BHA & BHT Free Turmeric-Ginger Kale and Avocado Salad
This vibrant salad is a full-on celebration of fresh produce, built around massaged kale, creamy avocado, crunchy purple cabbage, shredded carrots, and toasty pumpkin seeds. The real star is the golden dressing — a bright blend of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, ground turmeric, grated ginger, honey, and garlic that comes together in minutes and coats every leaf beautifully. Avoiding BHA and BHT means steering clear of the preservatives that sneak into packaged dressings, flavored oils, and processed snack foods, and this recipe sidesteps all of that by relying entirely on whole, unprocessed ingredients you can verify yourself. Massaging the kale with a little sea salt is the move that transforms it from tough and bitter to silky and deeply flavorful — don't skip it. The five-minute rest after dressing lets everything meld together so the flavors are bold and cohesive rather than sharp and separate. Finished with sliced avocado fanned across the top and a handful of fresh cilantro or parsley, it looks as good as it tastes. This is the kind of salad that actually fills you up and makes you feel great about every single ingredient in the bowl.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the salad
- 1 bunch curly or lacinato kale (about 8 oz), stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 ripe avocados, pitted and sliced
- 1 ½ cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated or pressed
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (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 1–2 minutes, squeezing and working the leaves until they darken, soften noticeably, and reduce in volume by about one-third.
- 2
In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, turmeric, grated ginger, honey, garlic, black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt until the dressing is smooth and uniformly golden-yellow.
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