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This fresh, festive kale salad is bursting with color, flavor, and textures!! Creamy avocado, crunchy pistachios, and jewel-like pomegranate seeds pair perfectly with a zesty tahini dressing. It’s a show-stopper for holiday meals, special occasions, or even a bright and healthy lunch!! Add this kale salad to your holiday menu and complement it with our Holiday Salad for a festive, nutrient-packed feast!
Why You’ll Love This Kale Salad
- Bright and festive: Perfect for December gatherings or any holiday table with its green, red, and creamy accents.
- Flavor-packed: Sweet, creamy, crunchy, and zesty all in one satisfying bite!!
- Healthy and nourishing: Loaded with antioxidants, healthy fats, and essential nutrients.
- Simple and versatile: Quick to make, easy to prep ahead, and always a crowd-pleaser.
How to Make Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad with Zesty Tahini Dressing
- Whisk together tahini, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari, avocado oil or olive oil, garlic, and cumin for a bright, zesty dressing. Add water to thin if needed. Extra dressing keeps well for another salad!
- Remove tough stems from kale. If leaves are firm, massage gently with lemon juice and sea salt to soften while keeping them fresh and vibrant.
- Toss kale with creamy avocado, jewel-like pomegranate seeds, and crunchy pistachios for a festive, colorful salad.
- Drizzle the zesty tahini dressing over the salad and toss to coat every leaf evenly.
- Serve immediately for a fresh, nutrient-packed salad that looks stunning on any holiday table!!
Tips for the Best Festive Kale Salad
- Use fresh, firm kale for a crisp and vibrant salad.
- Make the tahini dressing ahead to save time during busy holidays.
- Slightly toast pistachios for extra crunch and flavor.
- Add other festive toppings like dried cranberries or orange segments for extra color and sweetness.
- Pair with Creamy Chicken Enchilada Skillet for a complete holiday meal.
This Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad is proof that healthy can be fun, colorful, and absolutely delicious!! Serve it at your next holiday party or festive dinner and watch it disappear. Everyone will be asking for seconds!!
Kale, Pomegranate, and Avocado Salad with Zesty Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 5 cups loose kale leaves, rinsed & chopped
- Seeds of 1 pomegranate, remove skin and membrane to strip seeds
- 1 large avocado, peeled, de-seeded, & diced
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
- Salt + pepper to taste
For the Dressing:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos or GF tamari soy sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Prepare the kale. If the kale is extra tough, it may need to be massaged. Remove the stems first and chop. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and lemon juice. Gently rub the leaves with your fingertips. Do not over massage! Or this leads to mushy kale. It should only take a few minutes for the whole bowl.
- Make the dressing: mix together all of the dressing ingredients (lemon juice through water) in a high powered blender or food processor. You will have more than enough dressing for the salad, and will only need about 1/2 cup of the dressing. Reserve the rest in a jar and save for later use (your welcome).
- In a large bowl, mix together kale, pomegranate seeds, and avocado.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the dressing over the salad, and toss to coat. You can add more if needed.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pistachios on top.
Tried this recipe?Mention @wholesomelicious or tag #wholesomelicious!
Love the dressing. Agreed that adding honey (or more fruit) will be helpful next time I’m serving it. It’s amazing to have extra dressing left over. Thanks for buidling that in! 🙂
This salad is delicious! I’ve never liked raw kale before. But my SIL made it for Thanksgiving dinner and I’m craving it.
Love that, Tarra! Thanks for stopping by and reviewing the recipe!
I’d like to make this salad for company with a vegan soup. Can you recommend one, or a type of one? Middle Eastern?
This is a soup that everyone loves and my most popular!! https://www.wholesomelicious.com/creamy-carrot-and-ginger-soup-dairy-free/
I LOVE this dressing and salad- I’ve been making it every week! Last week though I had a bunch of the dressing left over, how long do you think it will last in the fridge?
I keep it often in my fridge for a week, sometimes up to 10 days and it’s still yummy!
I tried this recipe and loved it. However, the dressing was very watery; I expected it to be a little thicker. I’ll just add less water next time.
Also, I find that if I ‘massage’ the kale with the lemon juice and salt for a few minutes before adding the dressing, it removes the bitterness and chewyness.
And the pistachios are roasted, right? Not raw? Thanks!
I buy my pistachios roasted already, so if you have raw, you may want to roast before hand!
Didn’t understand from the instructions if the pistachios are only a garnish, or do some get mixed in the blender as part of the dressing. Instructions say put everything in blender, but then at the end it says to top with pistachios. Please clarify. Thanks!
Hi Arlene! Sorry for the confusion, but the pistachios are just a garnish. The put everything in a blender is just for the dressing ingredients. I’ll change the wording to make it more clear!
Hi! I loved this recipe. WIll surely be trying it as I have all the ingredients with me in my fridge, which is such a Ahaa moment for me! I may add a bit of honey to the dressing just to give it a bit of a sweet kick as kale tends to be little on the bitter side, what do you think?
BTW we share the same philosophy that is to keep it simple! All the best
Hey Sunrita! Honey will taste great! I totally agree about kale being bitter. It’s totally personal preference, but I prefer the dressing without honey. I’ve made it both ways before. But I really think you can’t go wrong!