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    Home » Recipes » Raw Vegan Cooking

    Southwestern-Flavored Kale Salad

    Published: Sep 2, 2013 · Updated: Aug 18, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Kale, corn, avocado, and tomatoes add up to a seriously delicious salad. With the optional beans, it's a fantastic main dish salad. Without the added beans, it’s a great companion to tortilla specialties containing beans—burritos, enchiladas, and the like. Recipe adapted from  Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas. Photos by Rachael Braun.

    Southwestern Kale Salad

    Southwestern-Flavored Kale Salad

    Kale, corn, avocado, and tomatoes add up to a seriously delicious salad. With the optional beans, it's a fantastic main dish salad.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Course: Kale Salad
    Cuisine: Vegan / Healthy
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: kale salad recipe
    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 25 minutes
    Servings: 6 to 8
    Calories: 157kcal
    Author: Veg Kitchen

    Ingredients

    • 8- to 10- ounce bunch curly or lacinato kale
    • 2 cups raw or lightly cooked fresh corn kernels
    • 1 medium firm ripe avocado, peeled and diced
    • 2 to 3 medium tomatoes diced
    • 1 medium red bell pepper cut into short, narrow strips
    • ½ cup green pimiento olives
    • 1 ½ cups cooked or drained and rinsed black beans or pinto beans see note
    • 2 to 3 scallions green parts only, sliced
    • 1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil as desired
    • Juice of 1 lime more or less to taste
    • ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro optional
    • 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. Rinse well and pat dry.
    • Transfer kale to a serving 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.
    • Add the remaining ingredients and toss together gently (use salt sparingly, if at all). Let the salad stand for 10 to 15 minutes if time allows, to let the flavors blend, then serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 157kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 664mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 5136IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 2mg
    Vegan-ize any recipe!Grab our free vegan cheat sheet, packed with my favorite easy substitutions to make any recipe vegan.

     

    Note: Omit beans if serving this with a bean dish.

    Nutrition Information: 
    Per serving (without beans): 134 calories; 9 g fat; 13 g carbs; 4.4 g fiber; 5 g protein;
    235 mgs sodium

    Southwestern Kale salad

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. JennyG says

      November 10, 2013 at 10:21 am

      Since there is no cooking involved, I suggest using a heart-healthy oil, such as unfiltered flax or hemp seed oil instead of olive oil. When consumed daily in small quantities, these seed oils provide the body with a rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids, which has been observed to improve cardiovascular health.

    2. Martha Marshall says

      February 06, 2014 at 11:49 am

      No need to massage the kale. The salt and other dressing ingredients will soften it.

    3. Nava says

      February 06, 2014 at 11:50 am

      If the kale is already tender, like from the garden, or for baby kale, that's true. But for any other, I think massaging makes all the difference in the world for the mouth feel.

    4. Jill, The Veggie Queen says

      February 06, 2014 at 1:10 pm

      For those that don't use oil, you can do the massaging with avocado, tahini or nut butter. Works just fine. I use it in my kale salad.

      Massaging does make a difference and you get to add some love to your salad while giving your greens that massage.

      Thanks for the great recipe Nava.

    5. Nava says

      February 06, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      Hi Jill! Yes, that's exactly right. Since this salad uses avocado, you can just mash a little up, rub it on your palms, and then massage as you would with oil. Kale can be massaged with any dressing you happen to be using, and a little goes a long way.

    6. Susan Kinsey says

      February 06, 2014 at 3:55 pm

      I would love it if you could please make it possible to put these amazing recipes on our Pinterest boards.

    7. Nava says

      February 06, 2014 at 4:11 pm

      Hi Susan — there are sharing tools right under the titles of the recipes, plus if you mouse over individual photos, you should see the Pinterest symbol pop up. Is it not showing up for you?

    8. Liz says

      February 07, 2014 at 8:48 am

      Looks awesome - will make this this weekend

    9. Ed says

      July 23, 2014 at 1:18 pm

      Is there any reason one could not use cucumbers in this recipe?

    10. Nava says

      July 23, 2014 at 1:21 pm

      No reason whatever! Alter as you'd like.

    11. Lori says

      June 09, 2015 at 4:47 pm

      Going to give this recipe a try. Never used Kale before.

    12. Nava says

      June 09, 2015 at 5:01 pm

      I hope you like it! Massaging raw kale really does make a big difference.

    13. Jade says

      July 12, 2015 at 5:30 am

      I made this recipe for a BBQ we had last night. I used organic Tuscan kale and 'massaged' it with some olive oil as you said and it made all the difference. Also, the kale itself had a slight bitter aftertaste, but after the dish was put together, I let it sit in the fridge, and somehow it took away the bitterness. Maybe it was the lime. Anyway, great recipe!

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