Crunchy Kale Salad

by Monica Davis on April 10, 2026 0 comments

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This crunchy kale salad with broccoli and red cabbage is covered in a sweet, savory, and tangy nutritional yeast dressing that I can’t get enough of. Get even picky eaters finishing their greens with this mouth-watering salad.

A large white salad bowl filled with crunchy kale salad with nutritional yeast dressing.

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Why make this recipe

While traveling across the country, my family and I stopped at Sweet Art in St. Louis, MO. After a day of car food, we were in the mood for something healthy, so we ordered the kale salad. One bite and we were all freaking out. Kale never tasted so good!

It has taken me 2 years of trying to recreate it, but I finally did it with this nutritional yeast dressing.

Ingredients and substitutions

Kale: Fresh-washed kale stripped of the hard stem and broken into small pieces.
Broccoli Florettes: Chopped into small pieces.
Purple Cabbage: Shredded into bite-sized pieces.
Nutritional Yeast Dressing: You will need nutritional yeast, light olive oil, fresh garlic, apple cider vinegar, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, lemon juice, and agave nectar.
Sesame Seeds: For garnish and a little extra crunch. You can also use sliced almonds or other nuts of your choice.

Helpful tools

A large salad bowl
Salad tongs

How to make crispy kale salad

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

Step 1 – Wash the kale well and rip it into small pieces, removing the hard stem. Then, put the washed kale into a large salad bowl and massage it using your hands until it turns bright green.

Step 2 – Add the chopped broccoli and chopped purple cabbage.

A top view of kale, broccoli and purple cabbage in a white salad bowl. — Add the massaged kale, broccoli and purple cabbage to a large bowl.

Pouring nutritional yeast dressing over a kale salad. — Add the massaged kale, broccoli and purple cabbage to a large bowl.

Make the nutritional yeast salad dressing

Step 3 – Add all of the ingredients to a blender or immersion blender. (Nutritional yeast, peeled whole garlic cloves, oil, apple cider vinegar, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, lemon juice, and agave nectar) Blend for about 30 seconds until creamy.

Step 4 – Pour 1/2 of the dressing over the salad and mix well. Then drizzle your desired amount of dressing over the salad, using tongs to mix it into the kale until everything is well coated.

Nutritional yeast dressing poured over kale salad. — Pour a generous amount of dressing over the salad.

Crunchy kale salad being mixed with the dressing with tongs. — Pour a generous amount of dressing over the salad.

Step 5 – Sprinkle with some sesame seeds or sliced almonds for extra crunch.

How to add protein to this salad

This salad is delicious with chickpeas, edamame, fried tofu, or vegan chicken added for extra protein.

I also love this salad, topped with lots of crunchy roasted lentils for added protein and fiber.

Pro Tips

Remove all large stems, then massage the kale well with your hands before adding the remaining ingredients and dressing.
Coat the salad with the dressing, massaging it into the kale with either your hands or salad tongs.
For a little sweetness, you can also add craisins or pomegranate seeds.
For extra crunch, add sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, or other nuts of choice.

Storage

Refrigerate: The great thing about this salad is that you can make it ahead of time, and it stays crispy and delicious even after a day or two in the fridge. It’s perfect for making a couple of hours ahead of time for a party, or for meal prepping your lunches for the week. This crispy kale salad will keep well in the fridge for about 3 days in an airtight container.