Dinner
Date Kale Salad on the Stove
This Sweet Date Kale Salad is made with dates for a natural sweetness and is so ridiculously savory! The balsamic
- 4 servings
- Prep 5 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 25 minutes
I use dates in smoothies and energy balls QUITE often but I am always excited to try them out in new ways. They’re only DEEPLY GOOD and I can often be found eating them completely raw (or maybe with a little touch of peanut butter inside:D YUM.
When making salad dressing, I often add a touch of sweetness to them. Instead of maple syrup, I decided to give dates a try and am so in love with how it tastes. Mixed in with the veggies and balsamic dressing, it’s such a subtle sweetness that is simply worth the pot!
I added a date into the dressing that gets blended up into a nice and creamy sauce and I also added a few chopped dates into the salad itself.
The addition of the chickpeas (for a nice and whole foods source of protein) makes this a deliciously well balanced salad!
Before we dive into the salad ingredients, I want to (ONCE AGAIN) stress the importance of massaging your kale. You’re doing that, right? I often get asked why you need to massage your kale so I’m going to briefly break it down for you.
Massaging your kale helps to break down the tough cell structure and overall makes it much softer and easier to taste. It also only overall tastes a LOT better once it has been massaged. So, don’t skip this step, okay?
Ingredients in this Date Kale Salad:
- Medjool Dates– I genuinely love buying the already pitted dates but if you don’t snag those, make sure that you remove the pits before adding them to the salad.
- Kale– I used standard green kale but you could use dino kale, purple kale, or whatever you have on hand! (Only make sure that you massage it;)).
- Crispy Chickpeas– I followed THIS recipe and made the garlicky crispy chickpeas but any of those flavors would work well in this method. You could also also plain cooked chickpeas (without roasting them first) and it would still be flavor-packed!
- Purple cabbage– A REGULAR HERE the extra sweetness and crunch that purple cabbage offers.
- Especially tasty balsamic dressing– I’ve made a version of this dressing many times and love it so much. I typically serve it warm but you can also make it a little ahead of time and put it in the fridge to cool down if you’re wanting a cold salad.
- Nuts- these are completely optional but I almost always find myself throwing a small handful of nuts onto my salads. I used slivered almonds but pine nuts would also be satisfying in this salad.
The recipe
Date Kale Salad at Home
This Sweet Kale Salad recipe is simple to make and so especially filling! It comes together quickly and makes for such a flavor-packed side dish.
- 4 servings
- Prep 5 minutes
- Cook 20 minutes
- Total 25 minutes
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup chopped yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons maple syrup (or you can instead use 1 pitted date)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
For the salad:
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 5 medjool dates (sliced into 1/4 inch pieces)
- 3 tablespoons slivered almonds or pine nuts (optional to taste)
- 1 batch of crispy chickpeas (from a 15 ounce can of chickpeas*)
Method
- 1
Clean and dry the kale, debone it, and then chop into bite sized pieces. I most often only do this by tearing it with my hands.
- 2
Make the dressing by heating 3 tablespoons of oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in the onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic, salt and maple syrup (if using a date, leave it out and add it into the blender whole) and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- 3
Transfer the onion mixture to a blender, add in the balsamic vinegar (as well as the date if using), and blend until mostly smooth.
- 4
Add the chopped kale to a large bowl, pour the dressing over top, and massage the dressing into the kale. Massage for a couple of minutes until all of the kale is coated with the dressing and a rich dark green color. Do not skip the massage! It makes the kale much softer and a lot tastier.
- 5
Add the remaining ingredients (cabbage, sliced dates, nuts, and chickpeas) and toss to combine. Serve and ENJOY!
Cook notes
*If desired, you could also simply drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to the salad without roasting them. Worth keeping them roasted in this method but often eat them on salads straight from the can.
Per serving
- Calories214 kcal
- Carbohydrates31 g
- Protein1 g
- Fat11 g
- Saturated Fat1 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat8 g
- Sodium302 mg
- Potassium322 mg
- Fiber3 g
- Sugar26 g
- Vitamin A568 IU
- Vitamin C17 mg
- Calcium52 mg
- Iron1 mg
