Strawberry Kale Salad with Avocado and Bacon

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Upgrade your salad game with this Strawberry Kale Salad! It's a refreshing mix of hearty kale, sweet strawberries, crunchy almonds, creamy avocado and smoky bacon, all tossed in a bright orange poppy seed dressing. This gluten-free and dairy-free salad is incredibly easy to make, and can be served as a quick side dish or topped with a protein, like my air fryer chicken cutlets, for a satisfying meal.

Another dressing I love to serve with this salad when fresh raspberries are in season is my raspberry poppy seed dressing. It's thick and creamy with a vibrant pink color!

Salad in a large white serving bowl and gold salad tongs inserted into the salad.

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Quick Look: Strawberry Kale Salad

⏱ Total Time: 25 minutes (includes time to cook bacon)
🥬 Servings: 8 side salads
⚡ Calories: 313 per serving
🍽 Diet: gluten-free, dairy-free
🔥 Flavor/texture: sweet, savory and tangy flavor; texture is a mix of creamy avocado, crisp bacon, crunchy almonds and juicy strawberries.
👌 Difficulty: easy (but you will need a blender for the dressing).
❤️ Why you'll love: easy to make ahead and assemble; variety of flavors and textures; includes a homemade 6 ingredient salad dressing.

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This salad is all about flavor and texture!

This strawberry salad delivers an incredible balance of flavor and texture. We've been making this one for years, and I'm always tweaking the recipe. I recently added a citrus twist to the poppy seed dressing and mixed in some savory bacon, and couldn't wait to share the updated recipe with you!

Here's why this salad is a must-make:

Sturdy greens: Massaged kale softens into a tender texture without becoming soggy. It even holds up to heavy dressings (like it does in my vegan kale caesar salad)!
Flavor balance: Sweet strawberries, salty bacon and tangy dressing perfectly counter the slightly peppery kale.
Texture contrast: This salad offers a mix of creamy avocado, crisp bacon, crunchy almonds and juicy strawberries.
Zesty citrus dressing: A creamy, homemade orange poppy seed dressing, using real citrus fruit and not just the juice, ties everything together. (It's delicious and easy, and would also work well with this stone fruit salad)!

Table of Contents

Quick Look: Strawberry Kale Salad
This salad is all about flavor and texture!
Ingredient notes and substitutions
How to make strawberry kale salad with poppy seed dressing
Recipe variations
Expert tips
Strawberry Kale Salad FAQs
More fruity summer salad recipes
📖 Recipe

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Ingredients to make a strawberry kale salad and poppy seed dressing arranged individually and labeled.

Kale: I used curly kale for this recipe as it's a common variety and holds up well to salad dressings and other toppings. I always have curly kale on hand. If I'm not using it in salads, I'm usually making my crispy air fryer kale chips!
Strawberries: You'll need about 1 ½ cups of chopped or halved fresh strawberries.
Avocado: A fully ripe avocado adds a creamy texture to this salad. I chopped it into cubes, but you can also add it as slices.
Bacon: You'll need ¾ cup cooked, crumbled bacon or about 7-8 slices. You can buy pre-cooked bacon to save time, or to make things a little lighter, you can try my air fryer turkey bacon recipe.
Almonds: For a little crunch, I like to add sliced raw almonds. You can use whole almonds if you prefer, or use other nuts like walnuts or pecans.
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. If you prefer a milder flavor, you can replace the red onions with shallots.
Poppy seed dressing: It's a simple blend of clementines, extra virgin olive oil, honey, white wine vinegar, salt and poppy seeds.

How to make strawberry kale salad with poppy seed dressing

Poppy seed dressing in a jar with a spoon lifting some out.

Make the dressing: Add the clementine slices, oil, honey, vinegar and salt to a blender and blend on high until smooth. (This should only take about 20 seconds). Stir in the poppy seeds.

Massaged curly kale in a large glass bowl.

Massage the kale: Add the torn or chopped kale to a large bowl with a sprinkle of salt. Use your fingertips to massage the kale until it softens and starts to shrink in size. This will only take a few minutes.

Salad ingredients added to a large white bowl in sections with a jar of dressing on the side.

Add everything to a bowl: Add the strawberries, avocado, almonds, bacon and red onion to the bowl with the kale.

Strawberry kale salad tossed together in a white bowl with extra ingredients surrounding the bowl.

Toss together: Pour some dressing over the salad and toss everything to combine. Add more dressing as desired.

Recipe variations

Add some cheese like feta, goat cheese or even blue cheese.
Instead of nuts, use seeds like sunflower or pumpkin.
Replace the strawberries with blueberries, raspberries or peaches.
Throw in some crispy air fryer chickpeas or homemade sourdough croutons for extra crunch.

Expert tips

Avoid baby kale. 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.
Type of citrus. If you can't find clementines for the dressing, you can also use tangerines or satsumas. For a slightly less sweet dressing, you can also use a naval orange.
A blender is necessary.You'll need to use a blender for the dressing to achieve a smooth texture with whole orange slices. It will also quickly emulsify the ingredients into a creamy dressing. Remember to leave out the poppy seeds and stir them in at the end.
Extra dressing. The dressing recipe makes a lot so you may have some leftover. Just use as much as you need and save the rest for another salad.

Close up of the assembled salad with dressing on top.

Strawberry Kale Salad FAQs

Do you need to massage the kale for this salad?

Yes. As curly 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.

Can you make this kale salad in advance?

Yes! 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, cook the bacon, 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 bit 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.

How long with this kale salad last?

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 will soften a little.

What can you serve with this strawberry kale salad to make it a full meal?

This salad goes well with burgers, like my turkey jalapeno burgers or air fryer breaded chicken burgers. It's also great with pork, chicken or salmon including my air fryer pork medallions, air fryer chicken schnitzel or breaded salmon bites!