The Best Easy Lemon Garlic Kale Salad (How to Massage Kale)
If you’ve ever had a kale salad that felt like chewing on lawn clippings, I promise you aren’t alone—but it doesn’t have to be that way! This easy lemon garlic kale salad is the recipe that completely changed how I look at raw greens. It’s bright, zesty, and beautifully tender. Named after the very heart of this blog, it’s my absolute go-to side dish for Sunday dinners or a quick weekday lunch because it holds up perfectly in the fridge without getting soggy.
Why You’ll Love This Salad
Never Bitter or Tough: We use a simple kitchen trick to make the kale incredibly tender and easy to eat.
Zesty Homemade Dressing: A quick whisk of fresh lemon, garlic, and good olive oil beats anything you can buy in a bottle.
Perfect for Meal Prep: Unlike lettuce, kale actually gets better after sitting in the dressing for a day, making it perfect for healthy lunches.
The Secret to Perfect Kale: You Have to Massage It!
Remove the Ribs: Always strip the leaves away from the thick, woody center stems. Those stems are way too tough to chew, so discard them (or save them for morning smoothies!).
The Olive Oil Massage: Once your kale is finely chopped, drizzle it with just a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Use clean hands to literally reach into the bowl and massage the leaves, rubbing them together firmly for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Watch for the Magic Transformation: You’ll know you’re done when the kale shrinks to about half its original size, turns a gorgeous deep, vibrant green, and feels completely soft and tender to the touch.
The Best Easy Lemon Garlic Kale Salad (How to Massage Kale)
Equipment
- 1 jar (mason jar) with a lid
- 1 wooden cutting board
- 1 large bowl
- 2 large salad spoons for tossing
- 1 large knife
Ingredients
- 6 cups kale chopped up
- 1-2 tsps virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, or can use feta
- ¼ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup carrots that have been shredded
- ¼ cup cranberries
LEMON DRESSING
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsps red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar or honey
- 1 clove minced garlic
- ¼ tsp oregano
Instructions
- Start by making the lemon dressing. To make the dressing just combine all the ingredients listed above in a jar with a lid
- Shake the dressing really well, helping it to emulsify,
- Next, dip one of the kale leaves in the dressing, adjusting the sugar or honey, salt, and pepper to taste.
MASSAGING THE CHOPPED KALE
- Massage the chopped kale with a pinch of salt and a little bit of olive oil.
- Just rub with your fingers for about 4-5 minutes or until the leaves begin to darken and tenderize.
- This process of massaging the kale causes the kale to have a silky texture and helps to make it really taste fantastic.
ASSEMBLING THE SIMPLE KALE SALAD
- In the large bowl, combine the already massaged kale, cranberries, cheddar cheese or feta cheese, onion, carrots, and almonds
- Be sure to shake the lemon dressing in the jar with the lid again, and then pour about ⅓ to ½ of the dressing all over the salad.
- Toss the salad to make sure it is coated. If not enough for you, then add additional dressing for your taste.
Nutrition
How to Store This Lemon Dressing
The lovely thing about this dressing is that you can leave it refrigerated for several days, and it will not ruin or even wilt your lettuce.
Since kale is such a hearty green, it can sit in the fridge, dressed, for several days and still be delicious! Because it is so tough if you are using it raw in a salad I would recommend massaging it first.
You will definitely feel very strange kneading a pile of greens for several minutes on your cutting board, but do it anyway! And yes, it makes a huge difference!
**Remember to always cut the massage kale into bite-sized pieces. Love me some kale, in this simple kale salad with the lemon dressing as well as cooked in many other ways.
I found this video on Youtube and decided to share it with you. Boy, does her salad really look so delicious?
I will definitely be posting other recipes which have kale as an ingredient in them. I have been thinking, this would be a good idea, because, after all, I did name the blog Kale and Croutons.
You may need less dressing (or maybe a little more) depending on the size of your bunches of kale. Just dress the kale salad to your preference. The dressing is super easy to whip up if you need to make a little extra (for extra large bunches!)
If you have not tried this simple kale salad with lemon dressing, what are you waiting for? Believe me when I say that you and your friends and family will love it. Once you try it just leave me a comment, letting me know what you thought of it.