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I know kale salads are yesterday’s news, but this one—with miso dressing, toasted almonds, dried blueberries, and sautéed mushrooms—is so good that it has replaced all other kale salads in my book. It has become my go-to healthy salad.
It’s so healthy, in fact, that I’m eating it today as a holiday pretox (fill your body with tons of antioxidants and the New Year’s bubbly won’t do a bit of harm!), but the leftovers will be just as useful for tomorrow’s detox. It’s a true superfood salad.
My favorite thing about this salad is that it combines both raw kale and crispy oven-roasted kale for a great texture contrast. Dried blueberries, crunchy toasted almonds, and meaty sautéed mushrooms add even more textures and flavors. The miso dressing only requires a few ingredients, but it’s full of flavor.
Instead of almonds, try adding these Candied Pecans for even more flavor and crunch.
What do you serve this salad with?
I like to serve this alongside a simple broiled or oven-roasted salmon for a healthy meal any time of the year. It’s also a perfect side for my Instant Pot Spare Ribs, Instant Pot Ham, Air Fryer Roast Chicken, or an Air Fryer Fried Chicken Sandwich.
Superfood Kale Salad with Miso Dressing
Ingredients
- For the salad
- 2 bunches Tuscan kale stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, divided
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces mushrooms shiitakes or cremini, sliced
- ½ cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1 lemon
- For the miso dressing
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ cup dried blueberries or raisins
Instructions
- To roast the kale, preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet (or two) with aluminum foil.
- In a mixing bowl, toss half of the kale with 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil. Spread the kale out onto the prepared baking sheet(s) in a single layer, Sprinkle with about ½ teaspoon of salt and a bit of pepper, and roast in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until crispy.
- While the kale is roasting, heat the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and browned, about 10 minutes.
- Put the sautéed mushrooms and toasted almonds in a bowl and set aside.
- Put the raw kale into a salad bowl and squeeze the lemon over it. Toss to coat.
- To make the miso dressing, whisk together the rice vinegar, honey, miso paste, and sesame oil. Stir in the dried blueberries or raisins.
- To make the salad, add the mushrooms and almonds to the raw kale and spoon some of the dressing over the top, being sure to include some of the dried blueberries or raisins. Toss to coat. Add more dressing as needed. Just before serving, toss in the roasted kale.
- Serve immediately.
Love this salad and have made it twice. My kids love it too. There is only one recommendation, adding the required olive oil for the dressing into step 6. It’s not listed and the second time I missed it and although still tasty it was almost to hot to eat.