Kale Tortilla Salad with Jalapeno-Lime Dressing
This cravable kale tortilla salad with jalapeno-lime dressing is the perfect lunch salad - hearty, satisfying and easy to make in advance.
Woo! The site is back up and working! My sincerest apologies if you tried to access over the past three days and weren’t able. Long story short, my google adsense account got disabled, we tried to fix it ourselves and ended up taking down the entire site in the process. After three long days of scratching our heads, screaming and crying at my computer, then drowning our sorrows and frustrations in an ungodly amount of sushi, it’s fixed. If you love this blog, please, give my husband/IT guy a hug and buy him a drink. He basically gave up his whole weekend working on the site and I think earned a computer science degree in the process.
When “S” hit the “F,” cooking was the last thing I wanted to do (hence the massive amount of sushi we ate Saturday night). Thankfully, I had a big batch of this kale tortilla salad in the fridge already prepped and ready to go. Kale salad is kind of great for a make ahead meal - the sturdier leaves don’t wilt after dressing, so you can store an entire dressed salad in the fridge all week. With this one, all I did was toss in a handful of crumbled tortilla chips before serving to give it some extra crunch.
Jalapeno-Lime Dressing
This jalapeño-lime dressing is AMAZING on the kale tortilla salad but that’s not the only dish it’s great for. A flavorful dressing like this can be used in a variety of ways:
as a marinade for meat
dressing for pasta salad, like my pasta salad with black beans and avocado
tossed on veggies before roasting
a dip for raw vegetables
a sauce for a burger
How to make a kale salad
When you’re using a tougher green like kale in a salad, massaging the kale is an important step! Kale is a thick, sturdy green that is crunchy and can be hard to eat if not prepared properly. Massaging the kale helps to break it down a little more, giving it a more tender and enjoyable mouth-feel. To massage kale, all you have to do is mix in the dressing and rub it in with your hands until the greens are tender and coated with dressing.
Ideas for add ons:
Although this kale tortilla salad is pretty satisfying by itself, with a mix of fat, protein from the black beans, and carbs from the tortillas, you could also bulk it up with additional protein to make it more satisfying. Try crumbling up a veggie burger on top, like my Spicy Lentil & Mushroom Veggie Burger, or adding in some sliced grilled chicken. Here are some recipes for veggie burgers that you might like to add!
Kale Tortilla Salad with Jalapeno-Lime Dressing
Serves 4
Adapted from Fresh, Fast, Green (<--- my go to salad cookbook by the way)
Ingredients
Dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, packed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Salad:
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 bunch of kale, thick stems removed, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, peeled and cubed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, preferably grassfed
2 ounces corn tortilla chips, crumbled
Instructions
First, quick pickle the red onions. In a small bowl, toss the red onion slices with apple cider vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Toss to combine and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad, tossing every so often.
Next, make the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and puree until combined. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of dressing. Using your hands, massage dressing into the kale to soften. Toss kale with cherry tomatoes, avocado, black beans, cheddar and pickled red onions (discard vinegar). Sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips and additional dressing before serving.
You might also like:
Collard Green Salad with Cornbread Croutons & Black-Eyed Peas
Mustard Greens Greek Salad
Baby Kale and Cherry Salad with Grilled Halloumi
