Kale Mango Salad Recipe - Chisel & Fork (2024)

Mango, kale and quinoa tossed in a simple cilantro lime vinaigrette make this kale mango salad light, refreshing and most important - tasty.

You can never go wrong with a salad for lunch - from kale caesar salad to buffalo chicken quinoa salad to a kale crunch salad to a roasted pumpkin salad. But this kale salad loaded with mangoes might be my favorite.

I know eating healthy comes natural to some people, but I'm one that has to work at it. Unfortunately a lot of my favorites foods aren't the best for me - pizza, macaroni and cheese, burgers...

While I'm never going to cut out what I truly love, I try my best to offset those indulgent dinners with healthy and easy meals.

I realize I'm probably not giving this salad enough due as it is actually quite tasty and I could have for lunch every day. Kale is the new "in" healthy food and I've definitely caught the bug as well.

Personally, I like salads with some flavor and texture, which usually means romaine lettuce is not in the cards for me. If you love southwestern flavors, this really is the perfect salad for you. It's really the cilantro lime vinaigrette however that takes this kale mango salad over the top!

What I love about this salad is you can make everything ahead of time and put each individual ingredient in a separate container in the fridge. Then before leaving for work, just toss together everything together and you're good to go.

Unlike something like spinach, kale can sit in the dressing for a while without wilting so you don't need to worry about putting dressing on ahead of time. So go make this kale mango salad recipe.

Ingredient Notes

• Cilantro lime vinaigrette - the brightness of the vinaigrette works well with the other veggies and fruit.
• Kale - I use curly kale for this salad and chop it up finely.
• Veggies - peppers and corn give this salad a very Mexican feel.
• Fruit - fresh mango adds a ton of flavor and the avocado is great for additional fat.
• Quinoa - helps make the salad more filling.
• Black beans - since this is a vegetarian salad, I like black beans for the added protein.
• Tortilla chips - gives the salad some necessary crunch.

Ingredient Swaps

As with any recipe, you can swap out ingredients. Some variations include:

• While I like the homemade cilantro lime vinaigrette, you can buy a dressing at the store.
• I mentioned above that I use curly kale, but Tuscan kale works too.
• I like quinoa for this kale mango salad, but farro or barley work well too.
• Feta cheese is a go-to of mine for salads, but cojita cheese is a good substitute.

Step-by-Step Photos

Make the cilantro lime vinaigrette by placing all of the ingredients in a blender and blending until smooth. Cut the corn off the cob and cook over medium-high heat in a skillet for about 5 minutes, or until slightly charred.

Then chop up your veggies and fruit. Message the kale with some olive oil and add the quinoa, vegetables, fruit and black beans. Add the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Top with some chips, cheese and avocado.

FAQs

Benefits of Kale

Kale has become super popular and there is good reason for it. Some of the health benefits of kale include

• Among most nutrient-dense foods on planet.
• Great source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K.
• Can lower cholesterol.
• Loaded with antioxidants to help battle disease and illness.
• Good source of minerals most people don't eat enough of.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

• Take the time to make the cilantro lime vinaigrette. The taste is worth it.
• Usefresh kaleandchop yourselfso you can easily remove the stems. Don’t buy the pre-packaged chopped kale unless that’s your only option.
• It is mentioned before, butmassage the kale with some olive oilto make it less course and bitter.
• Beconsistentwith thesize you dice the mango.
• If using forleftoversor amake-ahead lunch, keep thekale separate from all the other ingredientsand toss to combine in the morning or right before serving.

Other Salad Recipes

If you’ve tried this kale mango salad recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow meonFacebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.

More Salad Recipes