What to Serve with Kale Salad

Wondering what to serve with your kale salad? Check out these delicious soups, sides, and main course dishes that pair perfectly with kale salad. AND pick up a few tips to help you make the best. kale. salad. ever.

collage of dishes to serve with kale salad

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What kind of kale is good for salad?
How do you cut kale for a salad?
How do you make kale salad?
What to Serve with Kale Salad
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Kale is a super versatile leafy green. These hearty greens add texture and flavor to the most delicious kale salad recipes -- and can even stand up to a couple of days in the fridge for an easy lunch the next day. What’s not to love?

Well … there may be a few things. Fresh kale can be a bit tough if it’s not treated right. And there’s definitely a right way to cut it to make munching on your delicious salad a bit more … um… let’s just say civilized.

So, before we get into my 15 favorite dishes to serve with kale salad, let’s cover a few things you need to know to make a killer kale salad.

What kind of kale is good for salad?

There are many types of kale, but they’re not all created equally. Some are just better for raw kale salad than others.

Curly kale is the most common type of kale. It’s your typical grocery store kale — and the one you’ve probably gotten as a garnish on the side of your plate in a restaurant.

It’s great for making kale chips, but also good for green salads — if you give it a quick massage with fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Yes, massaged kale salad is a thing. When you massage kale, you break down the tough leaves to make it tender and chewable.

Red kale has red stems and flatter leaves that kind of look like arugula. It has a sweeter flavor than curly kale, so it will work great in all your favorite kale recipes.

Lacinato kale, aka Tuscan kale, aka dinosaur kale is dark, dark green with thinner leaves that are more wrinkled than curled. This type of kale is also great in your favorite kale salads, after it’s been massaged with citrus and salt.

Baby kale is usually found in pre-packaged boxes and is super tender and great for salads. The leaves are a lot smaller and thinner than other varieties (it’s baby, after all), so no massage necessary.

How do you cut kale for a salad?

There are two important steps you need to know about cutting up kale for your salad bowl.

First, there are stems to deal with. They’re tough and you want to remove them before chopping up the leaves. The easiest way to do this is to fold the kale leaf in half, then use a sharp knife to cut off the tough stem.

Next, since kale can be a bit tougher to chew, do everyone a favor and cut it nice and small. My favorite way to do this is to roll up the leaves and slice them into thin ribbons. For even smaller pieces, rotate the stack of ribbons and slice them into pieces.

How do you make kale salad?

My very favorite easy kale salad recipe is this Apple Kale Slaw with a no-mayo salad dressing.

White bowl with blue polka dots with kale apple slaw and a wooden spoon

It’s made with simple ingredients and is quite literally the perfect summer slaw. There’s crunchy kale, cabbage, and carrots, fresh apple, chewy cranberries, and salty pepitas in a simple dressing made from Greek yogurt.

To get the recipe, click this link -->> Apple Kale Slaw

What to Serve with Kale Salad

Take a twirl through these delicious recipes that will be happy to keep your kale salad company at dinner tonight -- or your summer picnic or holiday potluck.

Shish Tawook (Grilled Chicken Skewers)

Photo Credit: littleferrarokitchen.com

Shish tawook literally translates to “chicken skewers” and is widely known in Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine. Chicken thighs marinate in yogurt, lemon and warm spices before being grilled over charcoal to create the most tender, juicy and flavorful chicken. Perfect served over lavash or salad.

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Stuffed Shells (No-Boil)

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna Stuffed Shells are no-boil, so it’s super easy to load them up with a lightened up cheesy spinach filling and white meat rotisserie chicken, then smother them in marinara and even more cheese. Healthy-ish pasta bake for easy weeknight dinners.