Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad Recipe (2024)

After the thick stems are removed and the kale is washed, the easiest way to end up with a slaw is to: stack the leaves, then roll tightly and hold with one hand, and slice thinly with the other hand. My mother taught me how to do this with collard greens and it is also an effective method with Kale or any leafed green you want to slice.

Wow, that's a lot of oil. I make a salad very similar to this, but use equal parts oil and lemon, plus a small amount of honey or sugar, and a dash of salt. Since kale is in the cabbage family, it's best to add the dressing several hours before to let the kale soften and absorb the lemon. Dried cranberries, avacado or blue cheese also make good additions.

This is an amazing dish. It's a jolt to my tastebuds and is the best light dinner dish. I slightly modified this. I didn't have almonds so I chopped up the stems and sautéed them in olive oil with the garlic that had steeped in the lemon salt mixture. I cut the garlic up finely and after it slightly browned and the stems got a little softer, I tossed them into the salad. Let me know how that works for you.

I loved the combo of ingredients. I think it calls for too much olive oil. Start with 3/4 cup and go from there to taste.
Right now this is my favorite salad.

To all the cooks who write that it is too much olive oil - did you not read that the step 4 direction is to add HALF the dressing, toss & taste, then add more if you think it needs it. Approximately 3/4 cup of dressing for all that kale does not seem to be too much. And you have a nice 3/4 cup or so of dressing left for something else later.

This is my favorite salad! I make it for one most days - I skip the parm and add chickpeas and avocado for a little boost. Easy and delicious

Important to massage kale after cutting into strips. In bowl, squeeze in hands, then again, until you see & feel change. Kale will be softer and more intense color.

I have made this many times, but never with that much olive oil: this can actually be a healthy dish . I only hope the 1 1/2 cups is a typo. If you throw the sliced kale into a non stick pan you will find that the non stick repels the oil so you can use a TB or less. Just keep tossing and massaging the kale until it concedes. Then gently add the other ingredients, like maybe cutting back on the 1.5 cups of parm as well. Good Lord.

I used pine nuts instead of almonds and a little less olive oil as most have agreed. Rather than keep the dressing and kale separate, I dressed all the greens and for next day's lunch had beautifully wilted, yet still crunchy greens. I had leftover dressing and used to sautee a chicken breast as a protein to serve over the salad.

I have also added Dijon Mustard and minced garlic to the basic recipe. Toasted pine nuts are nice. Parmesan ribbons made by peeling parmesan give a very nice appearance, tossing in before serving. I combine the dressing (minus nuts and cheese) with the kale in a plastic bag and then massage the kale and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. The cheese and nuts are then added to the salad before serving.

I usually soak the kale for a couple hours with a little sea salt and massage it to soften it first and I use about half the dressing, almonds and cheese to save calories, 412 calories for a salad is excessive, I eat this at least 3 times a week and totally love it!

Instead of nuts, I added whole wheat bread crumbs just before tossing. Also, I added red pepper flakes which gives it a kick. I like to shred the kale leaves also.

I used 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup parmesan, and 1/2 cup almonds. LOVED it.

Great salad but one ends up with easily 2x the amount of dressing it needs so halving that and saving a lemon is a good idea although my kids love the dressing on regular salads. It would also benefit from the addition of sliced apples of something else a little more sweet

Very nice, light salad. I added a little Dijon mustard to the dressing and some bacon to the salad. One note- if you massage the kale with salt it really helps to tenderize it and make it much softer.

Five stars for taste and ease of prep. Four stars because the amount of dressing is way too much for the amount of kale. The dressing is tasty (after adjusting the ratio oil: lemon so the lemon is more pronounced), but I've got a lot of salads in my future in order to use all the dressing. Added 1/2 of a thinly sliced apple and a large shallot, finely chopped. Served it with baked ham for Easter -- perfect side dish.

This salad is amazing. I make it weekly and have prepared for so many people who also love it. Just eyeball the oil and cheese because that’s too much. Adding a crisp red apple is game changing to it.

We cut back a lot on the oil and like it much better. I have yet to meet anyone who has tasted it that didn't like it.

This salad was perfection, but I did freestyle a bit with the recipe. I added oil to the pan to toast my almonds, and I minced the garlic and added it to the almonds and oil after a couple minutes. I used probably 1/4 cup of olive oil and mixed that with the juice of two lemons. And, I added 1/2 cup of cheese. My husband and I loved it! The only edit I’d make for the future is the reduce the quantity of almonds - we had more almonds in the salad than we needed.

An easy and delicious hot and crunchy variation at Step 4:Add one or two tablespoons of olive oil to the ribbons of kale and massage with your fingers until all of the kale is coated. (Reduce the oil in the dressing.)Put half of the kale on a baking sheet and bake at 375 F, 15 minutes or so--until crispy but not black (like kale chips). (Maybe roast some minced garlic, too?)While the kale is roasting, toss the rest of your ingredients together. Add the roasted kale and toss. So delicious!

Great recipe. Cutting the kale is a bit time consuming. Used 3/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 tsp salt. I sauteed the garlic in the olive oil to take off the raw edge and kept it in the dressing and it worked great. I wouldn't skip the cheese on top. Unless you know you won't have left overs, I'd dress the salad in individual portions, not all at once.

I made this as written, with no changes or substitutions, and it was perfect. It's so good that I make batches just for myself. I made it for guests and we were politely fighting over the last bits in the serving bowl.

Huge hit with all ages - from eight to eighty and beyond. Only change I made was to microplane the garlic and put it in there, instead of infusing and removing it. Oh, boy!

That's a lot of oil. I added 1 cup, stopped to taste, and felt even that was already too much. Just 0.5cups oil is more than fine

I added the dressing and Parmesan to taste as I chopped only one bunch of kale. I used Meyer lemons which ended up being too mild so I squeezed mild lime juice and added kosher salt over the dressed salad. Delicious.

Absolutely divine. Massaging the kale helps. Didn't measure the dressing - juiced three lemons into a jar with the four garlic cloves and heaping spoon of salt, then added roughly an equal amount of olive oil. Will become part of the routine.

you NEED to massage the raw kale. Makes all the difference!

Way too much dressing!! Start with 3/4 cup of oil, max

My new favorite salad! I've been intimidated by using kale at home and this recipe made me excited to try it. I got a bag of shredded kale, poured a little bit of olive oil and salt on it, massaged for 20 seconds and let it rest for 10 minutes, then added this dressing. Didn't use almonds, but I did add Trader Joe's brand shaved Parmesan, Romano & Asiago Cheeses, it was amazing. I used my lemon squeezer to easily smash the garlic and let the dressing steep for a few hours.