This simple and beautiful massaged kale salad provides a gorgeous burst of color for every day or special occasion meals (festive enough to include in a vegetarian/vegan Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner menu). It’s so luscious that I consider this the salad equivalent of candy!

Recipe

Fruity Kale Salad

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Salad

Cuisine: Healthy

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: massaged kale salad, vegan salad recipe, vegan side dish

Prep Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Servings: to 8

Calories: 182kcal

Author: Veg Kitchen

Ingredients

1 good-sized bunch kale any variety (10 to 12 leaves or so)
1 ½ cups thinly sliced radicchio or red cabbage
2 medium bosc pears quartered lengthwise, cored, and sliced
⅔ cup chopped pecans or walnuts lightly toasted if desired
⅔ cup dried cherries cranberries, or raisins
½ cup store-bought fruity vinaigrette pomegranate, raspberry, etc. plus more to pass around
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Strip the kale leaves away from the stems (kitchen shears are good for this). Discard the stems, or slice them very thinly.
Cut the kale leaves into narrow strips or bite-sized pieces. Rinse well and pat or spin dry. Place in a large bowl.
With a little olive oil rubbed into your palms, massage the kale for a minute or less, until it becomes bright green and softens a bit.
Combine the kale with the remaining ingredients in a serving bowl. Toss together well. If time allows, let the salad stand for an hour or so before serving to allow the kale to marinate.
Pass around extra dressing when serving.

Nutrition

Vegan-ize any recipe!Grab our free vegan cheat sheet, packed with my favorite easy substitutions to make any recipe vegan.

Here are more recipes for using pears.
Explore more of VegKitchen’s Super Savory Salads.
Return to A Colorful Vegan Christmas (Vegetarians Welcome!)
for a complete listing of holiday dinner recipes, menus, and desserts.