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This easy avocado and kale salad with tangy feta cheese, juicy pears, and crunchy almonds is a delicious mix of textures and flavors. It’s topped with a homemade garlic Dijon vinaigrette, perfect as a quick lunch or easy side salad.
I love turning this avocado kale salad into a satisfying, light meal by adding protein, like grilled shrimp or lemon pepper salmon.
I sometimes call this avocado and kale salad my “kitchen sink” salad. It’s loaded with creamy avocado, heaps of veggies, salty feta cheese, crunchy nuts, and a bold Dijon mustard dressing. Basically, everything but the kitchen sink! I could have named it something like “The Ultimate Raw Kale Salad with Every Ingredient in My Fridge,” but let’s be honest, that title would have been longer than my grocery store receipt.
What Makes This an Epic Kale Salad Recipe
- Massaged kale. Massaging the kale leaves is the difference between a sad, tough-stemmed pile of greens and a delicious, tender green salad you’ll want to eat. If you’ve never tenderized your kale before, it’s quick. I’ll show you how.
- Serve it for ANY occasion. This avocado and kale salad is super flexible. Enjoy it as a side dish at dinner, as a light lunch, or turn it into a meal by topping it with protein, like roasted chicken. You can also prep this salad ahead and simply add the avocado when serving.
- Completely customizable. You, too, can fill your avocado and kale salad with any ingredients you have (apart from the sink). I recommend a mix of sweet, salty, savory add-ins that also offer a bit of variety when it comes to texture. You’ll find more ideas later in the post.
You’ll Need These Ingredients
There’s a little bit of everything in this avocado kale salad because it was time to clean out the fridge. But you know what? It worked! The ingredients below pack this salad full of flavor and crunch. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full recipe details, followed by step-by-step instructions.
- Greens – In addition to kale, I use a mix of Romaine lettuce and baby spinach. You can use any greens you’d like. Other good options are iceberg, butter lettuce, Swiss chard, and arugula.
- Kale – Common types are curly kale, lacinato kale (Tuscan kale), or dinosaur kale. If you aren’t a fan, make this salad with only spinach or any combination of greens mentioned above.
- Pear – You can swap the pear with a crisp apple for a similar flavor and texture.
- Red Raisins – Dried cranberries or chopped dates also go nicely with this salad.
- Grape Tomatoes – Cherry tomatoes work as well. If you use larger varieties, like Roma tomatoes, dice them into smaller bites.
- Red Onion – If you find the flavor of raw onion too strong, after slicing, soak the onion in cold water for a few minutes. You can swap red onion with Vidalia or shallot if you’d like.
- Mini Sweet Peppers – Regular chopped bell peppers are a great alternative.
- Feta Cheese – The salty, creamy finishing touch! Goat cheese or Mexican Cotija cheese are good swaps.
- Avocado – Choose a ripe avocado that’s a little soft to the touch, but not mushy.
- Toasted Almonds – Try sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or pecans if you need a swap.
For The Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Regular olive oil or a little avocado oil works too.
- Fresh Lemon Juice – Brightens up the dressing with fresh acidity. Apple cider vinegar is a great substitute!
- Red Wine Vinegar – White wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar work too.
- Dijon Mustard – Dijon helps emulsify the dressing. Spicy brown mustard or whole grain mustard can be used instead.
- Garlic – If fresh garlic is too strong, use garlic powder. You’ll also need salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.
Get Creative With Dressings!
Looking to change up the dressing for this avocado and kale salad recipe? I’d recommend my zesty Italian dressing, this creamy avocado dressing (you can never have too much avocado), or any of my easy homemade salad dressings.
What Else Can I Add to This Avocado Kale Salad?
The better question is, what can’t you add to this kale salad? The ingredients I use here are more of a guideline, since you can adapt this salad any way you’d like.
- Protein. Top this salad with grilled chicken, salmon bites, or a boiled egg. You can also add in diced ham, crispy bacon, and cured meats like salami.
- More veggies. Add in any veggies you have in the crisper drawer, like chopped or shredded carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, shaved Brussels sprouts, etc.
