Kale Salad Drizzled With Lemon Yogurt Dressing Is Healthy & Delicious

  • By Jess Dang
  • June 10, 2013

Kale and Parmesan Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing 1

If you’re still not convinced that a kale salad can be more than just bird food, you haven’t tried this kale and parmesan salad with lemon yogurt dressing. Kale can sometimes be a bit bitter and a bit tough, but if you know how to prepare it, its shortcomings are easily overcome. The key is giving the kale leaves some time to marinate in a dressing. The acidity of the dressing helps to soften the leaves, making it much easier to enjoy.

In this recipe, we mix together fresh lemon juice with a dollop of yogurt and a light drizzle of olive oil. Lemon juice and olive oil have long been a great salad dressing combination, but the dollop of yogurt makes a huge difference. Simple plain yogurt adds creaminess so that our kales leaves are coated in luscious tartness. Consider this a much healthier version to bottled ranch dressing. In fact, here’s a simple cooking tip: Whenever you’re looking to add just a bit more body to dressing, just add a spoonful of plain yogurt.

Lemon & Parmesan Kale Salad 2

For this recipe, I finish this salad with a few shavings of nutty parmesan cheese and some toasted pine nuts, making it a healthy and tasty savory side dish. You can easily add some chopped grilled chicken breast or toasted beans to make this a full protein-filled meal. If you prefer something on the sweeter side, chop up some apples and substitute blue or goat cheese for the parmesan and consider it a modern take on the waldorf salad. What other ingredients would you add to this salad? We want to know in the comments below!

Helpful tools: 1) Salad spinner; 2) Whisk; 3) Peeler

Pair it with: 1) Balsamic Caprese Chicken; 2) Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu; 3) Mexican Meatballs with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

1 4

Kale and Parmesan Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing Recipe

You'll want to use this tangy lemon and yogur based dressing for all your future salads, but it's especially great to balance out the sometimes bitterness of kale. The longer you let this salad marinate in the fridge, the better it gets.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 30 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • Kale, leaves removed from stems - 1½ bunches
  • Lemon juice - 2 tbs.
  • Dijon mustard - 1 tsp.
  • Plain yogurt - 2 tbs.
  • Olive oil - 2 tbs.
  • Parmesan cheese, shaved - 2 oz.
  • Pine nuts - ¼ cup

Instructions

Prep

  1. Kale – Tear off leaves into bite-sized pieces
  2. Dressing – Whisk together lemon juice, mustard, yogurt, some hot sauce (opt) and oil. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Toss with kale leaves. Cover and refrigerate until it’s time to serve

Make

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Place pine nuts on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Give it a shake midway through
  3. Shave parmesan into kale salad (I like to use a regular vegetable peeler for this). Add in pine nuts and toss. Season to taste with salt
  4. Add in pine nuts and toss when ready to eat. Season to taste with salt

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