Garlicky Kale Salad (Inspired by Whole Foods)
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This garlicky kale salad is the best kale salad ever and so easy to whip up. The zesty tahini dressing is absolutely delicious and makes this recipe taste JUST like the Whole Foods garlicky kale.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m semi-addicted to the Whole Foods salad bar. Granted, my addiction may have subsided a tad since I haven’t been in the store since March, but I still vividly remember my favorites!
There are so that I often end up filling my container to the brim with different veggies, beans and salads. Sure, I end up paying an arm and a leg for my meal, but it’s totally worth it. 😉
Whole Foods Salad Bar Recreations
Of course, I have some favorite items on the bar — one being the Cracklin’ Cauliflower, which I’ve already recreated and the second is the garlicky kale salad. After reading the ingredient list for the garlicky kale salad at the bar (Yep, here’s a little secret – all items on the bar have an ingredient list posted!) I decided to make my own variation at home. I knew the ingredients, but didn’t know the exact measurements so it took a little trial and error. I’ve made it several times now and I have to say, it’s pretty spot on!
Ingredients Needed for This Kale Salad
- kale
- tahini
- apple cider vinegar (or water)
- lemon juice
- Bragg’s liquid aminos (tamari or soy sauce will work)
- nutritional yeast
- garlic
Zesty Tahini Dressing
The dressing I use for the garlicky kale salad is my zesty tahini dressing. It’s made with tahini, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, tamari, nutritional yeast and garlic. I love the zesty flavor from the garlic and apple cider vinegar and the fact that it’s oil-free.
It’s definitely one of my favorite dressings ever! You’ll love it on this kale salad, but you’ll likely want to use it for other salads too. I highly recommend making a double batch!
How to Serve this Kale Salad
This garlicky kale salad is a great side option but I also love it as a base to other salads! My trick is using this as a base and then layering leftovers on top… you can’t go wrong with leftover veggies + protein (like crispy roasted chickpeas) on this tasty salad base!
More Kale Salad Recipes to Try
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Kale Salad
- Massaged Kale Salad
- Kale & Cabbage Pad Thai Salad
- Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad
- Butternut Squash Kale Salad
- Sweet Potato Kale and Quinoa Salad
- Detox Salad
- Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Easy Kale Salad
More Healthy Salad Dressing Ideas
- Mexican Goddess Dressing
- Maple Dressing
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Turmeric Tahini Dressing
- Avocado Caesar Dressing
- Chili Almond Dressing
- Zesty Tahini
- Healthy Caesar Dressing
Be sure to check out my healthy salad dressings as well as my salad recipes.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Garlicky Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch raw kale, washed, de-stemmed and dried
- 2 Tablespoons tahini
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or water
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos, tamari or soy sauce will work
- 4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons 1-2 cloves minced garlic
Instructions
- Break or cut kale into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.
- Puree all ingredients except kale in a blender or food processor to blend the dressing.
- Pour dressing over kale and massage into the kale with your hands until all pieces of kale are coated.
- Let the salad sit in the fridge for an hour or so to marinate. You can skip this step if you need to eat right away, but allowing some time to marinate will wilt the kale a bit and make it a little more palatable – particularly for those who are skeptical of eating raw kale.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This Recipe? Rate & Comment Below!
Made this yesterday and it was AMAZING! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you-I crave this kale and was trying to figure out how to make it. I’m not sure how close yours is to the recipe. Perhaps it’s the same. BUT it is way better, in my opinion. Again, so many thanks!!!
Thank you Patty! I’m glad you like it. 🙂
I used to make this salad all the time when I worked for the company. Try this dip, it tastes super indulgent and perfect with the 365 corn tortillas (with no oil) baked with nutritional yeast.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3046
Yum! That dip looks super tasty – I’ll have to put it on my to-make list!
Thank you sooo much! I was at Whole Foods today and wrote down the ingredients to play with at home, but now you’ve saved me trouble. I cant wait to try this tonight 🙂
Brittany – thanks so much for your garlicky kale recipe. I have been going into WF for lunch 3-4 times a week eating their garlicky kale. I looked at your recipe about 20 times on this website before I actually tried it. I’m a “buy it pre-made” kinda guy, but I was inspired to save the $$$ I’ve been paying to WF. Your recipe worked great. My food processor did not grab all the tahini, but I stuck some of the kale pieces in the food processor and wiped all the good stuff flavor off the bottom and sides. Thank you so much. It looks like a have a lot of dressing on the bottom of my bowl. When I eat up the kale for lunch (I see it as 2 lunches worth), I’m going to try to reuse the remaining dressing.
I am so thankful to find this recipe!!
This is my favorite thing at wf, which is not real close to my house.
Nest to find the yummy woodland mushroom salad I got there yesterday.
I just made this and it’s BETTER than the kale at Whole Foods! So easy to make, too. Thanks for the recipe! : D
So glad you liked it Andrea!!
THANK YOU! I am desperately in love with this salad and on a whim went searching for it. And here it is. Great ingredients. Can’t wait to make some at home!
I hope you love it Natalia!!
Fabulous recipe! I made it yesterday for a potluck and everyone wanted the recipe so I forwarded the link. It is as good or better as the one at Whole Foods. Great job orchestrating the flavors. Thanks!
This is wonderful! My girlfriend moved here (the uk) from the US, and the one thing she misses the most is the wholefoods salad bar – and this was her favourite thing on it.
I just followed the recipe exactly, and it’s indistinguishable! I really can’t thank you enough – we’ll be eating kale now until it comes out of our ears.
just made this for lunch for my boyfriend and i – it was delicious!! although – DUH – forgot to add the nutritional yeast!!! i’m sure that addition will make the dressing EVEN more yummy but good to know if i don’t have it on hand it is still a tasty salad. thanks for re-creating!
Hi Randi – thank you for coming back and letting me know you tired this recipe. I’m glad you liked it as it’s one of my favs. 🙂