Oats Free Cilantro-Lime Kale and Avocado Salad
Bright, zesty, and packed with texture, this kale and avocado salad is the kind of bowl that makes you feel genuinely good about what you're eating. The kale gets a proper massage with sea salt before anything else touches it, which transforms the leaves from tough and bitter into something silky and almost sweet. A cilantro-lime dressing built with fresh lime juice, garlic, honey, and a whisper of cumin ties everything together with a punchy, herbaceous kick. Creamy diced avocado, crisp cucumber, juicy cherry tomatoes, and thin slivers of red onion round out the salad with color and crunch. Toasted pepitas scattered over the top add a nutty, satisfying finish that makes every bite feel complete. Every single ingredient here is naturally free of grains and cereals, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress involved ā just whole, clean produce doing exactly what it's supposed to do. It's an effortless weekday lunch or a showstopping side that comes together with nothing more than a bowl, a skillet, and a good whisk.
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Learn more āIngredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 1 large bunch curly or lacinato kale (about 8 oz), stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- Ā¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced
- 1 english cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
- Ā½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- Ā¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- ā cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- Ā½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp honey
- Ā¼ tsp ground cumin
- Ā¼ tsp fine sea salt
- Ā¼ tsp black pepper
- Ā¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the torn kale leaves in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Using clean hands, massage the kale firmly for 2ā3 minutes until the leaves darken, soften noticeably, and reduce in volume by about half.
- 2
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, cumin, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, if using, until the dressing is well combined and slightly emulsified.
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