Garden Fresh Crunchy Kale Salad with Cranberries

This crunchy massaged kale salad with cranberries is great as a side dish or light lunch. With options for gluten free and paleo tweaks, this kale salad with cranberries will fit most any diet plan. It’s a great lunch or side dish salad.

A couple of years ago a lovely woman named Pua introduced me to a kale salad with cranberries that I fell in love with – and I don’t love kale. As I watched her make the salad, she shared the recipe with me in a “little of this, little of that” kind of way. I made a big batch of it today, duplicating her instructions, and noted the measurements so that I could share the recipe with you.

Seriously, if you’re one of those “Ew, kale!” people, this is a great recipe to change your taste buds’ mind.

Massaged kale salad with cranberries

Why massage the kale? If you grow kale, you know how stiff it can be, straight out of the garden. It may be counterintuitive, but massaging the sturdy kale leaves makes them more palatable. Massaged kale salad has still got a nice crunch to it — it’s just a little bit more…relaxed.

Measuring optional

If you cook by feel, I totally recommend that you just eyeball the amount of ingredients. This is not a finicky recipe at all. The finished salad has a lovely earthy flavor and I find that I crave it. If I have it made in the fridge I keep going back for “just a bit more.” But there’s nothing wrong with snacking on kale all day, right? Especially if it’s straight from the garden!

Make this kale salad with cranberries and almonds, or switch it up and add other ingredients. Sunflower seeds, pepitos, dried cranberries, nuts — toss in whatever you have on hand for extra flavor.

★ Did you make this massaged cranberry kale salad? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!

4.5 from 2 votes

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Massaged Kale Salad with Cranberries

Cranberries help offset the bitterness of kale in this salad.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword best kale salad recipe, easy kale salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 229 kcal

Author Kris Bordessa

Ingredients

• 12 curly kale leaves
• 3 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 2 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos (Substitute coconut aminos if you're gluten free) 
• 1/2 very ripe avocado
• 1/2-3/4 cup of add-ins: sunflower seeds, pepitos, dried cranberries, nuts - whatever you like
• 1-2 T. feta cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Remove the stem from the kale leaves. Thoroughly wash and dry the leaves, then tear them into bite sized pieces.

2. Place leaves in a big bowl along with the olive oil. Lomi - or massage - the kale leaves. 
   

3. Add the lemon juice and Bragg's; lomi some more. Add the avocado; lomi more. The avocado will add a bit of creaminess to the salad. Toss in the remaining ingredients.
   

Recipe Notes

The add-ins are totally flexible. Try various nuts, different dried fruit, a bit of nutritional yeast, fresh slices of apple; really, the only limit here is your imagination.

 

More ways to use kale

• Try these roasted vegetables with kale.
• Saute the leaves with a bit of olive oil and garlic until they’re tender, then add eggs for a breakfast scramble. I use two leaves for three eggs. No use overdoing it and making everyone hate kale.
• Stir into marinara sauce. Kale disappears beautifully in marinara sauce – I use 6-8 leaves for a big stock pot. The people who don’t love kale don’t even know it’s there.
• Ditto for soups. I’ve stirred it into minestrone style vegetable soups and cream based chowders with equal success.
• Add two or three leaves to a green salad.
• Toss several leaves into the pot when you’re making chicken or beef stock.
• Add a leaf or two to fruit smoothies.
• Make these savory muffins with kale and chive.