Warm kale salad is a delicious way to eat your greens! It’s a simple recipe with salty parmesan and spicy red pepper flakes, and it’s a perfect side dish for any dinner.
I haven’t been eating as many salads lately since it’s been so chilly. This meant that I had a couple of bunches of kale sitting in my fridge, begging to be used. I finally decided I’d use them up on a warm kale salad. After having such a delicious dish at The Savory Grain, I had a rough idea in mind of how I wanted to turn out. This actually turned out to be a simpler salad than I thought and I think this would be a lovely side dish, or a main dish if you added a little quinoa or protein.
Tips for the Perfect Warm Kale Salad
- Kale is a tough green and it needs massaging to make it tender. After you’ve washed your kale, you want to literally massage it with your hands. I typically massage the dressing right in. Since this kale salad is served warm, it’s not as critical but it will still produce a better texture.
- Use the right dressing. Kale is a very bitter green and it needs something to help soften it a bit. An acidic dressing will help break down the fiber in the kale which will make it easier to chew.
- Remove the kale stems. The stems are extremely bitter and very hard to chew. Do yourself a favor and de-stem the kale. You can either fold the leaves in half and slice the stem off or you can just tear the leaves right off the stem.
Substitution Ideas
- If you don’t have sunflower seeds, feel free to substitute pine nuts or sliced almonds.
- I like the spice of red pepper flakes but if you don’t like spicy food, feel free to skip them.
- You can also use lacinato kale if you don’t like curly kale
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Warm kale salad is a delicious way to eat your greens! It’s a simple recipe with salty parmesan and spicy red pepper flakes, and it’s a perfect side dish for any dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 bunch curly kale
- 1 tablespoon lemon juiice
- 2 oz shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a large saucepan, and add in the minced garlic.
- Tear the kale into small pieces, removing the stems.
- Add them to the oil and toss to coat.
- Cook the kale over medium heat for 2 minutes, just until it softens. It shouldn’t take long, and you don’t want it to get soggy.
- Toss with the lemon juice, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, and red pepper flakes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Keywords: warm kale salad
Sometimes I add a few crushed red pepper flakes for a spicy flavor! It’s so simple but so delicious! I love serving this with my spaghetti squash lasagna but you could also add your favorite protein on top and make it a meal!
Looking for some other kale salad inspiration? Try this kale and quinoa salad!
Have you ever tried a warm kale salad?
Jemmy
i had a pretty low key weekend and was able to get some meal prep done.
★★★★★
Susan @ 2catsandchloe
So I have to admit – I’ve been strictly clean eating for the past 4ish months and kale is not something I have experimented with yet. I’ve done just about everything else… for some reason kale scares me. This looks delicious though! So next week! I’ll give it a go! ๐
Jess @dearhealthyness
mmmmmmmmmm kale salad, easy and no mess ๐ Doing it today for dinner!
GiGi Eats Celebrities
Warm Kale + Garlic + Olive or Coconut Oil = The key to getting the green INTO MY MOUTH ๐
★★★★★
Tiff @ Love Sweat & Beers
Fun! I want to take another barre type of class. I’ve only done one, and oddly enough I wasn’t sore at all afterwards… though I was def shaking the entire time!