Tuscan Kale Salad

A zesty Tuscan kale salad with a healthy homemade Italian dressing, shredded Tuscan kale, onions and seasoned bread crumb crunchies! The perfect balance of flavors for an easy side dish or as the base for a filling salad meal.

The first time I made this Tuscan kale salad, I had no idea my family would start asking for it every week! The smooth Italian dressing softens the kale just enough, while the breadcrumb crunchies bring a salty, toasty bite you can’t stop eating. 

I’ve been serving it alongside my easy lasagna recipe or zucchini lasagna, spooning it next to Italian sausage soup, and piling it onto plates with salmon burgers for an easy, colorful meal. It’s the kind of salad you need to have in your arsenal because it’s as good for weeknights as it is for guests!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil goes through the least amount of processing of the olive oils, so it keeps some of its nutritional values! It has a gentle taste which I love in my dressings. I chose olive oil intentionally for flavor rather than canola or vegetable oil. It does mean you need to plan ahead before making salad with it. I usually make it days in advance. 
• Red or White Wine Vinegar. Red wine or white wine vinegar can be used interchangeably. White wine vinegar will look more like store bought. But I rarely have it on hand, so I opt for red wine vinegar.
• Kale: You can use lacinato kale, red kale, tuscan kale, or dinosaur kale! If you aren’t able to find kale, try using Swiss chard, arugula, collard greens, spinach, or mustard greens.
• Onion: Onion adds a savory, lightly sweet flavor to this salad. I recommend using a yellow onion or sweet onion for this recipe.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations on this Tuscan Kale Salad Recipe

• Make it a full-fledged lunch with protein. This Tuscan kale salad is the base to a million combinations for different filling lunches. Try adding a combination of lemon roasted chicken, chickpeas (seasoned or not), leftover roasted cauliflower, broccoli, quinoa pilaf, or anything else you find in your fridge! If it’s a cooler month, toss in some sweet potatoes like my kale sweet potato salad!
• Try different cheeses. Goat is always an excellent additional cheese garnish! Alternatively, you could replace the parmesan with pecorino cheese and top with toasted pine nuts, or your favorite nut.
• Use fresh herbs instead of dried.  It’s a bit more effort, but if you’re going for a brighter profile, fresh herbs would do it. You can multiply the dried herb measurements by three if opting to use fresh herbs! You could also replace the garlic powder with a garlic clove, and grind it with a mortar and pestle for deeper flavor.

Professional Tips 

• Quality olive oil will make all the difference. You want high-quality and fresh extra virgin olive oil. You can taste if the olive oil is flat or old. Since it is one of the main flavors here, you want to ensure you enjoy the oil you are using. 
• Massage the kale. You want to do this for at least 30 seconds, until it turns a slightly darker green. Break down those fibers!
• Chop in advance. I typically chop my kale ahead and store it in a plastic baggie with a piece of paper towel in the fridge. No one has time for excessive chopping on a Tuesday.

How to Make Tuscan Kale Salad

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare the dressing:

Step 1: In a large salad shaker bottle (I love this shaker from OXO) combine all the ingredients for the salad dressing (photos 1 & 2). Shake well and set aside.

This dressing has the best flavor after sitting for at least an hour. I also recommend using a shaker bottle instead of a whisk and small bowl!

Prepare the breadcrumb crunchies:

Step 2: Heat oil and seasonings. Add olive oil, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small sauté pan. Warm it up over medium heat (photo 3).

Step 3: Add breadcrumbs and salt. Once the oil is warm (not smoking!), add the bread crumbs and a large, 3 finger pinch, of kosher salt. Stir to coat all the breadcrumbs with the oil mixture and reduce heat to low.

For homemade breadcrumbs, pulse bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Then toast until the mixture forms golden clusters.

Step 4: Cook until golden. Continue cooking until the breadcrumbs smell toasty and are a nice golden brown (photo 4).

Step 5: Cool completely. Pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet to cool completely before using or storing.

Assemble the Tuscan kale salad:

Step 6:  Prep and slice kale. Wash one bunch of Tuscan (lacinato) kale and remove the kale stems and central ribs. Discard them before slicing the kale leaves into ¼ inch thick ribbons. Place kale in a large bowl lined with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. This will soak up any residual water.

You can also tear the kale but I love cutting every leaf into ribbons. It looks nicer and is more pleasant to eat.

Step 7: With a knife, thinly slice ¼ of an onion or half a very small onion. Place the small pieces on sliced kale (photo 5).

Step 8: Pour dressing and toss. Ideally about 20 minutes before serving, add the parmesan cheese, Italian dressing and a pinch of salt. Toss with tongs or salad forks to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning or dressing as desired (photo 6 & 7).

I usually season with about half the salt, then taste and season again.

Step 9: Toss in breadcrumb crunchies right before serving (photo 8).

Recipe FAQs 

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed healthy salad recipes!