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Vegan Kale Salad with Almond Butter Dressing

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An incredibly healthy, easy and delicious Vegan Kale Salad with protein rich white beans, that are high in fiber and plant-based protein. The Oil-free Almond Butter Dressing is lick-the-bowl delicious!

Almond butter dressing pouring over kale salad

VEGAN KALE SALAD

Packed with healthy plant protein, fiber, healthy carbs, this Vegan Kale Salad with white beans is so satisfying. It is made with Oil-free Almond Butter Dressing that is so delicious and filling!

The dressing is slightly sweet, so it balances out the bitterness of kale. Flavorful and satisfying; no boring salad here!

Overhead view of spoon in white bowl of kale salad

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

You only need 7 main ingredients for this healthy kale salad! Full recipe details on the recipe card below.

  • White beans
  • Baby kale: I much prefer the texture and flavor of baby kale for this recipe. It is softer and easier to eat and goes best with the other ingredients.
  • Carrots
  • Roasted almond butter: Roasted is creamier, smoother and much richer in flavor.
  • Lemon juice
  • Pure maple syrup
  • Garlic powder

Oil-free almond butter dressing in a bowl next to salad

HOW TO MAKE VEGAN KALE SALAD

Step 1: Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Step 2: Mix the almond butter dressing ingredients in a cup with a whisk until smooth. Pour over salad and toss to coat.

USING NUT BUTTERS TO MAKE OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSINGS

I love making homemade nut butters. Pecan butter and almond butter and cashew butter and walnut butter are my favorites I make quite often. I love to use them in dressings or in baking (my epic vegan cinnamon rolls use walnut butter!). I always roast the nuts first because they are more flavorful and become sweeter, which works really well in a dressing. Also, roasting them brings out the oils and makes processing them easier. It is also healthier to use nuts versus oil, since they are a whole food and full of nutrients. For more oil-free tips and tricks, check out How to Cook and Bake Without Oil.

Roasted almond butter in food processor

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE ROASTED ALMOND BUTTER

I often make my own almond butter because it’s cheaper and I love the flavor. It is also perfect for making the Oil-free Almond Butter Dressing. Although, you don’t have to if you don’t want to for this dressing! For a more detailed post on how to make the almond butter and ways to use it, check out my almond butter post.

First, preheat an oven to 300°F. Next, add 2 cups of whole raw almonds on a pan lined with parchment paper. Roast for 12-15 minutes until them start to smell really fragrant. Be careful to watch them so they don’t burn.

Process them in a food processor for about 5 minutes, scraping the sides as needed during the process. You will have to do this a few times in the beginning. It will seem like it is just going to stay a flour, but trust me, after a few minutes it will start to come together. Once it starts to turn into butter, let it go until it becomes super duper creamy. Don’t stop too soon or it won’t become silky smooth. Once it is easily dripping off of a spoon, then it is done. The roasted almonds give a wonderful sweetness. Yum.

Garlic kale salad with carrots and white beans in white bowl

MORE VEGAN SALAD RECIPES

  • Vegan Asian Ramen Noodle Salad
  • Roasted Artichoke Salad
  • Barbecue Potato Salad
  • Carrot Salad with Spicy Tahini Dressing
  • Vegan Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Reduction
  • Southwest Lime Corn Salad
Almond butter dressing pouring over kale salad

Vegan Kale Salad with Almond Butter Dressing

Brandi Doming
An incredibly easy and delicious Vegan Kale Salad with protein rich white beans, that are high in fiber and plant-based protein. The Oil-free Almond Butter Dressing is lick-the-bowl delicious!
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Course Salad
Cuisine American, Gluten-free, Vegan
Yields 4 salads

Ingredients

Kale Salad

  • 5 oz package of baby kale (or spinach if preferred)
  • 1 15 oz can organic white northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 heaping cup (160g) baby carrots, shredded or grated

Almond Butter Dressing (makes 1/2 cup)

  • 3 tablespoons (48g) roasted creamy almond butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons (45g) water
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine salt, to desired taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, add all of the prepared salad ingredients and toss well.
  • In a cup, add the dressing ingredients and whisk well with a fork or small whisk until completely smooth. Taste and add any more salt if desired. Drizzle over salad.

