Greek Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
This healthy Greek kale salad recipe is full of bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs great for lunch, too. Vegetarian, gluten free, and easily vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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Have you ever ordered a kale salad on a first date and tried to gracefully consume a meal of giant, wayward kale leaves? Awkward. Regretful. Ugh. I’m on a mission to change that. I won’t quit creating new kale salad recipes until we can all walk into a restaurant and consistently receive a great kale salad. Based on some recent experiences, I declare that my work here is far from done.
Here’s how to make a kale salad that’s better than those sad restaurant salads. First, remove those tough ribs from the kale, chop it into bite-sized pieces, and massage it to minimize the poky factor and improve the flavor. (Yes, massage it. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s worth it! See instructions below.) Drizzle in a bold salad dressing and toss until it’s completely coated (I always use more dressing on kale salads than other green salads). Add some fun flavors and textures and you will have yourself a great kale salad.
I say all of this to defend kale salads against mentions that they’re “too trendy” or overdone. But kale salads, when made properly, can make truly delicious, crave-able meals. Those kinds of meals don’t go out of style. Right? Let’s make kale salad a classic like pizza and mac and cheese. We’ll all be better off for it.
This salad is the mac and cheese of kale salads, if you will. It’s creamy thanks to a bold tahini dressing, which makes this salad seem way more indulgent that it actually is. I packed in more flavor and texture with freshly toasted sunflower seeds and briny olives and pepper rings that I cannot resist. Chickpeas offer some protein and up the hearty factor. I’ve been craving heavy, cheesy comfort foods lately, but I legitimately can’t wait to get home and polish off this kale salad. I hope you feel the same!
Greek Kale Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
This healthy Greek kale salad recipe is full of bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs great for lunch, too. Recipe yields 2 large meal-sized servings, or 4 medium side salads.
Ingredients
Kale salad
- 1 medium bunch of curly green kale (about 8 ounces)
- Fine sea salt
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or roughly chopped pepper rings
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and drained
- ⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan (optional)
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Creamy tahini dressing
- 1⁄4 cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from 1 to 1 ½ lemons)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons water
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To prepare the salad: Place the chopped kale in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle it lightly with salt and massage it with your hands by scrunching up large handfuls at a time until it’s darker and more fragrant (this makes the kale more tasty and easier to eat). Add the chickpeas, olives and/or pepper rings, sun-dried tomatoes, and Parmesan (if using). Set aside.
- To toast the sunflower seeds, combine the seeds with the olive oil and a few dashes of salt in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the seeds are fragrant and turning lightly golden at the edges, about 5 minutes. Pour the toasted seeds into the salad bowl.
- To prepare the salad dressing: In a small liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine the tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and salt. Whisk until blended. Add the water and whisk until blended. Season generously with freshly black pepper, to taste.
- Pour the dressing into the salad (you might not need quite all of it, but I did). Toss until the salad is evenly coated with dressing. Serve immediately. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the Parmesan. You might like a light sprinkle of nutritional yeast to make up for it.
If you love this recipe: Check out more kale salads here.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Absolutely delicious. I added some feta instead of shaved parmesan and the dressing, along with the toasted sunflower seeds, really took this salad over the top.
Amazing.
Thank you, Marina!
OMG. This hearty salad is gonna be a staple for my family from here on out! To keep it dairy free I didn’t add Parmesan. To add flavor I used BOTH a half cup of pepperoncinis and a half cup of the olives. This is such an excellent salad!!! Perfect as a main meal but would also be killer with a meal of grilled salmon and lemony roasted potatoes. Thank you for the recipe.
That’s great to hear, Raquel! Thank you for sharing how you made it.
I’ve had lots of kale salads that were pretty darn good, but adding the olives, sun-dried tomatoes, parm, etc. is totally off the chart delicious. This is my new favorite kale salad combo!
All I have to say is…
OH
MY!!
DELISH, DELISH!! Oh and thank you!!
Thank you, Jackie!
love
My boyfriend and I are trying to turn over a new leaf (pun intended) when it comes to eating healthily and this recipe has genuinely blown our minds. Incredible flavours, filling, balanced nutritionally – we will be making this again very soon I’m sure! Thank you so much.
You’re welcome, Eva! I’m glad you both enjoyed this recipe.
For this recipe can I use the kale which is not curly? Thanks n appreciate your reply. Regards, Cristy
Sure! I hope you love it.
What a winner! I bought kale at the farm market today, and needed a way to get my fiancée to eat it. I thought a tahini dressing might do the trick. A web search turned up this recipe, and I’m so glad I found it! I didn’t have everything on hand, but it was close: I skipped the chickpeas and cheese, chopped up pickled cherry peppers instead of olives, and replaced the sunflower seeds with chopped toasted walnuts. Divine, and not only did the beau steal the rest for his lunch tomorrow—he’s asked me to make it again.
Such a delicious & healthy alternative!!! Loved it
This salad is amazing. My husband who thinks kale is a weed & should be banished from the earth, actually enjoyed it and had a second helping! The tahini dressing really sales it. Just be careful and not put extra Dijon mustard in as it can overwhelm. This salad is very versatile and you can play with adding other veggies like sweet peppers. The sun dried tomatoes compliment a lot of different veggies. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I made a few changes to better suit my taste. Chopped red pepper instead of sun dried tomato. Feta cheese instead of Parmesan. Both Kalamata olives and pepper rings. The salad was absolutely fantastic. I made it to eat as a side when trying to add more vegs to my diet. I will make this again and again.
Thank you for sharing how you made this, Rose. I appreciate your review.
OMGosh, outstanding salad!!! Thank you – only sub I made was pistachios for the sunflower seeds [didn’t have]. SO GOOD!!!
Great recipe. I slightly cook the kale by pouring boiling water over it and rapidly cooling by immersing in ice-cold water.
I don’t bother with the parmesan and use ordinary black olives as this is what I have in the fridge.
Thank you for your review, Lynne!
Can you make the dressing ahead of time? And if yes, does it need to be refrigerated?
That should be ok. Yes, it should be refrigerated.
Your recipes are the best and always a feast for the eyes! I have recommended your site to so many people, including my doctor, who mentioned a desire to eat more healthfully.
Just a heads up, lately when I click on print options such as: omitting the photo, changing text size, etc., nothing changes. I am trying to fit the recipe all on one page each time I print one. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks for keeping me supplied with such interesting recipes. I am looking forward to seeing what you will create next!
I’m happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes. I’m working with my plug-in provider to fix the issue. Sorry for the frustration!
it lools like you added peppers in the salad, what are the yellow veggies
Hi Sally, it calls for thinly sliced Kalamata olives and/or roughly chopped peppers. I used both. I hope that helps!
What a delicious summertime meal! I brought home the biggest bunch of kale from the farm today, and couldn’t wait to make this along with some grilled marinated chicken. The salad is a complete meal on its own. It was amazing, with the best tahini dressing I’ve ever made!
I’m excited you enjoyed it, Denise!