Lunch

Roasted Carrot & Kale Salad

It’s about time I shared this kale salad recipe with you because I have been eating so much of it around here lately. I’ve probably made about three batches of it in the past three or four weeks.

We tend to eat dinner leftovers for lunch most days, but we fill in the gaps with fruits, veggies, cheese, nuts, etc. For me, this kale salad has been taking the place of a lot of those things recently, and I’ve been content to simply have a big bowl of this each day for lunch. (…though I will admit that on one occasion I ate it with a side of Sour Patch Kids. Do the Sour Patch Kids make me lose all of my kale salad points? Don’t answer that.)

I think many people are turned off by kale because its texture is a little harsh. For this recipe, we’ll take away some of the coarseness by removing the tough parts of the stems and then massaging it with the dressing before serving it. Basically, that just means that we’ll whisk together our vinaigrette and then knead it into the chopped kale with our hands for 4 to 5 minutes to break down the fibers.

In my opinion, the best part of this salad is the honey roasted carrots. Roasted carrots are superior to all other carrots. Who’s with me on that? We’ll also add pepitas (pumpkin seeds without the shell) for some crunch and dried cranberries for a little sweet/tart pop of flavor.

This whole salad comes together in about 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for a simple lunch or weeknight dinner. It’s also great to prepare ahead of time to eat throughout the week.

Want more meal planning inspiration? Check out my Facebook community!

Savvy Meal Planning: A Space For Weekly Meal Planning Inspiration

If nothing else, I hope this recipe can convince at least one person that kale is NOT that bad and can actually be pretty delicious!

You might also like: Balsamic Onion & Goat Cheese Salad

Massaged kale salad tossed with honey-roasted carrots, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a honey dijon dressing

If you try this Roasted Carrot & Kale Salad at home, I’d love to hear what you think! Share pictures with me on social media by tagging @thesavvyplate on Instagram or Twitter or by mentioning my page The Savvy Plate Blog on Facebook!

Roasted Carrot & Kale Salad

Massaged kale salad tossed with honey-roasted carrots, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a honey dijon dressing

Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword kale salad
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6
Author Savannah

Ingredients

  • 4 whole carrots
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • pinch of salt
  • 12 oz. chopped kale (about 10 cups)
  • 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds without the shells)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries

for the vinaigrette

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Peel carrots and slice into coins 1/4 inch thick. You can cut some of the coins from the wide end of the carrot into semi-circles to maintain a more uniform size.

  2. Toss carrots with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp honey, and a pinch of salt. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the carrots out across it. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.

  3. Meanwhile, add the chopped kale to a large mixing bowl, removing tough stems as needed. Whisk together the ingredients for the vinaigrette, and pour about half of it over the kale. Massage the kale (knead it with your hands) until you can tell the fibers are starting to break down and it reaches your desired texture. This should take about 4 to 5 minutes.

  4. When the carrots are finished roasting (I sometimes like to turn on the broiler during the last minute or two to get some browning), toss them, along with the pepitas, cranberries, and remaining vinaigrette into the bowl and combine with the kale.

Sign up for my email list and never miss a recipe!subscribe button

Massaged kale salad tossed with honey roasted carrots, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a honey dijon vinaigrette

18 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.