Chopped Kale Salad

I love chopped salads. This chopped kale salad recipe is a superfood, nutrient-dense salad full of vibrant vegetables dressed in an oil-free champagne vinaigrette dressing. Dress ahead of time, and enjoy every bit of goodness in every bite of salad.

I love chopped salads because every bite is full of every ingredient in the salad. Today, I whipped up a chopped kale salad full of my favorite veggies dressed in an oil-free champagne vinaigrette.

Jump to:

• What is a Chopped Salad?
• Different Types of Kale 
• The Health Benefits Of Kale
• How To Make A Chopped Kale Salad
• How to Chop Kale
• The Best Chopped Kale Salad Ingredients
• Chopped Kale Salad Ingredient Substitutions
• Time-Saving Tips for Easy Chopping
• Champagne Vinaigrette (Oil-free and delicious)
• Chopped Salad Dressing Ingredients
• Chopped Salad Dressing Ingredients Substitutions
• Kale Recipes
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• More Healthy Vegan Salad Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Sometimes, kale is difficult for some people to digest, causing bloating, gas, and abdominal pain. But chopped kale, already tossed in dressing, is easily digested. So, if you have difficulties with kale, chopped kale salad is the way to go! 

What is a Chopped Salad?

In a chopped salad, all the veggies, regardless of the ingredients, are chopped small, uniform, and tossed with the dressing in a chopped salad. Therefore, every ingredient is evenly distributed and easy to eat. The best-chopped kale salad contains finely chopped kale; superfood veggies tossed in dressing ahead of time to soften the kale and marinate the vegetables. 

Interestingly, chopping salad may increase the number of beneficial compounds known as polyphenols. These plant chemicals with antioxidant properties may help protect against cancers and diseases. In addition, when damaged, plant tissues can release more polyphenols as a stress response.

Different Types of Kale 

Even though 12 varieties of kale exist, the most common form available at the grocery store allows for choices for particular purposes. 

Curly Kale

• Kale chips, salad, cooking

Since Curly kale is the most commonly available, this type of kale is most often used in restaurants. 

Red (or Red Russian) Kale

• Smoothies and salads

Red kale or Russian kale has a very similar taste to curly kale, but it's red. You guessed it! The leaves, however, are flatter and look kind of like arugula leaves.

Lacinato (or Tuscan or Dinosaur) Kale

• Salads and cooking

This variety of kale is dark in color and thinner in texture and appearance. Not only are the leaves thinner, but they have wrinkles, not curls. 

Redbor Kale

• Soups or sautéing

Redbor kale's beautiful purple color causes stomach issues if eaten raw. Once cooked, however, this vibrant kale variety tastes fabulous. 

Baby Kale

• Salads or smoothies

With smaller and thinner leaves, baby kale resembles spinach or lettuce. And this kale doesn't need massaging before eating. Also, wait to dress a salad with baby kale until right before serving, as it will get soggy like lettuce salads. 

The Health Benefits Of Kale

According to Healthline, kale is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet.; 

A single cup of raw kale (about 67 grams or 2.4 ounces) contains (1):

• Vitamin A: 206% of the DV (from beta-carotene) Vitamin K: 684% of the DVVitamin C: 134% of the DVVitamin B6: 9% of the DV
• Manganese: 26% of the DV
• Calcium: 9% of the DV
• Copper: 10% of the DV
• Potassium: 9% of the DV
• Magnesium: 6% of the DV
• It also contains 3% or more of the DV for vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), iron, and phosphorus.

How To Make A Chopped Kale Salad

How to Chop Kale

The key to a successfully chopped kale salad is chopping the kale finely.

• Fold the leaves over, revealing the stem.
• Cut lengthwise down the stem and discard
• Now, cut the kale crossways and then cross cut again, making small bite-sized pieces.
• Place in the base of a large bowl 

The Best Chopped Kale Salad Ingredients

• Curly or Lacinato Kale: Kale contains fiber, antioxidants, calcium, vitamins C and K, iron, and many other nutrients that can help prevent various health problems.
• Grape Tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are oblong and shaped like grapes. They're about half the size of cherry tomatoes, with thicker skins
• Mame: Mame is shelled edamame, which is available in the produce or the freezer section.
• Roasted Beets: I buy roasted beets sealed in a bag from Trader Joe's.
• Carrots: I shredded the carrots to make them uniform to the other vegetables instead of chopping them to make their texture sifter.
• Red Bell Pepper: Red bell peppers are sweet and delicious with the other vegetables.
• Zucchini: Zucchini adds a light freshness to the salad.
• Red Onion: Red onion adds color and a flavor profile to the kale chopped salad recipe.
• Cucumber: I like English cucumbers because they contain fewer seeds.

Chopped Kale Salad Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose any combination of vegetables in the chopped salad recipe.
• You can buy a premade chopped salad kit at your local grocer.

Time-Saving Tips for Easy Chopping

Because I constantly chop vegetables for various recipes, I invested in a vegetable chopper that saved me a lot of time. It has two different cutting options and cleans up quickly. 

This kitchen tool is essential in making life a lot easier, especially for meal prepping. 

Champagne Vinaigrette (Oil-free and delicious)

To dress a chopped kale salad, the dressing needs an acidic base with vinegar and lemon to break down the fibers in the kale.  As a result, the kale is easier to chew. 

For that reason, dressing the chopped kale salad in advance softens the kale and makes it easier to chew and marinates the other ingredients. 

Chopped Salad Dressing Ingredients

• Champagne Vinegar: In comparison to other popular vinegar, such as white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar tastes much milder and is an ideal choice when you want to add the tang of vinegar without overpowering the other flavors in the dish.
• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener for the dressing/
• Dijon Mustard: Dijon mustard gives the dressing a rich depth of flavor.
• Fresh Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice brings a brightness to the dressing.
• Water: Water is used in place of oil in the recipe.

Chopped Salad Dressing Ingredients Substitutions

• Asian rice vinegar is a good substitute, as is white wine or sherry vinegar, even though it's harsher. Red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar can work, but they'll be less sweet and much more flavorful and colorful.
• Date syrup of agave replaces maple syrup in recipes.
• Stone-ground mustard is similar in flavor to dijon mustard.

Once tossed, dig into the best-chopped kale salad and enjoy each ingredient in every bite! 

Kale Recipes

To incorporate more kale into your diet, try my Kale Crunch Salad, Quinoa, and Kale Salad, or add kale to your Vegan Breakfast Bowl!

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• To a successfully chopped kale salad, chop the kale finely.
• Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale. For example, tossing in dried fruit helps balance the bitterness with some sweetness.
• Cutting the stems crossways shortens the fibers, much as with a tough steak, making them perfectly edible and preventing waste. Cut this way; the stems can be cooked like the rest of the leaf: sautéed, boiled, or steamed.
• Kale can be frozen without blanching but should be used within 4 weeks. Frozen kael can be blanched or added to soups or smoothies. However, frozen kale does not work well in salads.

If you are looking for a delicious superfood salad, try this chopped kale salad recipe!

More Healthy Vegan Salad Recipes

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