Have you ever had a craving for a deeply satisfying and hearty kale salad? But you don’t want just a big pile of kale…. no you want all sorts of yummy textures and flavors in your kale salad to keep things interesting.
This is that salad.
It’s perfect for a dinner entree, a potluck, or a weekday take along for lunch. I like to make up big salads and then keep the dressing on the side that way I can have as much or as little dressing as I like and save any remaining salad in a sealed container in the fridge.
Most kale salad recipes are heavily dressed with oil and salt and I find it hard to stomach. I want to taste my greens and not the oil so I paired this with a delicious homemade citrus ginger cashew dressing. It has some natural sweetness and creaminess from the cashews and is super easy to whip up in the blender with some fresh ginger and orange juice. Fresh squeezed orange juice is a great choice for liquid in salad dressings because it has some natural sweetness, and acidity and you can toss almost any fruits or veggies and/or nuts and seeds into it and blend it up.
So make up a big bowl of this hearty kale salad and you’ll have a light yet satisfying entree salad for 3-4 or a delicious side salad to serve along with baked potatoes, rice pilaff, pasta marinara and more. Enjoy!
Raw(ish) Vegan Kale, Mandarin Orange and Goji Berry Salad
Serves 6-8 side servings
Ingredients:
1 head of kale, stems removed and chopped
1 head of romaine, chopped
3 cups loose packed spinach
1 english cucumber, sliced
4-5 mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned
3 tbsp goji berries soaked and patted dry
2 cups cooked quinoa (I seasoned mine with vegetable broth) *can omit if you desire a 100% raw dish
Directions:
1. Arrange salad greens in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Garnish with remaining ingredients.
3. Serve with dressing on the side, or toss dressing with salad for a marinated salad.
Raw Vegan Citrus Ginger Cashew Dressing
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh squeezed clementine or sweet mandarin juice
2 medjool dates, pitted
1 tbsp Spicy Pecan Vinegar (or other fruit vinegar)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup raw cashews (unsalted)
Dash of salt and pepper *optional
Directions:
1. Blend dressing ingredients together. Best used within 3 days (due to fresh orange juice which is perishable).
Additional Tips:
If you prefer to make this your weekday lunch salad for 5 days a week, arrange the salad in 5 sealable containers and store the dressing in small airtight containers.
What are your favorite ingredients to toss into your kale salad?
This looks amazing! I think the best thing about raw kale IS the texture. To the people who do not like the texture: you could use baby kale and this would be more like spinach salad. Ps: When will be able to buy your salad dressing book by itself? !?! I already own the rest! !! Thanks for making a healthy life more delicious!
You have to have pretty strong teeth and jaws to chew it properly, so it takes a little more time to chew than lettuce as well. 🙂
Hi Veronica! I am so glad I found your website, it’s terrific.
This kale salad looks amazing, and I want to give it a try. However, when I have tried to eat raw kale in the past, I found the toughness of the kale unpalatable and way too chewy, even when I used “dinosaur” kale which is supposed to be “softer.” I tried marinating the kale in the refrigerator overnight in lemon/acid, and that didn’t work too well for my palate since I found the tartness too overwhelming. So, I don’t know if I should hang in and keep trying raw kale salads in the hope of getting used to the texture, or if I should try “massaging” it as I have seen it referred to in other places. I would assume “massaging” it means kneading it with some dressing to break it down somewhat. I haven’t noticed your referring to this “massaging” technique, so I wanted to know what you think and what you would recommend. Thanks so much, Lucille
What a beautiful salad, I love goji berries too!! The salad dressing sounds so incredibly tasty, it’s about time that I spiced up my salads a bit!
I love kale! Mixed with orange wedges and sprinkled with a few chopped walnuts. 😛
But I love spinach too, so have to try this one, thank you.
This looks great and especially the salad dressing! I am attempting to go VEGAN for the second time. A few months ago, I went VEGAN for 2 months and felt great. Since getting off the diet, I have gained 30 pounds. Today is day one. Your recipes will help me! THANKS:)
I have to make this for Andrew! While Rainbow’s been happy with the salad recipes I’ve been making, Andrew’s getting rather bored with them.
I hope you guys enjoy it Karmyn. 🙂