This orange kale salad is a perfect refreshing salad on a hot summer day. The tangy orange dressing paired with the slightly bitter sweet kale, creamy avocado, and the sweet orange segments…mmm. It’s citrus-y goodness in your mouth! And guess what? It only takes about 15 minutes to make! Simple and tasty, that’s how I like it. So let’s get started on this delicious raw vegan orange kale salad!
First we have to destem the kale. You can easily do that by holding the base of the stem with one hand, and with the other hand, just slide along the stem to strip the leaves off.
Kale can have some dirt trapped in between the leaves, so wash them well and dry off with a salad spinner. Then, roughly chop up the leaves and place them in a bowl.
Now, we have to “massage” the kale. You see, kale leaves are pretty tough, and if you serve them in a salad as they are, you’ll most likely end up with one tired jaw by the end. So by “massaging” it with some salt, lemon juice, and olive oil, the leaves wilt and become tender and slightly sweeter, making it a way better and enjoyable salad. To massage the kale, add a pinch of salt, a light drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of orange juice over the chopped up leaves. Normally, you would use lemon juice on the kale, but I felt the orange juice would pair better with the dressing. Massage well for about 5 minutes. It takes a bit of elbow grease, so you’ll get a little workout:)
Once the kale wilts and shrinks to about half the size of what you started with, taste test it to see if the leaves are tender. If they are, you’re done massaging.
Cube the avocado, and cut the oranges into bite size segments. Make the dressing with orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and dress the kale. Add half of the avocado and oranges and toss gently. Save the other half for garnish.
Plate it and top with the remaining avocado and oranges. Sprinkle some chopped almonds for garnish. You can add cherry tomatoes as I did for the pictures if you like.
Look at the vibrant colors! It tastes just as vibrant as it looks, with the burst of sweet and tangy oranges. If you like oranges, you gotta give this one a try!
- 1 bunch of kale
- 2 large oranges (l like using Naval or Valencia. You'll use ½ an orange to juice for the dressing, and 1½ for the salad)
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup cherry tomatoes (optional)
- Some chopped almonds for garnish
- A drizzle of olive oil (about ½ teaspoon)
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice (taken from ½ an orange juiced for the dressing)
- A pinch of salt
- Juice of ½ an orange (about ¼ cup)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small clove of garlic (grated)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- A few cracks of black pepper
- Destem the kale, by holding the base of the stem with one hand, and with the other hand, just slide through the stem to strip the leaves off.
- Wash them well and dry off with a salad spinner. Roughly chop up the leaves and place them in a bowl.
- Squeeze half an orange to get the juice.
- Add a pinch of salt, light drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of orange juice onto the kale. Put some elbow grease in and massage well for about 5 minutes.
- Once the kale wilts and shrinks to about half the size of what you started with, taste test it to see if the leaves are tender. If they are, you're done massaging.
- Cube the avocado, and cut the oranges into bite size pieces. Make the dressing with orange juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and dress the kale. Add half of the avocado and oranges and toss gently. Save the other half for garnish.
- Plate the salad and top it with the remaining avocado and oranges. Sprinkle some chopped almonds for garnish. You can add cherry tomatoes if you like as well.
I Love it ..Thank you so much Chef.Mariko
Aww, thank you so much Ermi!! Super happy to hear that:))