Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Perfect as a light lunch or even a meatless Monday dinner option!
Four years ago, I met Jason. He was weird as ever, telling me he couldn’t pronounce my name, even though he was 100% Korean. I was in utter shock but by the end of the night, I gave him my phone number, which was the best decision I’ve ever made.
These four years have gone by so fast, and together, we’ve grown so much. He was with me when I graduated college and grad school, and now he’s completely supportive in this career change with the blog. I’ve seen him leave his 9-5 job that he began post-college, not knowing what he wanted to do, and now he has one year left in his architecture graduate program.
Although the long-distance relationship that we have puts a bit of a strain on our relationship, I could not be happier. Jason has become my best friend, my better half and my superhero.
To celebrate, we made a trip to our favorite restaurant: Lawry’s Prime Rib. It’s actually become a bit of a ritual to celebrate our anniversary here year after year. It’s the one time I can really indulge in meat!
So at Lawry’s, we first start off with their complimentary, piping hot sourdough bread. Now I don’t know about you guys but I am a bit of a carbaholic. And this bread here – yeah, I could totally skip over the prime rib and eat this entire plate for dinner. No joke.
Next up they have this spinning salad to get your appetite going before the main course. It may not look like much but you’ll be sure to finish this salad in the blink of an eye.
Then we have the prime rib where the chef comes by with his cart and slices up the meat right in front of you before ladling off their homemade au jus. With a side of their mashed potatoes, creamed corn and yorkshire pudding, this dish will rock your socks off. I usually get the California cut but if I could handle it, I would totally get the beef bowl!
But with all that meat, there has to be a bit of a balance so today, I bring you a kale salad, chockfull of avocado, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, pecans, and crumbly goat cheese tossed in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette. It’s perfect as a light lunch or even a meatless Monday dinner option.
Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
For the Meyer lemon vinaigrette
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
- Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- To make the vinaigrette, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
- To assemble the salad, place kale in a large bowl; top with avocado, quinoa, pomegranate arils, pecans and goat cheese. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Ooops, forgot to give it the 5 stars! Definitely a 5 star recipe!
Wow, that dressing is amazing! The recipe looked so basic that I did not think it would be so tasty and it was delicious! I used the juice of the entire Meyer Lemon and swapped maple syrup in place of the sugar. The salad was amazing. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Out of the park! I’ve made this salad for years for all different groups – friends, work, church, family – and it’s always a hit! I do marinate the kale I. The vinaigrette for at least an hour before adding the rest.
Absolutely fantastic! I sub the goat cheese for feta, and chop up the candied pecans from Trader Joe’s. I make it every time we host, so delicious.
Easiest best salad ever – massage kale with lemon and salt to make it softer before adding everything else. Dressing is perfect. Will make again and may add some chickpeas for protein! 10/10
Hi, I was wondering if I can substitute the sugar for honey or agave or does it taste better with the white sugar?
GREAT Kale salad! Hubby LOVED IT! He doesn’t like avocados and I’ve become allergic to them, sadly – so I omitted them! The entire time I ate this yummy salad I kept thinking how much better it would be with avocado!! It was great – hubby went for seconds! Definitely at the top if my salad list!
What are the calories for this salad???
Hi Monica! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
This salad is so yummy! I’ve had it for three days straight and I really like it. I added chicken to mine to make it a little more filling and also followed the suggestion of using orange juice.
Made this for the hubby and 16 year old 6′ 4″ 220 son last night. HUGE HIT. Added in de-stemmed spinach with the kale. (yes I take the time to de-stem each spinach leaf). Thank you for such wonderful food. I think I am probably 12 for 15 of your recipes. 🙂
Wow, that is such a compliment Ruthie! Way to go 🙂
How long can you store the dressing in the fridge for?
It should keep for a few days but methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
I am dairy free, do you think it would still taste good without the cheese? Should I substitute something else?
You can omit as needed. 🙂
Pomegranate Arils? did the cat step on the computer?
Nope! 🙂
http://rubyfresh.com/what-is-an-aril/
How can you avoid adding all of that sugar??
You can omit.
This was so good! I love meyer lemon and all the the other flavours in this salad. Although I love avocado, it almost wasn’t necessary. The only thing I did differently was to toast the pecans. Thanks so much!
This salad is absolutely divine! I love it and will definitely make it again.