Nutrition

Serving: 1saladCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 24.3gProtein: 8.1gFat: 1.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 176mgPotassium: 382mgFiber: 7.2gSugar: 5.9gCalcium: 93mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Tag @thevegan8 on Instagram and use tag #thevegan8!
Keyword vegan kale salad, vegan white bean kale salad, vegan white bean salad

The Vegan 8 is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my full disclosure policy here.

Filed Under: Beans/Legumes, Dips/Sauces, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Salads Tagged With: Almond butter, carrots, Dressing, garlic, Kale, lemon, Low fat, Salad, White beans

Previous Post: « Gluten-free Gingerbread Pancakes
Next Post: How to Make Nut Butter (Recipes) »

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Comments

  1. suzanne

    November 26, 2013 at 2:59 am

    I love kale salad, and I really love your salad dressing. This will definitely be something I will want to eat after such a heavy meal on Thursday. Great recipe as always, everything looks wonderful! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:04 am

      Thank you so much Suzanne! It is filling too. Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  2. Linda

    November 26, 2013 at 3:05 am

    I love this healthy and beautiful salad!! I excited to try out the dressing! Making nut butters are my favorite too tho I’ve never thought to add it to a dressing. Great idea! Great round up of holiday recipes. Those gingerbread pancakes sound wonderful too!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:05 am

      Thank you Linda! The almond butter is soooo good as a dressing. Oh, yes, the pancakes are my favorite recipe. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Cindy Green

    November 26, 2013 at 3:18 pm

    That salad looks divine – garlic and lemon – my two favourite ingredients! Then I scrolled down the page and saw pancakes, and carrots and beautiful cake …….it’s only 8:15 in the morning here and I want to try everything in the post right away!!!!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:05 am

      Hahaha thank you Cindy! Sorry….I was getting hungry myself typing it up.

      Reply
  4. Erika

    November 26, 2013 at 5:15 pm

    Um I think I need this salad in my life because I can’t stop eating the leftover sweets from the potluck!! I brought in a huge portion of cake to the office, but I’ve still been consuming wayyy too much sugar. This looks like perfect detox food! Your hubby is so lucky you cook all this creative, delicious food to fit his diet!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:07 am

      Girl, I don’t blame you! Sweets are more fun, but honestly this dressing is sweet so it’s really tasty! You are so sweet, thank you!!! He is very hard to prepare for though, it’s work, lol.

      Reply
  5. Melanie @ HappyBeingHealthy

    November 26, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    YUM! I love the simplicity of this salad and the dressing sounds oh so heavenly. 😉 Oh, and I definitely crave sweets all the time….I should make this salad every day….and eat it every hour, lol! Those gingersnap pancakes look absolutely wonderful too. I hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:08 am

      Happy Thanksgiving to you too Melanie! Oh, you’d love the pancakes 🙂

      Reply
  6. GiGi Eats Celebrities

    November 26, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    THIS IS A FLIPPING FANTASTIC WAY to get the kale down!!!!! I always have to figure out ways to chow down on it because alone… It’s not so good. It tastes like I ripped off a leaf from a tree and ate it. LOL!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 27, 2013 at 10:25 am

      Haha you’re so funny girl!! I love kale but you can always use spinach. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Elise @ 9toFit.com

    November 27, 2013 at 12:02 am

    I need to try that dressing, I am starving now after looking at that and the only food pics! lol

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 27, 2013 at 9:08 am

      Haha! Thank you 🙂

      Reply
  8. ChgoJohn

    November 27, 2013 at 1:57 am

    Gee, Brandi, this is some salad you’ve tossed and that dressing sounds so very good. I bet it will be very popular in the weeks to come. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 27, 2013 at 9:08 am

      Thank you so much John! Happy Thanksgiving!

      Reply
  9. Whitney @ To Live & Diet in L.A.

    November 27, 2013 at 10:13 pm

    I LOVE sweets and I really need to get that in check. This dressing sounds like a great way to do that, especially considering it has one of my favorite ingredients, almond butter!

    All of your photos are absolutely gorgeous by the way and now I’m drooling 🙂

    *And sorry for the comment with no comment!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 28, 2013 at 12:09 am

      Oh, thank you so much!! That is so sweet 🙂
      Oh, no problem…it’s not you….I think my comment section is a little crazy as it has happened to others, no worries. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Choc Chip Uru

    November 28, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful salads ever! How do you get so creative my friend!? 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 29, 2013 at 8:25 pm

      Aww you are so sweet Uru, thank you!

