Kale Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing
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This kale salad recipe might just win over the skeptics, with plenty of color, crunch, and a knockout peanut dressing.
Believe it or not, this salad will have you eating your veggies with ravenous abandon. Loaded with shredded red cabbage and carrots, red bell pepper, and toasted almonds, this kale salad recipe gets its real magic from the creamy peanut dressing laced with ginger, garlic, lime, and sesame.
One of the best things about kale is that it can stand up to a substantial dressing without wilting. Here, letting the dressed salad sit for about 15 minutes softens the kale just enough while the other vegetables stay crisp—no massaging required. It makes a great side dish for an Asian-inspired meal, but it’s hearty enough for lunch, too. And while there’s some chopping involved, you can take a shortcut with pre-shredded carrots and cabbage from the supermarket.
“OMG!!! Absolute gem, gorgeousness!!!! PLEASE try this people!”
What You’ll Need To Make Kale Salad With Ginger Peanut Dressing
- Curly Kale, Red Cabbage, Carrots & Red Bell Pepper: The colorful, crunchy base of the salad, bringing hearty texture, crispness, and natural sweetness. Remove the tough center stems from the kale, chop the leaves, and pat them dry so the dressing clings well.
- Slivered Almonds: Give the salad plenty of crunch. Toasting them first brings out their nutty flavor, so don’t skip that step.
- Fresh Cilantro: Adds a fresh, herbal note. If you don’t care for cilantro, flat-leaf parsley works well in its place.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Forms the base of the dressing, making it creamy and helping it cling to the vegetables. Stick with smooth peanut butter rather than crunchy.
- Unseasoned Rice Vinegar & Lime Juice: Give the dressing its bright, tangy backbone. Be sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar, which doesn’t have the added sugar and salt found in seasoned varieties.
- Vegetable Oil: Thins the peanut butter and helps the dressing blend into a smooth, pourable consistency.
- Soy Sauce: Adds salt and savory depth to the dressing.
- Honey & Sugar: Balance the vinegar, lime, and heat and round out the dressing.
- Garlic & Fresh Ginger: Give the dressing its punchy, aromatic flavor.
- Sriracha: Adds a little heat; you can adjust the amount depending on how spicy you like it.
- Sesame Oil: A little goes a long way and adds a toasty, nutty note to the dressing. Look for dark, toasted sesame oil (not the light kind, which has little flavor).
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Kale Salad WIth Ginger Peanut Dressing
Toast the almonds and make the dressing: Toast the almonds until lightly golden and fragrant, keeping a close eye on them toward the end—they can go from toasted to burnt pretty quickly. Meanwhile, blend the dressing until smooth and creamy.
Toss the salad: Combine the kale, cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, cilantro, and toasted almonds in a large bowl, then add the dressing and toss well. Kale is sturdy and can take a good toss, so make sure everything gets nicely coated.
Let it sit and serve: Let the salad sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes to give the dressing a chance to soften the kale, then toss again and taste before serving. The flavors can mellow a bit as the salad sits, so a squeeze of lime or a pinch of salt will perk things right back up. The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days—just make sure to cover it tightly—the cabbage has a strong odor.
More Asian-Inspired Salads You May Like
Kale Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad
- ¾ cup slivered almonds
- 4 cups chopped curly kale, thick stems removed (patted dry)
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from one lime
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1-in square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Bake the almonds until lightly golden and fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on them; nuts burn quickly.) Transfer the nuts to a small plate to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor or blender; process until smooth and creamy.
- Combine the ingredients for the salad in a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to allow the kale to soften. Toss again, and then taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (As the salad sits, the flavors may dull; a squeeze of lime juice will wake things up.)
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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This is a fabulous recipe! It makes kale appealing to anyone who claims not to like it – stubborn hubby approved!
It makes a very large salad – we are a couple and we both ate it 3x in fairly large servings. It makes a great entree salad; it kept well over 3 days in the fridge, as it marinated; easy for vegans to make and have several meals from it.
I had to sub a couple of items because I didn’t have them – dried cranberries for the red peppers; walnuts for the almonds; brown rice syrup for the honey (because I’m vegan) – -and it was still DELISH.
There’s a similar salad served at a restaurant called Aubrey’s in Knoxville TN that is SO good so I searched for it online and this was the first recipe that came up. I’m so glad I tried it – will be saving this one.
Absolutely delicious salad!! Followed entire recipe except for the 1 clove of garlic; added two instead which “toned” the peanut butter flavor just a bit!
This was excellent. I left out the cilantro (soap!) and used about 3/4 of the dressing. Amazing! Have already made it twice.
This was excellent. Even my extremely picky teenage eater adored it. I might make it next time with Peanuts rather than almonds. I also put some toasted sesame seeds on top which was very nice.
Wow! Made this for my boyfriend’s young daughters and we all loved it! We thought it looked like a lot of salad, but we ate all of it! Thanks so much for the delicious recipe!
Really good dressing, even with a few substitutes, such as powdered ginger and garlic, since I was totally out of fresh. Also used straight honey, no sugar, and sunflower oil rather than veg oil. Thanks – def a new favorite, even the 2 yr old munched down his salad.
Any suggestions for a substitution for cilantro, I’m in the camp that thinks cilantro tastes like dish soap. Thanks!!
Hi Katy, Flat-leaf parsley would work well here. Enjoy!
The Asian kale salad is delicious, but it would be great to have some clarification on how much kale to use. Depending on how tightly you pack it, the amount of kale in “4 cups” could vary quite a bit. Can you comment on that, or perhaps suggest the amount by weight that you’d recommend?
Susan, thanks for the suggestion- I will try to be aware of that going forward. In this recipe the kale is packed. Buying 1 bunch of kale would be more than enough. Glad you like the salad :).
Delicious!! My husband hates salad and he said this is the best he’s ever had. For anyone with nut allergies, we substituted wowbutter for real peanut butter. Tastes just the same!
This is one of the best salads I’ve ever made! Very healthy with good textures and an amazing sauce.