls for the cranberry–all FABULOUS variations! I actually prefer the pomegranate aryls over the cranberry because of the freshness that so nicely complements the kale and lemon.
Anyway, I just wanted to add to the list of people who adore that kale salad recipe–it definitely is one my favorite ways to eat kale. :)
This is the first time that I’ve had kale, other than in my green juices, and this is absolutely fantastic! I brought the salad to work, and turned at least 4 people on to kale, even die hard “I hate kale” folks. Thanks so much for your great site and recipes!
Made this salad tonight. I substituted raw almonds for pecans. FABULOUS salad!! I am making it again tomorrow.
This salad+coconut bacon=mouthgasm
Ok so I made this salad with walnuts because I accidently bought the wrong nuts-and my family devoured it! the dressing is divine and its our new favorite salad! Thanks!
Making your almond cups as we “speak”, another family favorite! keep cooking Angela!
I made this with spinach because I didn’t have kale. It was awesome!
I’m addicted to this salad. The day after eating it I feel SO GREAT! I’ve never craved a salad this way before!
I made this for the first time last night. Only thing I changed is I used pomegranate seeds instead of the cranberries. Super yummy! Even my husband was a fan and he’s typically pretty picky.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Made it today, and it was absolutely delicious. I used larger pieces of kale, kneaded/massaged it for about 6 minutes before preparing the salad.
This might be my favorite salad EVER.
It’s very hard to resist polishing off the whole bowl by yourself!
I made this kale salad yesterday and just had it for lunch — yummy! Just the right amount of salty-sweet-nutty-citrus-crunch. I didn’t have any nutritional yeast, so I just used real parmesan cheese. It turned out fine — not vegan anymore, but still yummy.
Tried this recipe in my culinary class at school and my chef loved it- she said it was the best kale salad SHE had ever had too!
Thanks for the recipes. I love kale and grow my own (very easy to grow !) but I struggle for ideas to keep the kids interested in it. There is no way they will turn their noses up at this !
My husband and I have enthusiastically embraced veganism since his diagnosis of heart disease about 8 months ago. I soon found your blog and all your delicious recipes with the gorgeous pics! This salad was one of your first recipes I made and it has been such a huge hit! I served it at my first vegan Thanksgiving and Christmas and everyone loved it. We make this several times a month-soooo good! Thanks for all the great recipes (also love the vegan cheeze sauce on everything!) and I’m hinting to my sons that your cookbook will be a perfect gift for Mother’s Day!
Living in western WA state, we have an abundance of kale. I have a lot of this perrenial green all over & love it! Like kale, chard & other good greens, it can be used in many different ways. But, like lettuce, kale, chard & other greens, you don’t want to chop it! The best is to tear it up gently, little by little. If you chop, you will notice it does not last as long. So, be kinder to your greens & keep that choppiing to garlic, onions, etc.!
Great job on your recipies & look forward trying them.
good salad: the cranberries are a must. Would make again.
Hi Angela! I dressed the salad last night right before reading “do not make this salad the night before” so I just packed the pecan parmesan in a little baggie and topped it right before eating it and it turned out just great!
I just made this, but with almonds instead of pecans. It was DELICIOUS! Thank you so much!