Warm Kale Vegetable Salad with Walnuts is a beautiful array of colorful vegetables, crunchy walnuts, and delicious flavors! The perfect salad for entertaining, an easy midweek meal, or a family gathering. It can be served as a side dish or a meal.
If you love this Kale Salad recipe, make sure you check out this Apple Strawberry Cabbage Slaw with Candied Pecans, Lemon-Pepper Roasted Cauliflower, and these Strawberry Walnut Tostadas! Looking for a delicious salad dressing? This Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette is it!
One thing I’ve been obsessed with lately is plant-forward, meat alternatives like nuts. I prefer pecans and walnuts because they are so flavorful and provide the perfect crunch. A few weekends ago, I whipped up this delicious, warm Kale Celebration Salad. I call it a celebration salad, because 1) it makes me happy 2) summer is almost here and that’s worth celebrating, and 3) this salad is filled with colorful vegetables, crunchy walnuts, and so much flavor!
Let’s Talk Kale
Kale is one of those leafy greens, either you like it or you don’t. But guess what! If you don’t, I promise there’s a workaround. I remember my first time having kale, I was like…Ummm…NO! J/K But seriously, it had an extremely earthy taste unlike its Butter and Romaine leafy counterpart. The leaves are crunchy and it has a unique taste. It’s also considered a nutrient-dense superfood, so there’s that. You can enjoy kale raw, as vegetable “chips”, in salads, smoothies, or even sautéed, which happens to be one of my favorite ways to prepare it. You can also steam it and even add it to casserole dishes.
Warm Kale Salad vs. Raw Kale Salad
I’ll be honest, the first time I had raw kale salad, I did not like it. That’s how I ended up becoming a big fan of warm kale salads. It’s so delicious and filling and you really can enjoy them anytime and with any meal. You can also enjoy warm kale salad with a big bowl of greens like I do. But when I discovered massaging kale, my life was CHANGED!
Make this a raw salad and try my delicious Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette!
WHY SHOULD YOU MASSAGE KALE
Kale is fibrous and quite obnoxious. Kale in the raw is very punchy which is why I was so excited to hear great things about massaging kale. I decided to give it a try and it did not disappoint. I basically placed generous handfuls of kale in a large mixing bowl, drizzled it with olive oil, and gently massaged the kale leaves for approximately three to five minutes. This will help your kale absorb flavor and make it easier to chew and digest. You can also do this with lemon juice and/or oil. All it takes is a few minutes of TLC and you’ll be good to go.
A Celebration of Vegetables with Warm Kale Vegetable Salad with Walnuts
For this recipe, I used chopped kale. This salad comes with kale, red and green bell peppers, corn, red onions, garlic, walnuts, and crushed red peppers. You know I had to add a little kick! What’s so ironic is that I posted this on my Instagram page which also fell on National Walnut Day. It was purely a coincidence, so I knew it was meant to be!
More Side Dishes For You To Enjoy!
Egg Fried Couscous with Vegetables
Lemon-Pepper Roasted Cauliflower
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan-Crusted Topping
Summer Berry Salad with Burrata and Blackberry Vinaigrette
Kale Celebration Salad is so easy to make and can be enjoyed as a vegan/vegetarian option. You can also load it up by adding more vegetables. I hope you love this kale recipe. If you make this recipe, tag me (@myprettybrowneats) on social media. You may also find me by following the #myprettybrowneats hashtag on FB and IG! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok.
Kale Celebration Vegetable Salad with Walnuts
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided preserve oil for kale
- 4 handfuls chopped kale drizzled with 1 tbsp of (divided) olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, pressed
- ½ cup corn drained
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 large green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 red onion sliced, preserve a few slices for garnish
- ⅛ to ¼ vegetable broth or stock
- ½ teaspoon Mis' Rubin's White Magic All-Purpose Seasoning or salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Add vegetables to a mixing bowl and season with Mis' White Magic seasoning or salt and pepper to taste (or seasoning of choice).
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Add vegetables: bell peppers, onions, corn, and garlic and lightly sauté for a few minutes until slightly softened. Preserve some of the crunch.
- Set vegetables aside.
- Next add 1/8 to 1/4 cup of vegetable stock to pan on medium-high heat.
- Then add kale, drizzle with olive oil, and toss until deep green, but not wilted.
- Remove off heat immediately and transfer to a large salad bowl.
- Add vegetable toppings.
- Garnish with chopped walnuts, red pepper flakes, and fresh onion slices. You can also drizzle a little balsamic vinegar. Totally optional.
- Serve and enjoy!
Yummy! Thanks for the share!
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Oh wow, I had never heard of massaging kale before – but it makes complete sense as it can be so hard to chew. Love that you called this celebration salad! I will try it soon! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Helen! I love the name too. I really appreciate it!
I love kale, but really don’t know how to make it. I have been vegetarian for 25 years but trying to eat even more vegan dishes. I could probably do this one, the massaging of the kale scares me!
Haha! Don’t let it scare you. It’s super easy. Just drizzle the oil and/or lemon throughout the kale, massage, and then prepare to enjoy it! It’s a great way to switch things up.
I always love to try different salad recipes and came across this when I was thinking that I started to do them all the same. Thank you.
You’re so welcome! I hope you enjoy!
Ooo this looks so good! I’m a huge fan of kale salad. I’m going to have to try this out for myself.
Awesome! Thank you! I hope you enjoy it, Jasmine!
This salad is so delicious and full of good for you vegetables. I love the added crunchy walnuts in it.
The walnuts definitely set it off! Thank you so much!