Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad
In this Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad recipe, spiced and roasted pistachios are tossed with kale and other veggies such as cucumber, avocado, celery, jalapeno, and cabbage. This refreshing salad is served drizzled with a simple lime vinaigrette.
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This Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad is full of textures and flavors.
It is customizable to fit your preferences. As written here, this simple kale salad can be assembled in about 10 minutes after the pistachios cool.
What are the ingredients needed to make this Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad?
You will need the following ingredients, some of which you probably already have:
For the Homemade Roasted Pistachios:
For the Salad:
- Kale
- Bell pepper
- Jalapeno
- Cabbage
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Avocado
- Parsley
For the Lime Vinaigrette:
- Lime juice
- Red wine vinegar
- Avocado oil
- Italian seasoning
- Salt
Substitutions
- Homemade spiced pistachios
I had some pistachios left over after making another batch of pistachio butter, so I decided to roast them up with some spices and use them in this salad. If you choose to make some roasted pistachios, you can use whatever spice blend you prefer. However, you could also get store-bought pistachios that are roasted and lightly salted or flavored like these jalapeno ones. The pistachios can also be substituted for walnuts, almonds, or your favorite nuts.
- Kale
I used a large bunch of curly kale. However, lacinato kale (also known as Tuscan kale) or baby kale would work as well. I did not massage the kale, but I made sure to cut out and toss the thick stems on each of the kale leaves.
- Veggies
I opted to use a combination of orange and yellow bell peppers, jalapeno, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, avocado, and parsley. I wanted to keep this a vegan, low-carb salad, so I opted for these vegetables. However, you can use any veggies you prefer. Love carrots? Then, add some sliced carrots to this salad. You can also add in green peas, spinach, apples, dried cranberries, golden raisins, flakes of parmesan cheese, or feta.
- Lime vinaigrette
I made a simple lime vinaigrette for this salad with lime, red wine vinegar, avocado oil, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt. The lime can be substituted with some lemon juice and lemon zest. You could use apple cider vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar. And the avocado oil can be substituted with olive oil or grapeseed oil. Or, if you already have a store-bought vinaigrette you love, feel free to toss that in with the roasted pistachios, kale, and other veggies.
Instructions
- Once you have gathered all the ingredients, this Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad can be prepared quickly.
- If you are making the roasted pistachios, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the oven is preheating, place the pistachios on a parchment-lined baking tray, lightly spray them with a bit of cooking oil, and sprinkle the spices on top of them.
- Using a spoon, just toss the pistachios around in the spices so they are evenly coated. Then place them in the oven to roast for 10 minutes. Remove the pistachios from the oven and set them aside.
- Grab your veggies, the kale, orange and yellow bell peppers, jalapeno, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, avocado, and parsley. Wash them well and chop them all up.
TIP
One tip I will mention for a great Pistachio Kale Crunch Salad is to chop all your ingredients well. The finer each is chopped, the better the chance that each forkful will have a bit of everything on it.
- Then, place all the chopped veggies in a large bowl.
- Add the roasted pistachios to the bowl as well.
- Then make the lime vinaigrette. Add the lime juice, red wine vinegar, avocado oil, Italian seasoning, and salt in a small bowl and whisk the ingredients together. When they are well combined, drizzle the lime vinaigrette over the vegetables and roasted pistachios in the bowl. Using some salad tongs, gently toss all the ingredients together well, and enjoy.
Serving suggestions
Most of the time, when I make this pistachio kale crunch salad, my boyfriend and I have a large bowl of it as the first course of a meal and follow it with some harissa chicken.
This salad would pair well with any roasted or grilled meat, tofu, or plant protein. It even pairs well with this Marry Me Tofu dish and some Lemon Za’atar quinoa.
Storage
If you plan to have leftovers of this salad, I would strongly suggest that after the vegetables are chopped and combined and before the vinaigrette is drizzled on, you separate a portion of the veggies and place them in an airtight container and place the container in the fridge. Then, store some lime vinagrette in another small container separately to enjoy with the leftover salad.
If you have leftovers after the dressing is added on, you could try storing them in an airtight container in the fridge, but the extra liquid might lead to this salad wilting a bit over 24 hours.
Thanks so much for stopping by. If you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments below what you think of it, or tag your creation on social media with @savoryspin or #savoryspin. For more fusion, spice-filled, recipe ideas, please subscribe and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest!
Ingredients
For the Homemade Roasted Pistachios:
- 1 cup Raw Pistachios
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- Cooking spray
For the Salad:
- 2 cups Curly Kale
- 1/2 an Orange Bell Pepper and 1/2 a Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1/3 cup cabbage
- 1/2 Cucumber
- 1 Tomato
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 avocado
- 3 tbsp. fresh parsley
For the Lime Vinaigrette:
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- If you are making the roasted pistachios at home, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/176 Dgrees Celcius.
- While the oven is preheating, place the pistachios on a parchment-lined baking tray, lightly spray them with a bit of cooking oil, and sprinkle the smoked paprika, coriander powder, and red chili powder on top of them.
- Using a spoon, toss the pistachios around in the spices so they are evenly coated.
- Then place them in the oven to roast for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Remove the pistachios from the oven and set them aside.
- Wash the veggies, the kale, orange and yellow bell peppers, jalapeno, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, avocado, and parsley, and chop them all up.
- Then, place all the chopped veggies in a large bowl.
- Add the roasted pistachios to the bowl as well.
- Then make the lime vinaigrette. Add the lime juice, red wine vinegar, avocado oil, Italian seasoning, and salt in a small bowl and whisk the ingredients together. When they are well combined, drizzle the lime vinaigrette over the vegetables and roasted pistachios in the bowl. Using some salad tongs, gently toss all the ingredients together well, and enjoy.
Notes
- Chop all your ingredients well. The finer each is chopped, the better the chance that each forkful will have a bit of everything on it.
- If you plan to have leftovers of this salad, I would strongly suggest that after the vegetables are chopped and combined and before the vinaigrette is drizzled on, you separate a portion of the veggies and place them in an airtight container and place the container in the fridge. Then, store some lime vinagrette in another small container separately to enjoy with the leftover salad.
Woah – you’ve got all kinds of delicious ingredients (and textures) going on in this salad, Shashi! It sounds delicious. I don’t think I’ve seen jalapenos in a salad like this, but I’m wondering why not…it sounds like a great addition! And we haven’t even talked about that lime vinaigrette yet….
What a beautiful salad – so fresh and packed with different flavours and textures. And these spiced pistachios? Amazing! They probably would not have made into the salad in my case haha.