Cherry Almond Kale Salad

I used to be a skeptic when it came to kale salads. Kale is a pretty tough, semi-bitter green and while I love it sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and lemon, I didn’t know how it would work in a salad. The key with kale is massaging it with the dressing. At a bare minimum, you want to massage it with olive oil, but I always use my hands to get dressing on every bit of the kale. This helps the kale become more tender, and make sure you get some of the dressing’s flavor in every bite.

This salad is perfect for summer. The bright dressing paired with toasted almonds and juicy cherries is a simple combination, but absolutely delicious. Because salad is a hearty green, it can be dressed in advance and is great to serve a crowd. Serving a salad like this means that you don’t have to serve a mixed green salad with multiple dressing options. You can just make this ahead and you’re done! It’s also perfect for weekday lunches since the greens hold up well all day being coated in dressing.

One of my other favorite kale salads is this kale bacon Caesar salad with the best garlic bread croutons! It’s still a regular in our salad rotation here, but for the duration of the summer I plan to be enjoying this one. If you’re looking to add more protein, some grilled chicken would pair perfectly with the bright dressing, juicy cherries, toasted almonds, and hearty kale.

I promise that once you try this, you’ll add it to your regular rotation this summer too. Make it while fresh cherries are in abundance!

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