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!
Thank you!! My husband and I are enjoying eating kale since we found this 🙂
My recipe is very similar to yours and it was based off of Foodbabe’s Tahini dressing. I also added some cumin, smokey paprika and coconut nectar to balance out all the acid and pungent flavors like garlic. I use a mixture of lacinato kale and either romaine or red romaine or any other leafy greens, cut up cucumbers, some cherry tomatoes and a sprinkling of roasted chopped almonds and hemp seeds on top! It is out of this world! When I first started eating kale, I was like yuck, how can anyone like this stuff. Well I go to the farmer’s market and I get like 3 big bunches of kale and I make smoothies, green juice and my salads all week long. It just gives me so much energy and I feel like wow after I eat it. Hope everyone feels the same way! 🙂 God Bless everyone with good health!
God bless you for posting this! I tried this from the Whole Foods salad bar a couple years ago, it was the first time I had ever eaten kale and initially I was skeptical but curious. However, it was so sublime I was sorry I could not swing by WF more often and longed to make this dish myself! Normally I don’t adore salad and am especially iffy toward most salad dressings. This is the only dressing with which I am in love (not “tolerate” or “somewhat like”. It came out stupendously! 🙂
We love making this dressing and almost always keep a jar in the fridge. However, when we inquired about it at WF originally, they said they make it with roasted garlic, so that’s how we make it & it’s delish! Thanks for posting.
Just stumbled across this at WF the other day, and it was so good. I love how they display the ingredients for every item on the bar. This recipe is spot on delicious!! I minced the garlic but didn’t puree with the other ingredients and it was perfect. Thanks for posting!
You should try this dressing on cucumbers, tomatoes & onions! Truly a versitile dressing – it’s even good on rice!
Beth Chow – “pets” is totally a matter of opinion though. In some countries they eat cat, dog, horse… Rabbits are a commonly hunted animal in the US – along with deer, duck, goose, pheasant – would you stop shopping somwhere because those are sold? Do you buy eggs? Those are potential chickens, which ALOT of people have as pets. Ever watch a child raise a cow or a sheep? They are easily pets as well. I’m not arguing for the sake of arguing – I just don’t understand the reasons that some people pick a single particular thing to boycott someplace over.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Whole Foods recently started selling rabbit meat, and as the caretaker of five companion rabbits (one of whom is a “meat” breed and is the sweetest most intelligent of them), I cannot shop there anymore. Now I can enjoy my favorite WF salad bar item without supporting a store that sells pets in their meat case!!
My husband and I love this recipe, and even our 20 month old daughter enjoys eating kale this way! Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome. Glad you and your family are enjoying it. 🙂
Thank God you did this. I can’t get enough and have eaten this 4 times in the past week. I will be making this soon!!!
Thank you so much for posting this!! I have recreated their triple squash soup and I was so happy to find another one recreated. I think I have no become obsessed with your blog so thanks! lol we are now having this with our dinner tonight!!
You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I haven’t had the triple squash soup! Is the recipe on your blog?
Hi! Yes here is the recipe on my blog!
http://www.glorifiedhousewife.com/8/post/2014/01/my-version-of-triple-squash-soup.html
Awesome! I’ll check it out. 🙂