This Mediterranean Kale Salad is made with fresh baby kale, crisp vegetables and chickpeas and is dressed in a lemon garlic salad dressing. Topped with a bit of goat or feta cheese, this baby kale salad is perfect served as a side for dinner or a main dish for lunch.
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The Mediterranean diet is reportedly one of the healthiest diets in the world. It's becoming increasingly popular and is currently ranked as the best diet.
This Mediterranean kale recipe follows the healthy way of eating touted by the Mediterranean diet. This salad is made with fresh vegetables and includes chickpeas with a homemade dressing made with olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic and herbs.
This kale salad is healthy, filling and low in calories. Just like this Chickpea Broccoli Salad, it makes a delicious portable lunch to bring to work and is great as a light dinner.
Kale Health Benefits
Kale is a member of the cabbage family and is considered a superfood that helps to prevent our body from absorbing chemicals associated with cancer.
Kale is also an excellent source of vitamin A, K and C. Kale is high in fibre, very low in calories and high in nutrients.
Baby kale is perfect for eating raw in salads, for making smoothies and pesto. It's also delicious in soups and can be cooked in the same way as many other greens.
How to Make a Baby Kale Salad
This Mediterranean Kale Salad is made with tender baby kale. Baby kale leaves are harvested from young kale plants that are not fully mature. Baby kale has a milder flavour and since the leaves are tender there is no need to tenderize the kale by massaging or marinating it before making the salad.
Ingredients Overview:
- Baby kale
- Chickpeas. For convenience, I use canned garbanzo beans. Simply drain and rinse them.
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Radishes
- Red onion
- Goat cheese. Feta cheese is also delicious.
How to Make Lemon Garlic Dressing
Homemade salad dressings always taste better than store-bought and this lemon garlic dressing is so simple to make.
To make the dressing, you'll need extra-virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and a minced garlic clove. You'll also need dried oregano, salt and pepper. If you have any ground sumac in your pantry, a pinch adds a great citrusy kick.
Add all of the ingredients to a small jar, cover and shake well.
Serving Suggestions
This salad can be enjoyed for lunch or as a side for dinner. It goes wonderfully with fish like this Pistachio Crusted Salmon or this Baked Rainbow Trout Fillet.
When ready to serve, add the dressing to the salad, toss and serve. If you prefer you can also serve the lemon garlic dressing on the side.
Storing Salad Dressing
Store leftover salad dressing in a sealed mason jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. Remove the dressing from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before using and shake well before dressing the salad.
Enjoy!
More Mediterranean Diet Recipes
- Tabbouleh
- Fattoush Salad
- Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Lebanese Red Lentil Soup
- Red Lentil and Cauliflower Soup
- Healthy Vegetable Frittata
- Baked Rainbow Trout Fillets with Roasted Broccoli
Mediterranean Kale Salad
Ingredients
Mediterranean Kale Salad
- 5 cups baby kale washed and dried
- 1 cup chickpeas garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- ½ cup chopped cucumber
- 6 sliced radishes
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ⅓ cup goat cheese, crumbled
Lemon Garlic Dressing
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon sumac optional
Instructions
Lemon Garlic Dressing
- Add the extra-virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and sumac (optional) to a jar and shake well. Reserve or refrigerate if not using right away. This will be more dressing than you'll need for this salad, you can store the rest in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Mediterranean Kale Salad
- Add the washed and dried baby kale to a salad bowl. Top with chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, onions and crumbled goat cheese.
- Add some of the dressing and toss gently to combine. Taste to adjust amount of salad dressing. Serve immediately with more salad dressing on the side.
Notes
- Leftover salad dressing can be stored in a sealed mason jar in the refrigerator for up to a week.
fitoru
Wednesday 1st of January 2020
Healthy and at the same time delicious. This one is a really must try. And what's best is this is very easy to prep.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Saturday 4th of January 2020
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed this kale salad!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
Sunday 24th of March 2019
I'm with you when it comes to using baby kale, tender and milder than full grown kale leaves. Your salad looks terrific.
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits
Saturday 30th of March 2019
Thanks so much Karen. Yes I'm really enjoying baby kale, it's so versatile, great in salads and delicious sautéed.