Quinoa and kale two super food in a salad along with Avacodos can’t wait to try this salad. Thanks for sharing Al.
I cooked the quinoa ahead this morning to make this salad tonight – do you serve it with the quinoa heated or cold?
Room temperature will be great actually.
Everyone is commenting about honey and am I blind bc I don’t see that ingredient in the recipe
There’s actually no honey in this recipe.
Thank you! Outstanding flavour! I steamed the kale for a couple of minutes and couldn’t get enough of this stuff. Highly recommended and just what I needed to get past this horrid hangover. Can’t wait to make it for others 🙂
Do you have nutritional value
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
This salad is my lunch every day! I roast the pecans the the toaster oven so everyone at work can salivate 🙂 Now that Poms are not in season I have been using strawberries. I also switch back and forth from goat to feta. Love both. Roast those pecans! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Has anyone tried to make the salad dressing ahead of time and dressing salad throughout the week? Would the dressing keep? Refrigerated or room temp?
The dressing should keep in the fridge for at least 2-3 days.
How do I cook quinoa if I buy it in bulk at the store? Have never cooked it before…. Thanks
It is best to cook quinoa following package instructions.
I tried this recipe after finding it on Pinterest. It was outstanding. Absolutely delicious!
How do you get around the pomegranate seeds? I buy fresh ones but they have seeds.
There are many tutorials available online on seeding pomegranates.
thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! i was looking for a light yet tasty side salad for a pasta bake that i made for dinner and this fit the bill beautifully! i left out the quinoa since i was already having lots of carbs and i added fresh squeeze orange juice in addition to the lemon. my fiancé loved it. we both devoured it in about 2 minutes 🙂
I just made this for Christmas dinner and it was a HUGE hit! Thank you! Looking forward to making it again and again.
I came across this recipe on Foodie. I have made it almost a dozen times…can’t tell you how many people want this recipe! Delicious! I have used dried fruit in lieu of pomegranate anrils and it turns out great!!! So glad I found this recipe…thank you!
Do I need one half cup of quinoa, cooked OR one half cup of cooked quinoa?
The recipe is correct. You need 1/2 cup cooked quinoa.
This salad was absolutely delicious! THANKYOU so much for sharing! I have made it twice and loved it!!
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Hi, Chungah!
This looks good, but I don’t see any instructions about what I would substitute for Meyer lemons. Like, if I am using regular lemons, how much OJ do I add to the viniagrette?
FYI, I tried your Zucchini Parm wedges recipe tonite. VERY good! We loved it. We have SO much zucchini growing in our garden, so I need lots of different ways to use them up 🙂
Karen, you can use the same amount of lemon juice in place of Meyer lemons.
Chungah, you make so many beautiful salads and this one I just had to comment on. Incredible photographs, too. The kale, quinoa, pecan and goat cheese has me salivating – plus I have 3 ripe avocados that will find there destiny when I make this one tomorrow!
This recipe was deeeeelicious as usual!
If I don’t like goat cheese, will feta work?
Yes! Feta should be a great substitute.
Both my husband and I really enjoyed this salad and the leftovers kept well even with the dressing on it overnight.
Think I’m missing something – couple comments mention substituting something for the agave nectar – but I don’t see it in the ingredient list.
I have updated the recipe to use sugar instead of agave.
Ah. Gotcha. Thx.
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I just had to check to see if I am following you on Pinterest. I am not! Which is amazing as I swear I cook one to two meals per week from your blog. I think my first was your Korean Beef Bowl. Recently it’s been Apple Coleslaw, Avocado Eggrolls (omg!!), and Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats. I host language students from around the world, ages 14-62. It’s important to me to cook great meals for them. Thank you for making that so much easier. This salad will be on this week’s menu for sure as a main dish. I will have to double it as we have 2 twenty something male students who love to eat healthy, but eat they do. Here is a favorite recipe I got from Sunset Magazine yrs ago as a thank you. It’s your style I think http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/green-onion-noodle-soup-10000000682650/
I love kale. I know it sounds weird to lot of people around me but I really do! This salad is just what I needed in my life!
I cannot find Meyer Lemon’s in the grocery store. Any thoughts on what I could use instead?
Feel free to substitute regular lemons if you cannot find Meyer lemons.
