This Strawberry Kale Salad is filled with juicy strawberries, hearty kale, creamy avocado and topped with an easy poppyseed dressing. It works as a simple side salad or add a protein to make it an entrée!
Don’t you just love a fresh and filling salad? While I eat plenty of salads year round, during the summer, I pretty much live on them. There’s just such an amazing variety of fresh ingredients, so I like to take advantage while I can!
Some of my favorite summer salads include this summer peach salad, this stone fruit salad and this summer orzo salad. And, of course, this strawberry kale salad has been on repeat for the past few weeks!
Details on the ingredients
Kale – I used curly kale for this recipe as it’s a common variety and holds up well to salad dressings and other toppings. Lacinato kale (also called tuscan or dinosaur kale) is also a good choice. It has a darker green color compared to curly kale and it’s more tender.
Strawberries – Fresh strawberries are the way to go here and you’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of chopped or halved berries. You’ll want to avoid frozen strawberries as they’ll just get mushy when they defrost.
Avocado – A fully ripe avocado adds a creamy texture to this salad. I used half a large avocado and cut it into chunks. You can also use a full small one or add extra if you like.
Almonds – For a little crunch, I like to add sliced raw almonds. You can use whole almonds if you prefer or go for slivers instead.
Red onion – I love the pop of flavor that red onion adds to this salad, and it complements the other ingredients perfectly, especially the strong flavor of the kale. You’ll need red onion for both the salad and the dressing.
Poppyseed dressing – It’s a simple blend of extra virgin olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, red onion, salt and poppyseeds. The recipe is included in the recipe card below.
How to make strawberry kale salad with poppyseed dressing
- Chop the kale. Remove the stems and the ribs from the kale leaves. You can do this by tearing the leaves away from the ribs or using a knife to cut them away. Then, chop or tear the kale into smaller pieces.
- Massage the kale. Add the kale to a large bowl with a sprinkle of salt and use your fingertips to massage the kale until it softens and starts to shrink in size.
- Make the dressing. Add the oil, honey, vinegar, red onion and salt to a blender and blend on high until smooth. (This should only take about 20 seconds). Stir in the poppyseeds.
- Assemble the salad. Top the kale with strawberries, avocado, almonds and red onion. Toss with dressing and serve.
Recipe variations
There are so many ways to change up this salad! Here are a few suggestions:
- Add some cheese like feta, goat cheese or even blue cheese.
- Instead of almonds, use pecans, walnuts or seeds like sunflower or pumpkin.
- To make it a hearty meal, add cooked quinoa and/or shredded chicken.
- Replace the strawberries with blueberries, raspberries or peaches.
- Throw in some crispy chickpeas or homemade croutons for extra crunch.
- Try this raspberry poppy seed dressing for extra berry flavor!
Frequently asked questions
Yes. As kale is normally tough, it’s important that you massage it before adding it to a salad. You just need a sprinkle of salt and a few minutes rubbing the kale leaves between your fingers. The more you massage it, the more tender it will get. I don’t usually go overboard with massaging the kale as it will soften up more once it’s mixed with the salad dressing. If you like it extra tender, you can massage it with a little oil or lemon juice along with the salt. You can even mix it with some of the salad dressing and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before adding the other ingredients.
Absolutely. You can prepare the ingredients for this salad a day in advance and then assemble when ready to enjoy. Just chop and massage your kale and slice the strawberries and onions, and store them all separately in the fridge. You can also blend the dressing and store it in the fridge. The dressing will separate a bit and may solidify on top, but just let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and then shake or stir it. The only ingredient you should wait to prepare is the avocado as it will start to brown once exposed to air.
Once assembled and tossed with dressing, it’s best to enjoy this salad right away. Since kale is hearty and sturdy, leftovers will last for a day or two in the fridge. Just note that the avocado will brown and the almonds may soften a little.
If you’re looking to add a protein and turn it into an entrée salad, try topping it with an air fryer salmon fillet, slices of pork tenderloin, or a few air fryer breaded shrimp. As a side salad, you can serve it with air fryer turkey burgers, sweet potato frittata or stuffed peppers.
Additional recipe tips
- While curly kale or tuscan kale work in this recipe, I would avoid using baby kale as the leaves are small and tender. They don’t require massaging and may not hold up to all of the toppings and salad dressing.
- I used extra virgin olive oil in the dressing but you can use olive oil or a more neutral oil.
- If you don’t have white wine vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar instead.
- Since the dressing includes fresh onion, it should be stored in the fridge. It will separate and may solidify on top. That’s okay. Just let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes and then stir or shake it to mix it all together.
- I like to use a blender for the salad dressing as it emulsifies the ingredients and blends in the onion. If you don’t have a blender, you can whisk together the honey, vinegar and salt and then slowly whisk in the oil. Finely chop or grate the onion and stir it in with the poppyseeds.
More salad recipes
- Peach Chicken Salad with quinoa
- Vegan Caesar Salad with cashew bacon
- Roasted Beet and Carrot Salad with candied walnuts
- Roasted Root Vegetable Salad
- Greek Pasta Orzo Salad with lemon vinaigrette
- Blueberry Spinach Salad with dijon dressing
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!
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Strawberry Kale Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 large salads
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop & Toss
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Strawberry Kale Salad is filled with juicy strawberries, hearty kale, creamy avocado and topped with an easy poppyseed dressing. It works as a simple side salad or add a protein to make it an entrée!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 8–9 cups torn or chopped kale, packed
- 1 1/2 cups fresh chopped strawberries
- 1/2 large avocado, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1/3 cup almond slices or slivers
For the poppyseed dressing:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
Instructions
- Prepare the kale: Remove the stems and ribs from the kale leaves and chop or tear the kale into bite-sized pieces. Add the kale to a large bowl with a sprinkle of salt and use your fingertips to massage the kale until it softens and starts to shrink in size.
- Make the dressing: Add the oil, honey, vinegar, red onion and salt to a blender and blend on high until smooth. Stir in the poppyseeds.
- Assemble the salad: Top the kale with strawberries, avocado, red onion and almonds. Toss with dressing and serve.
Notes
- The more you massage the kale, the more tender it will get. If you like it extra tender, you can massage it with a little oil or lemon juice along with the salt. You can even mix it with some of the salad dressing and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before adding the other ingredients.
- Curly kale or tuscan kale work in this recipe, but I would avoid using baby kale as the leaves are too small and tender.
- The dressing calls for extra virgin olive oil but you can use olive oil or a more neutral oil.
- If you don’t have white wine vinegar, you can use red wine vinegar instead.
- Since the dressing includes fresh onion, it should be stored in the fridge. It will separate and may solidify on top. Just let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes and then stir or shake it to mix it all together.
- I like to use a blender for the salad dressing as it emulsifies the ingredients and blends in the onion. If you don’t have a blender, you can whisk together the honey, vinegar and salt and slowly whisk in the oil. Finely chop or grate the onion and stir it in with the poppyseeds.
- Be sure to check out the other sections above the recipe card for more detailed advice and suggestions for making this recipe.
The recipe for the poppyseed dressing was adapted from The Kitchn.
Yes I DO love fresh and filling Salads, and we enjoy them all year round and especially in summer. This one is right up my alley – fresh, vibrant, and juicy. Indeed, that can easily be the entire light lunch/dinner.
Thanks Ben! We’ve been enjoying it for lunches quite a bit lately.