Simple Kale Apple Walnut Salad
This massaged kale apple salad recipe brings together apples, parmesan, and walnuts for a nourishing, simple, and dietitian-approved meal. Enjoy this kale salad on its own as a main dish, or as a side salad.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch curly green kale (or 2 smaller bunches)
- 1 large apple (I used honeycrisp)
- 1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated (ideally parmigiano reggiano)
- 1/2 cup walnuts, raw
Salad Dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 a lemon, juice only
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Remove the kale leaves from the tough stems. Wash and dry well. Using your hands, tear kale into smaller pieces. Place the kale into a large mixing bowl.
- In a small jar, mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover jar with a lid and shake dressing ingredients together.
- Pour dressing over kale and massage with hands, really squeezing/kneading the dressing into the kale for about 1 minute (see recipe video if needed). The kale should be well-coated and start to soften. Let the kale sit in the fridge or at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Core the apple and chop into smaller chunks. Grate the parmesan cheese. Add both ingredients to the kale salad along with walnuts.
- Toss everything together well, seasoning with additional salt + pepper (if needed). Serve and enjoy!
Notes
*MAKING IN ADVANCE/LEFTOVERS:
- Kale salads hold up really well when made in advance. Their leaves don't go limp; rather they start to absorb even more of the flavour! You can safely prep the kale up to a day in advance.
- I would recommend chopping and adding the apple just before serving in order to prevent browning.
- That said, leftovers do keep quite well for a day or two - the lemon in the dressing helps to slow the browning process in the apples. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge!
- For a nut-free version, you can swap walnuts with pumpkin seeds (pepitas), or omit completely.
- If you'd prefer, you can try this with another nut like pecans or almonds in place of walnuts.
- For a vegan version, simply swap the parmesan with a vegan alternative or omit it completely. You could try using some nutritional yeast instead, although it will change the flavour profile slightly! I always love nutritional yeast on salads though :)