Kale Salad with Persimmons

If you’re craving salads in the winter, this Whole30-friendly kale salad with sweet persimmons, toasted almonds, and a zippy lemon vinaigrette will hit the spot without much effort!

An overhead shot of two hands holding a large blue bowl filled with kale salad and persimmons and toasted almonds, a simple and delicious winter salad.

This simple kale salad recipe was originally published in our first cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans, and I continue to make it every winter I spy crispy Fuyu persimmons at the market. This bright orange fruit that looks like a tomato but tastes like a crunchy sweet peach shows up only in the fall and winter, and my husband Henry can’t get enough of them.

A collage of the cooking steps to make Kale Salad with Persimmons, a Whole30, paleo, and vegan salad.

Can’t find Fuyu Persimmons?

Fuyu persimmons are normally in-season from October through January, but if you can’t find them, you can definitely substitute sliced apples, pears, or a handful of pomegranate arils. Don’t use Hachiya persimmons—that variety is more oblong-shaped and has a mushy texture when they’re ripe. If you want to make this salad in the summer, peaches and nectarines also work great!

What kind of kale should you use?

Curly green kale and the flat leaf lacinato kale (a.k.a. cavalo nero or dinosaur kale) both work well in this recipe. Me? I prefer making this salad with curly green kale because it’s easier to find at the market and it tastes great.

Can you this make this salad ahead of time?

Yes! Unlike other salads, kale salads actually taste better the next day because the leaves soften and soak up the dressing. You can dress and massage the kale greens up to four days ahead and keep them in a covered container in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it. When you want to eat the salad, add the fruit and toasted almond slivers!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Kale Salad

1 pound kale, stemmed, washed, and dried
Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe below)
1 medium Fuyu persimmon, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
½ cup almond slivers, toasted

Lemon Vinaigrette

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Equipment:

All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.

Method:

Slice the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces…

Slicing kale leaves into thin strips with a chef's knife on a wooden cutting board.

…and toss them in a large bowl.

A large wooden bowl filled with sliced kale for a simple winter salad.

Add the lemon vinaigrette ingredients into a small measuring cup and whisk together until blended.

Whisking the lemon vinaigrette in a small liquid measuring cup for kale salad.

Pour the vinaigrette over the kale…

Pouring the lemon vinaigrette onto the sliced kale leaves in a big wooden bowl.

…and massage it in with your clean hands. Wait at least 10 minutes before serving so the kale has a chance to soften. (If you’re serving the kale salad later, you can refrigerate the dressed kale in the fridge for up to four days.)

Two clean hands massaging the kale with the lemon vinaigrette.

When you’re ready to serve the salad, toss in the sliced persimmon…

Adding thin slices of fuyu persimmons to a healthy kale salad dressed with a lemon vinaigrette

…and top with toasted almond slivers.

Sprinkling toasted almond slices on top of a kale salad with persimmons.

See? This simple kale salad with persimmons is a fantastic way eat your greens in the winter!

An overhead shot of a large blue bowl filled with Whole30 and vegan kale salad with persimmon next to a pair of wooden tongs.

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!

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