Easy Lacinato Kale Salad
This easy kale salad is made with lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur or flat-leaf kale. Crunchy cabbage, salty Parmesan cheese, and roasted almonds create a delicious, simple salad!

What is Lacinato Kale?
There are lots of different types of kale- like curly kale, baby kale, and lacinato kale. Lacinato kale, sometimes called dinosaur kale. Lacinato kale has large, flat, textured leaves. It’s my favorite because it’s easy to wash and easy to de-stem.
To remove the stems, use your hands to tear the leaves away from the stem. Discard the stems, as they’re very bitter and hard to chew. Once you’ve removed the stems, massage the leaves by squeezing them a few times to soften them.
Pile the kale leaves and use a sharp knife to carefully cut the kale into thin strips.
Next, slice the purple cabbage into thin strips. You can do this with a sharp knife or mandoline slicer.
Then, whisk together the dressing. Add the kale and cabbage to a large bowl and massage the dressing into the kale and cabbage. Then top with Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with almonds.
Tips for Making Kale Salad
- When making a kale salad, be sure to remove the stems from the kale leaves. The stems are very bitter and hard to chew, so removing them will give you a better flavor and texture.
- Massage the dressing into the kale leaves. This helps break down the leaves and soften them so they’re more tender. It also helps distribute the dressing evenly.
- Because the ingredients in this salad are hearty, you can actually make this recipe in advance! There’s no need to worry about wilting. You can make this salad up to 5 hours in advance.
Kale Salad Ingredients
- Kale leaves- for this recipe I used lacinato kale
- Purple cabbage- you can buy it pre-shredded or chop your own.
- Almonds- I like to use sliced almonds for a nice crunch
- Parmesan cheese- Use freshly shredded for maximum flavor!
How to Make the Salad Dressing
This kale salad dressing is simple but delicious! Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and honey. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can double this dressing recipe if you want to make extra for leftovers! If you want to switch things up, I put together a list of kale salad dressing ideas if you want to try something new!
PrintEasy Lacinato Kale Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Description
This easy kale salad is made with lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur or flat-leaf kale. Crunchy cabbage, salty Parmesan cheese, and roasted almonds create a delicious, simple salad!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 bunch of Lacinato kale, destemmed and chopped
- 1/2 head of purple cabbage, finely shredded
- 1/4 cup Marcona almonds (or sliced almonds)
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- For the dressing, simply whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and salt.
- Add the destemmed kale and cabbage to a large bowl.
- Drizzle with dressing and massage the dressing into the kale and cabbage.
- Add the almonds and Parmesan cheese and toss until combined.
- Add salt to taste, if needed.
If you want to try kale in other salads, here are a few of my favorite kale salad recipes!
Looking for a dish to serve with this kale salad? Here are a few of my favorite ideas:
Crispy Roasted Chickpeas– Toss these on top of your salad to turn it into a quick main dish.
Moroccan Chickpea Soup– This is a hearty soup recipe with red potatoes and tasty chickpeas!
yum! this sounds great. We love lacinato kale!!
This salad looks and sounds really good. I loved all the crunchy textures in there.
Good luck with your move.
This reminds me of the “What Type of Kale Are You” quiz that was floating around a few months ago, haha! I don’t think I’ve tried lacinato kale, but I would like to! I feel like kale is so hit or miss for me, depending on how it’s prepared. Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
Hahaha YES! I was some kale I’d never heard of. I’ll have to find it, just so I can try the kale that best describes me 😉
I don’t think I knew there were different types of kale.. I know there was baby kale and “regular” kale lol buttttt clearly I was wrong. I love all kale, but now I want to look out for lacinato kale.
I had no clue there were different types of kale! Mind blown!
I love kale salad! I also love the addition of purple cabbage here. Yum!
Yum! I don’t know if I’ve ever tried lacinato kale before. I hate taking off the stems, though, so maybe I need to be using this kind!
Haha yes! It’s so much easier to clean + de-stem than curly kale!
I have never tried that, but I’m so wanting to now!!
This is so simple but it looks so complex and fancy. Thanks for sharing!
What a simple yet deliciously satisfying salad recipe. Parmesan is usually my go to cheese for salad toppings. There was once a time where I forgot all about poor Parmesan Cheese. Haha !
Haha I was on a Feta kick for a long time but now I can’t get enough Parmesan!