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Rainbow Kale Salad

Updated: Oct 13, 2025


rainbow kale salad


Easy + Healthy Dinner Recipes:

Rainbow Kale Salad

Ingredients: Makes 4-6 servings

Salad

  • 5 cups curly kale, sliced thinly

  • 1 ½ cups shredded carrots, (about 2 medium)

  • 1 ½ cups diced red bell pepper (1 large red bell pepper)

  • 1 ½ cups diced yellow bell pepper (1 large yellow bell pepper)

  • ⅓ cup finely diced red onion

  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds, plus more for garnish

  • ¼ cup Toasted panko crumbs

  • Optional: add blueberries, apples, or other preferred fruit


Dressing

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 2 tablespoons raw honey (use agave nectar or maple syrup for vegan version)

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Cooking Instructions:


  1. Strip tough stems and ribs from the kale and thinly slice the leaves to get 5 cups. Place the kale in a large salad bowl and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Gently massage the kale with your hands. This will tenderize the kale and improve the flavor.



  2. Shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Into the large salad bowl add carrots, bell peppers, red onion, and pumpkin seeds. If adding fruit, add fruit here.


  3. Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients: lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper.


  4. Add the dressing to the salad ingredients in the large bowl and toss well to combine. Cover and refrigerate salad for at least 1 hour or longer before serving. Garnish top with more pumpkin seeds and toasted panko crumbs just before serving.


Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 243 | Fat: 15g | Fiber: 4g | Carbs: 25g | Protein: 7g | Sugar: 11g | Sodium: 179mg






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Author Bio:

Eric & Maleka Beal are health coaches and nutritionists with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Human Nutrition and Human Environmental Sciences from the University of Alabama and a Master of Public Health in progress. Together they've coached 100+ Black women over 40 toward lasting health and maintained their own 300+ lb combined weight loss for 19 years through the same evidence-based, culturally aware approach they teach.

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