September 17, 2012
(last updated January 20, 2022) 
This carrot raisin kale salad is sweet, creamy, and super delicious! It’s got plenty of good, plant-based nutrition from quinoa, chickpeas, and kale. Plus, a drinkable, addictive creamy walnut curry dressing!
Happy Monday! So glad you guys like the almond ginger nori snacks. They’ve given me a lot of ideas for future snacks. I’ll be keeping you posted, of course.
This carrot raisin kale salad with creamy curry dressing is all things sweet and savory. Sweet carrot, apples, and raisins meet a sweet-yet-savory dressing that’s infused with curry powder. I got the idea from curried chicken salad, which often features carrot, raisins, and/or apples in addition to the chicken itself. Same idea here, but the chicken is replaced by kale, and the results are a lot more refreshing in spite of all the sweet tones.
I’ve made the dressing twice now: the first time, with walnuts, and the second time with cashews. The cashew version is sweeter, more neutral, and less “nutty” than the walnut version, but the walnut version is a little more nutrient dense (what with all of the Omega-3 fatty acids).
You can certainly experiment with both, and decide which you like more! Either way, I think you’ll love the dressing, and if you like it as much as I do, you’ll probably find yourself using it as a dip, a spread for sandwiches, and more.
Carrot Raisin Kale Salad
Author –Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 bunch curly kale
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 large apple, chopped
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 can, drained and rinsed)
For the creamy curried dressing
- 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked for 2 hours and drained (substitute cashews)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Remove the kale leaves from their stems. Wash, dry, and chop the kale into bite-sized pieces.
- Blend all dressing ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender till smooth.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of the dressing over the kale in a large mixing bowl. Massage with your hands till the kale has softened a bit. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl. Add the remaining dressing and toss to combine.
If you want to turn this one into a meal sized salad, you can definitely add some chickpeas, lentils, or quinoa. It would also be great served with a hummus sandwich, or a fresh batch of crackers and dip. In the winter, I’d love to serve the salad with some piping hot split pea soup and toast. Yum.
Such a wonderful way to enjoy fall produce! Hope you like it.
xo
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Categories: Salads,
Side Dishes
Ingredients: Chickpeas, Kale
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, No Oil, Soy Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: 30 Minute or Less, Meal Prep, Quick & Easy
Ingredients: Chickpeas, Kale
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, No Oil, Soy Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: 30 Minute or Less, Meal Prep, Quick & Easy
Leave a Comment
totally delicious!
I also like this one:
blend:
1/4 c red wine vin
1/4 c evoo
1 T honey
juice of one orange
a little lemon juice
salt
pepper
a few craisins
massage dressing with shredded kale, toasted almonds, and craisins
Thanks for the curry kale recipe! Hope you like mine!!
awesome recipe! I added some purple carrots and some purple sweet potato (which I grilled) and popped the saltanas in hot water to make them nice and juicy again. Amazing recipe!
This salad was delicious! I used the walnut dressing and sprinkled on some pistachios and dried cherries (instead of raisins), on top of the salad. With the honeycrisp and carrots It was all so satisfyingly fall-ish. Thanks Gena!
I love salads and this one looks SO good. Can’t wait to give it a try! I think I’ll go for the walnut version because of the added health (as you described).
Thanks Marly!
Gena,
I went vegan two weeks ago from an omni way of eating, thanks in great part to your blog.
I love your recipes, your laid-back attitude, and your positivity.
This recipe was incredible. I made it late last night, in a very cranky and tired mood. It definitely made me feel better! I can’t wait to recreate it today for lunch.
Thank you for everything you do.
-Rachel
I love the sound of that dressing!
What a great combo of flavors!
Do you reckon you could make this a bit lighter on kitchen apparatus by using cashew butter and whisking?
Oh, I’m sure you could. Try it out and see what you think!
Made this tonight with the walnuts and LOVED it. It was a hit with everyone! Kale had gone bad so I used spinach and added red onion, red pepper and avocado. Delicious! Can’t wait to try with kale next time. Everyone asked for the dressing recipe.
Looks amazing. I got all the ingredients and am going to make this tomorrow! I almost never cook from recipes anymore, but this is a must-try.
this is pretty much my ideal autumn salad. i love walnuts but tend to only eat them in the fall. i usually have pistach., almonds or cashews in the summer months for some reason. i just listen to my cravings ha 🙂
Oh, yum! I try so hard to eat apples but I don’t really like them on their own. I always forget that I tend to love them in salads. Will have to try this one soon.
My kind of salad!! Yummmm!
Looks lovely. Was so happy to return from a recent trip and come home to see our greens thriving. Finally a break from the intense summer heat and now they are taking off. Kale Chips in my future soon. And kale is So photogenic!
Mmmmm definitely will “Fall” hard for this salad. So simple yet elegant! Especially dressed up with beets and quinoa- mmmm! I will try this with salad greens – not the same as kale of course, but one has to make sacrifices when living in a kale-less cOuntry! Can’t wait to try the real version when back in the United States of Kale soon! Enjoy your Fall in DC !
Thanks for the dinner idea.
Hope you enjoy it!
This salad reminds me a little bit of the one the Our Hen House ladies made on an episode of Vegan Drag Queen I watched today. The curry dressing has got to be amazing on this! I think I’m going to make it with the walnuts. Walnuts and raisins are a match made in heaven. Don’t you just love the versatility of kale salads?
That dressing sounds unreal!
What a tease to make us wait till tomorrow! Looking forward to it 🙂
I have a similar recipe where I use craisins instead of raisins & add sunflower seeds & a different dressing. But raw kale salad is just one of those things I cannot get enough of. Thanks for reminding me I need to eat it more! Definitely haven’t been meeting my daily green quotient lately.
I love the idea of sunflower seeds here! They go really well with kale.
Yum. I want more! 🙂
I have to make this!
It is so very good!