This Crunchy Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing is the most refreshing Spring and Summer Salad. Tender marinated kale meets coleslaw with lots of other colorful and crunchy ingredients and it's drizzled in a sweet and salty peanut dressing. A must try recipe!
This Salad is literally what my dreams are made of. We've got so many flavors and textures packed into one bowl, and yes I've been eating this salad for lunch on repeat for days.
The Peanut dressing is a combination of a few ingredients and is such a win. You can even double it up and save it for other recipes for the week, like drizzling over these Thai Shrimp Tacos or Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps.
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Why You'll Love This Salad:
- Flavor Filled. This Kale Crunch Salad is a bowl full of every flavor and texture you can imagine and it's amazing!
- Quick and Easy. This salad takes about 20 minutes to prep and is so easy with minimal chopping required and no cooking.
- Healthy. Loaded with healthy vegetables and fiber and full of vitamins and nutrition.
- Colorful. Bright colors combine for a vibrant salad great for the Spring and Summer months, but really all year long!
For more of my favorite Summer Recipes, try this Blackened Mahi Mahi, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, Dill Pickle Egg Salad, and Blackstone Smashburgers.
Ingredients:
Kale: The base of the salad and the star of this recipe. I prefer the taste and texture of Curly Kale, but any kale can be used. Kale has a tendency to be tough and bitter. Olive oil and lime juice are massaged into the kale for a few minutes to break it down into a more tender and delicious leafy green.
Coleslaw Mix: Cabbage, carrots and sometimes broccoli are combined into this bagged mix. It's super easy to use a pre-packed coleslaw bagged mix and requires much less work. Look for a fresh bag where none of the cabbage has started to turn pinkish.
Cilantro: Adds a fresh component into the salad and pairs really well with peanut sauce.
Peanuts: Adds a salty crunch to the mix.
Peppers: A combination of bell peppers and peppadew peppers, also known as sweet piquanté, are used for this salad. Bell Peppers are mild in sweetness with a big crunch, and peppadews have a deep sweetness with a touch of spice. Look for the peppadews in the grocery isle near the roasted red peppers in a jar and olives. They will be in a similar sized glass jar.
Peanut Sauce: Peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice and red pepper flakes combine for a sweet and salty peanut dressing. Try this Spring Roll Salad with peanut sauce too!
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions or Variations:
- Want to add protein? Top the salad with these BBQ Shrimp, Crispy Chicken Fritta, Honey Sriracha Shrimp or Sautéed Chicken Breast.
- If you love spicy, add in a dash of chili oil or sriracha into the peanut dressing or additional red pepper flakes.
- Any kind of kale can be used in this recipe, just make sure to remove the stalk and chop finely.
- If you prefer to make your own coleslaw with carrots and cabbage, you certainly can. I like to use the bagged mix to save on time and cost.
- I used Creamy Jif peanut butter in this recipe. If you choose to use a natural peanut butter with just peanuts and salt, you may want to add a few teaspoons of brown sugar or honey to bring in a little sweetness.
Looking for more Summer Salad Recipes, try this Peach Burrata Salad, Southwest Chicken Salad and this TikTok Grinder Salad.
How to Make Crunchy Kale Salad (Step by Step Instructions):
Step 1: Rinse and pat dry the kale leaves. Remove and discard the stalks, chop the kale into small pieces and add into a large bowl.
Step 2: Drizzle the olive oil into the kale and add in 2 teaspoons of lime juice. Place both your hands into the kale and massage the leaves for one to two minutes to tenderize.
Step 3: In a medium bowl or pyrex dish, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes. Add in one tablespoon at a time of water until the consistency is still thick, but more like a salad dressing. I used between 3-4 tablespoons. Place it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
Step 4: Add the kale and coleslaw into a large bowl. Pour in half the peanut dressing and toss to combine. Save the remaining dressing for serving.
Step 5: Top with peanuts, cilantro, peppadew peppers and bell peppers. Toss to combine.
Step 6: Serve with additional peanut dressing and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure to remove all the water from the kale after rinsing. Take time to massage the kale for a better overall taste.
- If you have a bit of extra time, leave the peanut sauce in the fridge for 30 minutes.
For more healthy lunch ideas, try this Chicken Spinach Wrap, Sautéed Delicata Squash and Baked Chicken Kofta.
Recipe FAQs:
Massaging the kale with a drizzle of olive oil will release some of the bitter taste and make the leaves more tender.
Store the salad in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It tastes best the first day, but I still eat it for a few days after.
Absolutely! A store bought dressing of your choice is great or pair it with honey vinaigrette from this roasted pear salad or try this Creamy Balsamic dressing.
More Easy Salad Recipes You Will Love:
If you tried this Crunchy Kale Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Crunchy Kale Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 salads 1x
Description
This Crunchy Kale Salad with Peanut Dressing is the most refreshing Spring and Summer Salad. Tender marinated kale meets coleslaw with lots of other colorful and crunchy ingredients and it's drizzled in a sweet and salty peanut sauce.
Ingredients
Peanut Dressing:
- ½ cup Creamy Salted Peanut Butter *I used Jif, which has a bit of sweetness
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2-4 tablespoons water
Crunchy Kale Salad:
- 6-8 leaves of Curly Kale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice
- 1 and ½ cups of bagged coleslaw mix *you don't need the sauce packet
- ⅓ cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
- ½ of a bell peppers or 4 mini sweet peppers, seeds and stems removed and cut into skinny strips
- 5 ounces of jarred peppadew peppers (sweet piquante)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, minced
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry the kale leaves. Remove and discard the stalks, chop the kale into small pieces and add into a large bowl.
- Massage the Kale: Drizzle the olive oil into the kale and add in 2 teaspoons of lime juice. Place both your hands into the kale and massage the leaves for one to two minutes to tenderize.
- Make the Peanut Dressing: In a medium bowl or pyrex dish, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes. Add in one tablespoon at a time of water until the consistency is still thick, but more like a salad dressing. I used between 3-4 tablespoons. Place it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
- Assemble the Salad. Add the kale and coleslaw into a large bowl. Pour in half the peanut dressing and toss to combine. Save the remaining dressing for serving.
- Top with peanuts, cilantro, peppadew peppers and bell peppers. Toss to combine.
- Serve with additional peanut dressing and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure to remove all the water from the kale after rinsing. Take time to massage the kale for a better overall taste.
- If you have a bit of extra time, leave the peanut sauce in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Fridge Time: 5 minutes
- Category: salad
- Method: chopped
- Cuisine: Asian
Josie
I ate so much of this during the week! It stayed really good in the fridge, not like your average salad. Yum!
Tara Smithson
Thanks Josie and I totally agree! I ate it for 3 days for lunch.