I’ve been bursting to share this recipe with you all, but haven’t found the right words to describe this salad. So many come to mind: beautiful, vibrant, fresh, flavorful. Not to mention that it’s raw, vegan, packed with phytonutrients and about as healthy as it gets. None of those words or phrases do this salad justice.
I don’t even know what to call it. Sesame ginger kale salad? A red pepper, avocado and sesame kale salad? With cilantro and sesame? Basically, it’s an Asian-inspired salad composed of massaged raw kale that is tossed with homemade red pepper ginger dressing. I topped it with avocado, sesame seeds, cilantro, carrots and purple cabbage. You could go without the carrots and cabbage, but they happened to be in my fridge at the time and look awfully pretty together.
Kale, which is a so-called “power food” and member of the cabbage family, makes this salad particularly substantial. Kale is a nutrient-dense green full of vitamins A, B6, C and K (source
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into big pieces
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 3/4 inch piece of ginger (approximate)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- totally optional: 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, which isn’t raw, but tastes good!
- 5 big stalks of kale
- Sea salt
- Raw red pepper and ginger salad dressing (see recipe above)
- 1/2 avocado, cubed
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced into strips with a vegetable peeler
- 3 tablespoons purple cabbage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- First you have to make the dressing. Simply blend all dressing ingredients thoroughly in a food processor or blender.
- Pull the kale leaves off from the tough stem, and break into small, bite sized pieces. Sprinkle with sea salt and massage the leaves for a couple of minutes, meaning that you should scrunch handfuls of kale in your hands, release, repeat. The kale will become darker in color and more fragrant. This step improves the taste of raw kale.
- Throw the kale into a bowl, drizzle in the salad dressing (don’t skimp), and toss thoroughly.
- Add the avocado, carrots, cabbage and red onion.
- Top with cilantro and a big sprinkle of sesame seeds. Enjoy!
- This dressing keeps well for about four days in the fridge. I actually think it tastes better after refrigerating overnight.
P.s. If you enjoy this salad, you’ll also love my raw kale, apple & avocado salad.
30 Comments
This looks so good!!
The salad is gorgeous and so healthy! That’s the kind of food I’m in the mood for right now.
What I love about this – aside from how healthy it is, is that it is made from ingredients that I have on hand most of the time. Great salad and lovely pictures.
Looks like there is some red onion in the photo …
Oh, you’re right! I forgot to add it to the recipe. Thank you for reminding me.
I LOVE raw kale salads! I can’t believe I’ve never made an Asian-inspired one – it’s such a good idea! Your photographs are beautiful! You have a true talent for showcasing food! :)
Thank you for your kind words, Sonnet!
Natural, fresh, simple and healthy. Perfect for a quick meal. I wonder how it would taste if I added a bit of vinegar to it.
Actually, there is already some apple cider vinegar in the dressing!
I bought a ton of kale this weekend and googled kale salad and was lucky to find this one! I had it for lunch, it was perfect.
I’m glad you found my recipe, Paige! If you have any kale left, you’ll probably like my raw kale and apple salad, too!
yummy!
This looks fabulous! Do you think coconut oil would be too strong of a flavor to substitute with the olive oil?
Hi, thanks for asking! I don’t think I would substitute coconut oil for the olive oil because I’m not sure it would complement the other flavors in the dressing. I’m not entirely sure if it would cause problems, though. If you try it, please let us know what you think!
Kate, the photo sold me on making the salad, and the dish was absolutely *DE-LISH*. Wonderful dressing! Forgot the lime at the store and had to use a little lemon instead. It was still very refreshing. Thank you for posting.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the salad, Renessa! I adore kale salads and that red pepper dressing is my favorite.
WOW! What a pleasant salad dressing! I’ve served it to my roommates three different times now with this batch, and every time it’s as though they are trying it for the first time. “Wow, this salad is so good, what is it like a lemony citrus..?? I usually have to drown out the kale with other flavors, but this is great.” It’s a PERFECT recipe, not too strong in any flavor but a total delight. Definitely making another batch soon.
Thanks for commenting, Ana! So happy to hear that you enjoy the salad dressing. I think kale salads call for strong dressings. You might also like the balsamic dressing I use in my kale and apple salad, which is heavier in vinegar and mustard than most dressings. The red pepper dressing is my favorite, but I whip up the balsamic dressing when I don’t have enough time for the other. It’s great with avocado or dried cherries or cranberries!
…And not to mention I’ll be storing your blog in my browser…. :)
I tried the salad dressing yesterday, tastes so good! It would be so nice to have raw restaurants as well here in Italy, I would run working there just to learn so many things…but I’ll have to train myself differently, thanks for your ideas! I’ll publish it on my foodblog.
Made this salad tonight to go with an Asian-y salmon dish. It was the perfect compliment. I use kale a lot this time of year, but have never tried it raw. Thanks for the scrunching tip!
Thanks for the comment, Liz! I never thought to serve this salad with salmon but I bet that is a delicious combo. I have several other kale salad recipes on the site if you want to give those a try.
Zippy red pepper and ginger dressing is what I need to get rid of this belly bloat. Terrif.
I got the bloat and a belly full of kale. Hoping the kale gets rid of the bloat, stat!
love love love raw kale salads. I always feel like they are better the next day too, after the flavors have sunk into the leaves. Can’t wait to make this!
And so begins the salad binge! I could use a few more greens in my life. Looking forward to trying this dressing.
Hi Kate,
For this salad recipe can you recommend a good substitute for the purple cabbage?
I always have extra cabbage leftover and I don’t know what to do with it.
Great question. I think you could just leave out the cabbage altogether (I don’t think you would miss much) or you could use the cabbage and perhaps roast the leftovers, like this: http://www.marthastewart.com/315062/roasted-cabbage-wedges. I’ve been wanting to try roasted cabbage, please let me know if you do!
Thank you so much!!! Searching for a asian kale salad and yours was the first to pop up!!! It looks great and I am making it tonight! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thank you, Jill! I hope you enjoyed the salad.
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