This rich and filling avocado kale salad is the perfect starter or main dish. It comes together so easy and covers all the bases for a well rounded meal!
To me, salad is an appetizer, a side, a first course. As much as I like my healthy meals, I need hearty. Something that will satisfy my belly.
I love a good salad but it doesn’t usually hit the dinner spot. Except when said salad is filled with super flavorful ingredients, has healthy fats, and loads of texture. Like this one here!
Vegan Reset by Kim-Julie Hansen
I picked this massaged kale salad to highlight the new book, Vegan Reset, by Kim-Julie Hansen, because it was simple to make but had ingredients I knew would bring it to the next level.
Which pretty much sums up her book to a T. It’s loaded with simple, veggie filled and healthy recipes. But they each have a little something that takes them up a notch.
Recipes that scream healthy but flavorful:
- Chickpea Flour Omelet
- Baked Mustard Tofu Sandwich
- Coconut and Kale Rice Noodle Bowl
- Butternut and Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese
- Chili Lime Cauliflower Bowl
- Red Velvet Truffles
This book is not just recipes, it is 28 days of vegan meal plans. Yep, 4 whole weeks. Each week starts with a shopping list, then moves on to meal prep. She lays out every meal for every day.
My favorite part though, is the exercise she gives you at the end. And by exercise, I mean journaling. Reflecting on the week before helps us figure out what we need to do different to be more successful.
The concept of this book is genius. And the way she puts it together makes it so easy to follow. If you need hand holding, this book is for you.
By the way, if you are stuck in a dinner rut and need some help there, I have a comprehensive FREE guide on weekly meal planning that comes with a FREE 3 day meal plan and shopping list! Join here!
How do you make avocado and kale salad?
To give you a little sneak peek of what’s inside here, I’m sharing this massaged kale salad with you all. I love the different flavors and textures she included to make it next level.
- Roast the butternut squash.
- Massage the avocado and greens together.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds.
- Build the salad!
I made a few adaptions to this to fit what we liked (my kids are weird and really like salad).
- I took out the collards.
- Used smoked paprika instead of curry.
- Added the crushed red pepper to the adult portions only.
More salads with fun ingredients you should check out:
An easy pasta based salad you need in your life:
This rich and filling avocado kale salad is the perfect starter or main dish. It comes together so easy and covers all the bases for a well rounded meal!
- ½ butternut squash , seeds removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon olive oil , plus more for drizzling over the squash
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt , plus 1 pinch
- 1 large avocado
- 4 cups shredded curly kale
- 1 collard green leaf , chopped
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 177°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread the squash on the baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Bake for 45 minutes.
- In a large bowl, massage the avocado into the kale and collard greens. Add the butternut squash.
Toast the pumpkin seeds in the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet over high heat for 1 minute.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the curry powder, red pepper flakes, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and toast for 1 to 2 more minutes.
Sprinkle the seeds over the salad.
- To make this oil free, simply use veggie broth to bake the squash and saute the pumpkin seed.
Recipe excerpted from VEGAN RESET © 2018 by Best of Vegan LLC. Photography © 2018 by Best of Vegan LLC. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Beth says
How long will this salad last? Does the avocado turn brown? Can you make it the night before to take it to work for lunch the next day?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Beth! I would suggest making the butternut squash, but then not mixing the salad until you eat it. I am picky about wilted greens so because you are mixing with avocado, it will get soft overnight. But if you keep it all separate it is quick to mix and eat when ready!
Olwyn says
Beautiful looking salad! I use salad as a starter for us but if it was just me, it would be a main. Lately I have been adding roasted sweet potato and roasted, cubed, marinated tofu to the greens and veggies (cuke, onion, apple, snap peas, etc). I am subbing white beans for cashews in the dressing to lower the fat content. So far, so good – loving a huge bowl of this for lunch at work – I think the potato is what makes it sustaining – keeps me full and satisfied. I have eliminated oil which wasn’t all that hard to do and I do not miss it. Thanks Sophia!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you so much Olwyn! All your salad toppings sound delicious! I actually have a few sauces that I use some white beans in too! This dill one is one of my faves: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/tangy-dill-crema/