Chung-Ah, Just blown away by your recipes, fresh ingredients, we like the same things!!! Your web site has a very nice relaxed feel, beautifully done. Going to start today working through the recipes one by one (or) maybe two at a time. 🙂 The Chicken Pesto Sandwich has a hold on me. Enjoy your day and thank you for sharing. Joyce S., Norton Shores, MI
Just made this salad after receiving a link from my sister, and WOW!!! It’s SO delicious. I followed your recipe with only one exception – I used POM juice in place of the agave nectar (not a big agave fan). It was just terrific. And now I’m checking out a bunch of your other recipes too… Thanks for all the great inspiring ideas!
I made this salad last night – with a few swaps: honey instead of agave, walnuts instead of pecans and 1cup of kale was TJ’s cruciferous crunch mix, added a 1/2 cup chickpeas & used just a portion of the dressing – and it was delicious! My husband and I both loved it and we look forward to making it throughout spring and summer using different fruits like blueberries and raspberries as a few others here have mentioned. Such a great light meal! Thanks for sharing this.
I love Kale salads, and this salad was perfect for our Feature Friday today for “20 Delectable Salads” Thanks again for letting us feature it! Here is the link, I hope you can stop by! http://returntothetable.net/recipes/20-delectable-salads/
I made this salad this week for my family and they loved it! I did some variations, since 2 people don’t like avocado, I left it off their salads. Couldn’t get pomegranate arils, so the next best thing was buying ALMOND ACCENTS, Sweet Roasted with Pomegranate arils. Deleted the pecans since I used almonds. The dressing was light and not over-powering. It was delightful!! Will have this again!
can you post calories on your recipes…they are great!
Lisa, unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information of my recipes. Please use online resources to obtain such information.
Do you guys think I could sub honey for agave?
Yes, absolutely.
Made this for dinner last night. It was the BEST salad I have had in a LONG time! Even my husband who says dinner isn’t dinner unless there is meat on his plate and that kale should only ever be a garnish loved it, loved it so much he ate seconds! Thanks! 🙂
I love how you use Kale in this – we use it with Citrus fruits, Gorgonzola and Walnuts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ey5usZmw5Y
I made this tonight and it was amazing….I did let the kale soak overnight in the vingarette and it was fantastic…thanks for the great recipe
Great recipes! I used to live in SF. Now Chicago.
Are the pomagranite seeds dried or fresh and where does one find them?
David, I used fresh pomegranate. You can find this at your local grocery store when they are in season.
I made this salad tonight for dinner, it tastes GREAT! !! I will probably make it 2 to 3 times a month. Thank You so oolong much!!!
All I can say is … “Wow, that was damn delicious!” I have been juicing kale for a while but this was my first kale salad. I’ll be making this again.
Thanks!!
This looks incredible!! I will be trying it tonight 🙂 Hopefully you can check out my blog too! Do you currently live in Chicago?? I’m craving Lawry’s now, haha.
We actually reside in San Francisco but I’d love to visit Chicago one day!
I know you posted this recipe a while ago but I just wanted to tell you that my fiance and I tried it tonight and it was FANTASTIC! With prewashed kale, precut pomegranate, and microwave quinoa from Trader Joe’s, it was super quick too and will definitely be in the rotation while these fruits and veggies are in season. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like this! I also use the prewashed kale from TJ’s – it’s the best!
We made this is the summer (using raspberries or blueberries in lieu of the pomegranates) and it was an instant success! it has since become a family staple, and has been brought to many a potluck. Thank you!
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This looks so good! Always on the look out for a good kale salad recipe (especially now that I need to start preparing for post-holiday food detox!). Thanks for the inspiration! Pinned 🙂
Hi there! I made this salad last night! I didn’t have a meyer lemon so I combined some fresh OJ and fresh lemon juice. The salad tasted great the night I made it but even BETTER today. I feel like the kale is sturdy enough to not break down in the face of this dressing and when the flavors have some time to really mix, the bold citrus really comes out and the whole thing tastes better. I also added some croutons for a sharper crunch! Delish 🙂
Thank you so much for the meyer lemon substitution tip! The splash of OJ absolutely perfected this for me!
thank you for sharing!! Keep up the great work.
I love this salad, These foods are good for health. I was thought it is not easy to make this recipe, but now, thank to your post, I think I can do it more easily.
Thank for sharing Monica
looks AMAZING
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