Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This summer kale salad is, in our opinion, the best kale salad recipe out there! Whether you are a kale lover or a kale hater, we encourage you to give this simple kale salad a try.
- This fresh salad is a great way to use seasonal fruit—whether you get it from your local grocery store, a farm stand, a garden, or pick them on your own—this is a great recipe to include them!
- We also love that this salad doesn't take much time to bring together.
- This salad can be used as a side dish or it can be bulked up with the addition of grilled balsamic chicken, avocado, or cheese and served with crusty bread to make the perfect weeknight dinner or perfect lunch.
- Here are some of our other kale recipes: Kale crunch salad, Cubby's copycat kale and wild rice salad, Sweetgreen copycat harvest bowl salad.
Ingredient Notes
For the salad
- Kale - you can use curly kale or lacinato kale/tuscan kale for this recipe. You can usually find at least one of these options at your local grocery store. We recommend to remove the tough stems of the kale and massage the kale to reduce the tough texture of the kale and make it more tender. Kale makes for a great salad base. Sturdy greens hold up well to the toppings and dressing.
- Fresh peaches - the fresh peaches may just be the best part of this salad!
- Fresh cherries, halved
- Blackberries
- Roasted pistachios
For the quick pickled onions
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Water, white vinegar, sugar, salt
Peach dressing ingredients
- Avocado or extra virgin olive oil
- White balsamic vinegar
- Fresh peach - we also include the lovely addition of fresh peach to the salad dressing to create the perfect balance of sweetness.
- Honey - another alternative option is maple syrup.
- Minced garlic
- Salt and black pepper
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting boards and knives
- Medium bowl
- Food processor or blender
- Large bowl
- Salad spinner (optional)
Step by Step Directions
For the full recipe instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Begin by making the quick pickled onions. Thinly slice the red onion and add them to a medium bowl with the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix until combined and set aside.
Next, make the peach vinaigrette. Add the oil, vinegar, peach, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare the kale. Rinse with cold water and dry the kale (can use paper towels or a salad spinner) and remove the leaves from the kale stems. Next, using a sharp knife and a cutting board, cut the kale until you have small pieces or shreds. Add the kale to a large serving bowl. Using your hands, “massage” the kale by applying pressure to the leaves to break up the texture and break down the kale's tough fibers.
Dice the peaches, halve the cherries, and roughly chop the pistachios. Add the peaches, cherries, blackberries, and pistachios to the large serving bowl with the kale. Add some of the pickled onions on top.
If you are serving the salad all at once, pour your preferred amount of dressing over the top and mix well. Otherwise, serve and dress each portion individually.
Tips & Variations
- Feel free to add some grilled balsamic chicken or creamy avocado to this salad to make it more filling and serve with crusty bread.
- If you are a fan of cheese you could also add burrata cheese, creamy goat cheese, feta cheese, or salty parmesan cheese to this salad.
- If you are allergic to pistachios, you can omit them all together or swap them for sunflower seeds.
- Feel free to add other types of fresh berries or fresh fruit.
FAQ
If you will have leftovers, we recommend not adding dressing to the salad beforehand. Rather, store the salad and dressing separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian. To make it vegan, swap the honey for maple syrup.
If you like this recipe, check out some of our other summer salad recipes:
If you make this summer kale salad recipe, please let us know how it turns out in the comments below and/or rate the recipe! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram to show us your finished product—it makes our day every time we see you trying the recipes we love!
Summer Kale Salad With Peach Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the quick pickled onions
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the peach vinaigrette
- ¼ cup avocado or olive oil
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- ½ of a fresh peach
- 1-2 teaspoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the salad
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1 ½ large, fresh peaches - diced (reserve the half of the second peach for the dressing)
- 1 cup cherries, halved
- 1 cup blackberries
- ⅓ cup roasted pistachios
Instructions
- Begin by making the quick pickled onions. Thinly slice the red onion and add them to a medium bowl with the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix until combined and set aside.
- Next, make the peach vinaigrette. Add the oil, vinegar, peach, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare the kale. Rinse with cold water and dry the kale (can use paper towels or a salad spinner) and remove the leaves from the kale stems. Next, using a sharp knife and a cutting board, cut the kale until you have small pieces or shreds. Add the kale to a large serving bowl. Using your hands, “massage” the kale by applying pressure to the leaves to break up the texture and break down the kale's tough fibers.
- Dice the peaches, halve the cherries, and roughly chop the pistachios. Add the peaches, cherries, blackberries, and pistachios to the large serving bowl with the kale. Add some of the pickled onions on top.
- If you are serving the salad all at once, pour your preferred amount of dressing over the top and mix well. Otherwise, serve and dress each portion individually.
Notes
- This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian. To make it vegan, swap the honey for maple syrup.
- If you will have leftovers, we recommend not adding dressing to the salad beforehand. Rather, store the salad and dressing separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Feel free to add some grilled balsamic chicken or creamy avocado to this salad to make it more filling and serve with crusty bread.
- If you are a fan of cheese you could also add burrata cheese, creamy goat cheese, feta cheese, or salty parmesan cheese to this salad.
NUTRITION
The recipe can be found on My Fitness Pal by searching "BWB Summer Kale Salad."
The nutrition content provided for each recipe is an estimate created through the My Fitness Pal database. Please be aware that the nutritional content of each recipe may vary based on the products you use, the precision of your measurements, and the source you use to obtain nutrition data. While we try to provide accurate information, we give no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the nutritional information provided.
*Affiliate links
Leave a Reply