Strawberry and Avocado Kale Salad
Strawberry season is perfect for this Strawberry and Avocado Kale Salad! The hearty kale stands up against the crunchy pecans, fresh avocado, tangy feta, and ripe strawberries.
Who else is excited for strawberry season?! Me me me me me! I'm also excited for this weather to stop being such a tease and just STAY WARM PULEEEEEZE.
I can't really complain though - we leave for Saint Thomas tomorrow where it's 85 degrees and sunny every. single. day. You can hate me. I understand.
One downside to Saint Thomas? Lars isn't coming with! Which brings up all the sad/excited/nervous/ugly cry emotions that I could possibly have. Seriously what am I going to do with myself for 7 days without him?!
No, seriously. What am I going to do with myself?
Okay, back to the strawberry situ.
While it's not exactly strawberry season here in Minnesota (okay, not even close) I saw organic strawberries on sale at Whole Foods last week and couldn't help but grab a few cartons. As it turns out, Lars LOVES them - cut into bite-sized pieces and in his oatmeal - which means we've been going through them super fast.
I did, however, have one carton left that by the looks of it had about two days max until they needed to be consumed.
I eyed the bag of kale in the fridge, the carton of feta that was supposed to be used for an asparagus and feta quiche that was never made, the never-ending stash of avocados on the counter (Lars is a huge fan of avocados, too!), and a bag of walnuts in the freezer, and all of a sudden this salad was being born.
This Strawberry and Avocado Kale Salad was such a delicious accident! The dressing, made of pureed strawberries, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic, was super simple and perfect to massage into the kale leaves. It's a good thing the dressing was simple because you don't need much of a dressing when the ingredients of the salad are such standouts!
My favorite thing about kale salads? They are still good the next day because the hearty kale doesn't get soggy with the dressing. *High five emoji!*
One last thing - this is beautiful as a side salad (we ate it with a pork roast which is coming to a blog near you SOON!) but is also filling enough for a meal (which I did the next day for lunch!). Really, this salad meets all your salad-eating needs.
Ingredients
- Approximately 6 cups kale removed from stems and roughly chopped
- 1 cups sliced strawberries
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ avocado pit removed and diced
- For the dressing:
- 3 strawberries
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in food processor or blender and puree until strawberries are pureed.
- Pour dressing over the kale in a large bowl and massage the dressing into the leaves for 1 minute.
- Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine.
- Serve and enjoy!
Dear Taylor, what a perfect salad to welcome Spring with...the fresh strawberries are a perfect addition...I could make a meal of this. Love it! xo, Catherine
This combo right here is one of my ALL time favorite salads. Which is probably not good, seeing as how I eat enough fruit, but now I'm putting them in my salads too? oh boy 😉
Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it!
Thanks Melissa!
I just made this to have as part of lunch for the week ahead. Made the mistake of trying it and holy cow, is this amazing. I'm not sure it'll make it to Monday...
Thanks Cheryl! So glad you like it 🙂