Keeping things a bit healthy over here this week with this tasty and hydrating vegan cucumber kale salad with honey almond vinaigrette. Massaged kale gets tossed with sliced almonds, dates and cucumbers and coated in a sweet and savory honey almond vinaigrette. Make this salad and you will get all of your greens in as well as the flavor most kale salads seem to be missing these days.
It’s no secret I love making kale salads. I have been making my Shaved Brussel and Kale Salad for quite some time and seem to get a lot of good feedback about that. With that said, it has probably been about two years since I made the original kale salad. I make huge batch about once a week every week since this was first coined so I decided to try another variation recently and I have to say, it is just as good!
I love cucumber on my salad and love the way it adds a hydrating factor to the salad. This is the best combination with boat loads of massaged kale. Yes, I said massaged kale.
I’ve mentioned it before but I will mention it again in this salad recipe, massaged kale is a game changer. It seems like such an unnecessary step that one would want to skip, however, do not skip it! When massaged, kale begins to wilt. It softends and releases some moisture, coat those massaged babies in some honey almond vinaigrette and you have yourself the best damn salad you could think of. I’m not kidding, do not skip!
I first learned about massaged kale when I watched a vegan youtuber discuss one of blink 182’s favorite kale salad (long story). It seemed to really change the way the salad looked when she massaged it vs not massage, so I gave it a try. After that I was hooked. I had kale with everything. And let me also mention that I am one of those people who can’t stand people who are obsessed with being healthy. That pretend like strawberries are their favorite dessert and all that other nonsense. So, when I sit here and type that this salad is one of my favorite dinners, I can feel the hypocrite in me.
However, this really is worth a try! I promise you will enjoy this salad. It does say vegan in the description but the dates in it are so lovely and give this salad the texture that you want out of protein with a sweet taste. To replace any cheese I usually drench my salads in, I also added some sliced almonds. This gives the salad a big crunch factor which always makes me happy.
From start to finish, this salad takes less than 10 minutes. If the ingredients are already prepared, then it is even quicker. However, I do recommend taking the time to wash and massage the kale to make sure it is perfectly clean and wilted. All you have to do is take the kale leaves and stack them one on top of another and roll so that they are in a tube shape. From there, slice thin strips with the kale so they turn out like ribbons. Toss into a bowl and for 2-3 minutes massage with clean hands. You will notice the leaves will turn a darker green when they start to wilt and you will actually begin to smell a citrus aroma. That’s when you know the kale is ready. From there, just toss in the almonds (I buy mine pre-sliced) and chopped dates.
As for the cucumber, I like to cut mine down the center twice so that you get four long match sticks. Then remove the seeds and membrane. This part of a cucumber is extremely watery and will make your salad watery. We just want to crunch parts on the outside. From there toss in the cucumber and make your salad.
You can make the salad dressing in a food processor or even a mason jar if you don’t have one. Just mix in the almond butter, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, red pepper flakes and tahini and shake. This dressing is usually a bit thick so I like to throw in some hot water to thin it out a bit. This allows the dressing to really coat the salad.
I swear this is one of the most filling salads ever. I make a huge batch always so that it will last me a few days after. I just store it away in a glass container and can munch on it for at least two more days. It’s perfectly fine if you’ve already added the dressing on the salad before putting it in the fridge. The longer it has the dressing on it the better sometimes. It just soaks it up and becomes even more flavorful for the next day!
Cucumber Kale Salad with Honey Almond Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Cucumber Kale Salad
- 2 heads kale, chopped and massaged
- 1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup medjool dates
Honey Almond Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Start by chopping and washing the kale. I like to layer my kale on top of each other then roll it up. From there you can chop little ribbons of kale. Wash and place in a bowl. Massage 2-3 minutes until kale is wilted and gives off a citrus aroma. Set aside.
- Toss in seeded and chopped cucumber, sliced almonds and chopped dates in the bowl with the kale.
- Next, make the vinaigrette. In small bowl or a mason jar, add all of the vinaigrette ingredients and seal the lid of the mason jar and shake. If using a bowl, whisk until incorporated. Pour over the Kale Cucumber salad and toss until the salad is coated. Serve.
Nutrition
