This healthy Kale and white bean salad is easy and fast to make, no cooking is required. A wonderful salad with lots of textures and healthy ingredients. Creamy white beens and avocado, mixed with crispy nuts and sunflower seeds, topped with some salty feta and all tossed in a fresh lemon dressing.
This kale white bean avocado salad is a spin on the ever popular Erewhon salad. It is made with just a few basic ingredients. I have added creamy, salty feta cheese and crunchy walnuts and pumpkin seeds. That mixed with the circus dressing, avocado and beans, makes for a truly satisfying salad.
Enjoy this White bean and kale salad as a light lunch with a slice of homemade bread like this No Knead Whole Wheat Bread. Or serve as a healthy side with a bowl of your favourite soup like this Roasted sweet potato and red pepper soup, or protein of choice.
For more healthy salads check out this Sweet potato quinoa salad or this protein packed Lentil and chickpea salad.
Ingredients
All you need to make this White bean kale salad are just a few healthy ingredients, listed below. For the full recipe with the quantities, see the recipe card.
- Kale, This recipe uses curly green kale, but dark green lacinato kale (dino kale) can also be used. Remove the hard stem and chop the leafs into bite sized pieces.
- Caned white beans, such as cannellini beans, drained and rinsed.
- Avocado, cubed
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped. For an allergy friendly alternative, use all toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of the nuts.
- Toasted pumpkin seeds, or more walnuts or sunflower seeds.
Dressing
- Olive oil, or other neutral tasting oil, like avocado oil.
- Garlic, minced, just a little hint of garlic tastes great in this lemon vinaigrette dressing.
- Honey, or maple syrup. Ads a little sweetness to balance out the acidity of the lemon juice and mustard.
- Dijon mustard, a little ads so much flavor to this dressing, without tasting like mustard.
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed tastes best. Gives this lemon vinaigrette a fresh flavor.
- Spices, sea salt, ground black pepper and some optional red chili flakes for a little heat.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This healthy White bean and kale salad is really easy to make. Follow the instruction below with step-by-step photos. For the full written instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom.
- Step 1: In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Step 2: Add the chopped kale to a large salad bowl with half of the dressing. Using your fingers, massage the kale for about a minute, until it is tender.
- Step 3: Add the white beans, avocado, red onion, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and optional feta cheese to the bowl.
- Step 4: Pour over the dressing and gently toss the salad together.
Hint: To keep the chopped avocado from going brown, add it to this kale bean salad just before serving. You can also squeeze a little lemon juice on it before tossing the salad. The extra acidity helps keep it green for longer.
A great way to serve this salad, is with some freshly baked bread like this Cranberry Walnut Bread or this No knead olive bread.
Substitutions and Variations
- Kale – This recipe uses curly green kale, but dark green lacinato kale (dino kale) can also be used. Remove the hard stem and chop the leafs into bite sized pieces.
- Nuts – The walnuts can be replaced with pecans or nuts of choice. For an allergy friendly salad, use all toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of the nuts.
- Beens – Instead of caned white beans, such as cannellini beans, use any kid of canned beans or cook your own. Chickpeas or some cooked lentils also tastes great!
- Grains – Add some cooked and cooled quinoa, rice, couscous, farro or barley.
- Herbs – Add some chopped fresh herbs like parsley or fresh thyme.
- Vegan – To make this salad vegan, use maple syrup for the dressing and use a vegan feta cheese alternative.
For another easy to make side salad, check out this Apple cranberry quinoa salad.
Storage
This kale cannellini bean salad tastes best when served straight away. The avocado will start to go brown after being cut. A good tip is to squeeze little lemon juice over it, before adding to the salad. If you would like to prep this kale salad ahead of time, wait with cutting and adding the avocado to the salad until ready to serve.
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The vegetables will start to wilt a little, but it still tastes great. Always smell and taste any leftovers before eating, to make sure they are fresh.
Top Tip
Kale can be quite tough when eaten raw. Remember to first remove the tough stalk in the center of the leaves, then chop it up into bite size pieces. Add half the dressing, or a little lemon juice and salt, to the chopped leaves. Using your fingers, massage the kale for about a minute, until it is tender. Doing this will tenderize the fibers, and make the kale leafs softer. Then add the remaining ingredients and enjoy!
FAQ
Kale can be a little tough to eat raw. Massaging the kale makes it soft and easier to eat. Add a little of the dressing and gently massage the kale with your hands until it is darker in colour and softer.
Yes, it is healthy and does not go soggy as fast as other types of lettuce. Good types of kale to add to your salad are lacinato kale, or curly kale like in this white bean kale salad.
Salad recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Soup
Serve this salad with a side of soup:
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This healthy Kale and white bean salad is easy and fast to make, no cooking is required. A wonderful salad with lots of textures and healthy ingredients. Creamy white beens and avocado, mixed with crispy nuts and sunflower seeds, topped with some salty feta and all tossed in a fresh lemon dressing.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red Chili flakes (optional)
- 1 bunch kale, about 7 cups leaves, washed and chopped
- 1 14 ounce caned white beans such as cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, cubed
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
- sea salt and pepper to taste
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In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the dressing
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Strip the leaves from the kale stems and chop into bite size pieces. Rinse and dry well.
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Add the chopped kale to a large salad bowl with half of the dressing. Using your fingers, massage the kale for about a minute, until it is tender.
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Add the white beans, avocado, red onion, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and optional feta cheese to the bowl.
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Pour over the dressing and gently toss the salad together.
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