Massaged Kale Salad (with Avocado)
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Last updated on Nov 20, 2024
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This easy massaged kale salad uses avocado, lemon juice and sea salt to soften the kale and make a simple and delicious salad. It’s the perfect base for your favorite salad toppings.
If you love easy salads, be sure to try my easy spinach salad, this simple arugula salad and my classic broccoli salad.
Table of Contents
Prepping & Massaging Kale
Okay! So let’s talk about massaging kale! I know that massaging a vegetable sounds kind of nuts, but hear me out. Massaging kale with some sort of fat (oil or avocado) and salt helps to break down the cell structure of the kale so it becomes tender, more palatable and easier to digest. It also tastes better, IMO.
The first step when working with kale is to remove the stem which is thick and tough. I like to fold the leaf in half, holding the stem, and rip the leaves away from the stem. Once the stems are removed, simply chop your kale into bite-sized pieces. Then it’s massage time!
But don’t toss the kale stems! You can save them for another use — you can blanch them, blend them into a smoothie (try my green lemonade smoothie) or make pesto.
How to Massage Kale
Most recipes call for some sort of oil for massaging, but avocado works just as well and I like that the fact that with the avocado we’re using a whole food rather than something more processed like oil.
The massaging process is super simple! For this recipe you simply add the kale leaves, lemon juice, avocado and sea salt into a large bowl. Make sure your hands are clean and then get in there! Massage the kale with mashed avocado so that all the kale pieces are covered in a thin layer of avocado. Think about coating and infusing each leaf with flavor.
How to Serve Massaged Kale
Once your kale is massaged, let it sit for a few minutes, then top with your favorite salad toppings and serve. With this massaged kale salad recipe, the avocado, lemon juice and sea salt add a good amount of flavor and can act as a dressing, but if you want even more flavor you can serve with your favorite dressing and add additional toppings.
Dressing Options for Kale Salad
- Turmeric Tahini Dressing
- Oil-Free Zesty Tahini Dressing
- Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- Basic Balsamic Salad Dressing
Kale Salad Toppings
I love topping this salad with lots of veggies (think carrots, tomato, cucumbers), extra avocado and crispy chickpeas (homemade or store-bought) for a little crunch. To make this a full meal-sized salad I recommend topping it with some sort of protein like my lemon pepper shrimp or apple cider vinegar chicken.
More Kale Recipes to Try
- Garlicky Kale Salad
- Kale and Feta Crustless Quiche
- Christmas Salad
- Easy Baked Kale Chips
- Quinoa Salad with Kale and Roasted Sweet Potato
- Slow Cooker Sausage Kale Soup
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Kale and Cabbage Pad Thai Salad
- Easy Kale Salad
- Kale Crunch Salad
Be sure to check out of my salad recipes here on EBF.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Massaged Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large head curly kale, de-stemmed and chopped
- juice of 1 lemon, about 3 Tablespoons
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- salad toppings – tomatoes, cucumber, additional avocado, roasted chickpeas, etc.
- dressing of choice, see links above
Instructions
- Rinse kale, de-stem and use a clean kitchen towel to dry it off. Chop kale into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour lemon juice over the kale, add avocado slices and sprinkle on the salt.
- Using your hands, massage the kale with avocado, mashing it with you fingers so that the kale becomes coated in avocado. Let kale rest for about 15 minutes before serving.
- Top massaged kale with your favorite salad toppings and salad dressing for more flavor. I added roasted chickpeas for crunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easier than massaging it by hand is to shake it in a Tupperware instead. This is my favorite way to make this salad for years. 😋
This is such a great idea, Ayla. Thanks for sharing sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
I’m obsessed with Kale salads and always looking for new ways to prepare the. I loved the honey mustard dressing and can’t wait to try the other ones. Bonus that there are avocados that I LOVE too.
Woo! So glad this recipe was a hit for you, Sabrina! I appreciate your review and star rating so very much 🙂
Amazing nice content keep doing
One of my go-to’s! So good with just about every meal.
After massaging the avocado, juice and salt ,I maybe massaged it too much or cut in in too small piece because it was almost wilted. Did not feel a need for dressing.We did like it.
Definitely a convert.I saw this recipe and decided to try it for the first time and i loved it.Many thanks
Ahh yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this salad, Ola. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
I am the only one in my family who actually likes Kale so I am going to love this. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Then you don’t have to share and can keep it all to yourself. 🙂 Definitely come back and let me know what you think of the salad if you try it.
I loved it! It came out perfect and the best part was, I didn’t have to share. Made the weekend even better 🙂
Ahh yay!! So glad you enjoyed it and got to keep it all to yourself. 🙂