- Beans. Bulk it up with chickpeas, green beans, or any legumes or beans you have on hand. If you’re using canned beans, be sure to rinse and drain them well first.
- Quinoa. I love my kale quinoa salad, and cooked quinoa would taste great here, too!
- Nuts and seeds. Swap in chopped walnuts, pecans, pepitas, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds.
How to Serve Your Salad
Serve this avocado and kale salad alongside garlic butter steak bites or my baked honey mustard chicken for an easy weeknight dinner. Feeling cozy? Pair it with a warm bowl of crockpot French onion soup or roasted butternut squash soup, because a hearty salad and a comforting soup are always a vibe.
Make It Ahead
You can refrigerate the Dijon dressing a few days in advance, and the kale salad up to 1 day before. Assemble your greens and ingredients in a bowl, leaving out the avocado and pears for now (as they’ll brown quickly).
Store the salad covered airtight in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, slice the pears and avocado and toss them with the salad along with the vinaigrette dressing. Enjoy!
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Avocado and Kale Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 1 heart of romaine lettuce, chopped
- 6 ounces bag of fresh baby spinach
- 4 cups torn kale leaves, packed
- 1 pear, chopped
- ½ cup red raisins
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 to 6 mini sweet peppers, julienned
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
- ½ cup toasted almonds
FOR THE DRESSING
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
- 4 small cloves garlic, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Salad
- Prep the kale. Remove any tough stems from the kale leaves, then chop them into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle a little oil over the chopped kale and gently rub the leaves with your hands for about a minute. This helps soften the texture. When done, add the kale to a large bowl along with the baby spinach and romaine lettuce.
- Combine the salad ingredients. Top with chopped pears, raisins, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, feta, avocado, and toasted almonds. Set aside.
For the Dressing
- Make the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic until smooth and well blended. Add salt and black pepper, then give it a taste and adjust as needed.
- Dress it. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad, adding as much or as little as you like, then toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Rest. Let it sit for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the greens to absorb the dressing.
- Serve. Give it one last toss, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Make it ahead. Assemble the greens, red onion, tomatoes, sweet peppers, feta, almonds, and raisins in a large bowl, but hold off on adding the pears and avocado until just before serving to keep them fresh. Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge, and when you’re ready to eat, toss in the pears and avocado, drizzle on the vinaigrette, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How To Make an Avocado and Kale Salad
The best way to turn a pile of kale into a delicious salad is with a little massage and a few tasty mix-ins. It all comes together in minutes. Let’s do it.
- Massage the kale. First, remove the stems and chop or tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces. To massage the kale, drizzle the leaves with a little oil, and gently rub it in with your hands for about a minute. This helps soften the leaves and makes a huge difference in flavor.
- Assemble the salad. Next, add the massaged kale to a large bowl along with the other greens. Layer over the chopped pear, red onion, grape tomatoes, mini sweet peppers, raisins, avocado, feta cheese, and toasted almonds.
- Make the dressing. Whisk together the dressing and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then, pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss everything together until evenly coated.
- Let it rest. I know you might be thinking, a massage AND a rest?! May we all be as lucky as this kale salad. But in all seriousness, for the best flavor, let the salad sit for about 10 minutes. This allows the dressing to soak into the greens.
- Serve and enjoy! Give it a final toss, grab a fork, and dig in! If you’re saving some for later, store it in an airtight container for easy meal prep.
Bring on the kitchen sink because I want to inhale this salad!
Seriously gorgeous stuff, Kate! I am so making it this weekend! Just lovely colours.
Had leftover bananas so I thought I would make this cake. It is delicious! No fair – I am watching what I eat and unfortunately I am watching me eat this cake!!!! It is so YUMMY!!!
Wow. For an exercise in cleaning out the fridge, this salad looks gorgeous.
This salad looks incredible Katerina! I just love all the delicious and healthy flavours going on in it. And that garlic dijon vinaigrette too!
Love the sound of this!
looks delicious as always!
Thanks soooo much!!