      Reply
  11. laurasmess

    November 30, 2013 at 4:57 am

    I’ve been wanting to find more good recipes for kale, this one looks delicious Brandi. That dressing… omg, I’d use it on everything I think!! I’m a bit obsessed with almond butter at the moment. So good! x

    Reply
  12. Shannon

    December 30, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    Oh my! That almond butter dressing looks so creamy and delicious. I’m definitely going to try it, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      December 30, 2013 at 9:47 pm

      Thanks Shannon! Please do and let me know what you think!

      Reply
  13. Mel

    January 3, 2014 at 11:43 pm

    This is so great! I add some baked tofu or vegan chicken & sriracha! I’ve eaten it 3 times this week & my co-worker snuck 2 salads, too!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 3, 2014 at 11:56 pm

      Oh wonderful Mel! I’m so glad to hear that….thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Crista

    January 5, 2014 at 4:46 am

    that kale salad looks really really really delicious.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 5, 2014 at 8:23 pm

      Thank you Crista….it IS delicious! 😀

      Reply
  15. rachel frey

    January 15, 2014 at 2:52 am

    I made the garlic lemon kale salad…it was a HUGE hit in my house!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 19, 2014 at 8:50 am

      Thank you so much Rachel for letting me know! I love when my readers leave me feedback !! 🙂

      Reply
  16. lani

    November 8, 2014 at 3:44 am

    if you just wanted to use commercial almond butter (which I believe is not roasted) will the effect be the same? Have you figured out the calorie content of this as using the almond butter dressing could make the calorie content high, no?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 8, 2014 at 5:09 am

      Hi Lani! Yes, you should definitely be able to use the unroasted. It tends to be a little thicker, so you may need a bit more water to thin it out. It thickens as you stir it, so after stirring it a bit, if it’s still too thick, just add a tiny bit more water to desired consistency. I have just added the nutrition for the dressing. It is far less fattening than most traditional dressing recipes that contain processed oils and tend to use 1/4-1/2 cup of oil in one dressing recipe. This one would be on the lower fat end and it’s a whole food, win-win! I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you try it 🙂

      Reply
  17. Lindsay

    November 17, 2015 at 4:03 pm

    I went vegan a little over 2 years ago and I have been searching and searching for a good salad dressing as salads have always been hard for me to eat and I wanted to be healthy! I’ve made countless dressing that never satisfied me or that I could stick with. This one… This is what I’ve been looking for! It’s amazing! I love it! It is going to be my staple dressing now. Thank you so much! I think I’ll be eating a salad everyday now 🙂

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      November 17, 2015 at 8:39 pm

      Yay, I’m so happy to hear this is “the one” dressing that you finally found you love! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Lindsay!

      Reply
  18. Natalie | Feasting on Fruit

    January 19, 2019 at 11:53 pm

    “Do you crave sweets all the time?” Um hi, hello, I’m here, this was obviously created for me😂 Salad that satisfies sweet cravings sounds like exactly what I need, although I bet with that lemon and garlic it hits the savory spot at the same time. I make a lot of tahini based dressings, but rarely use other nut/seed butters for some reason…idk. But I love sliced almonds on top of salad, and it makes for such a creamy dressing too (which I always prefer to an oil-based or vinaigrette style dressing–coat those leaves please!) I completely agree that store-bought nut butter doesn’t even come close to homemade, the flavor is SO much more, well, nutty especially when you toast them first. So if I can get past eating all the warm roasted almonds off the pan…and then get past eating all the fresh almond butter out of the food processor…I know I would love this dressing drizzled on ALL THE GREENS😋 Especially arugula, thats my jam lately!

    Reply
  19. alyr

    January 20, 2019 at 1:39 am

    5 stars
    This was fabulous. I actually found it when I made almond/pecan butter then dumped in some of Dr. Fuhrman’s Pecan vinegar to “clean” the Vitamix planning to make dressing. Then thought hmmmm….now what. So came here (even though I have your book LOL)

    Dont’ know why I never think to add the nut butter and just throw in a couple nuts but they don’t really add much like the butter does.

    So while I typically don’t sub other people’s recipes the first time….I used the vinegar for the lemon, and a medjool date for the maple syrup and it is AWESOME.

    I didn’t use the measurements since I just dumped in a bunch of vinegar at first. Totally forgiving.

    Definitely will replace my boring go-to of water, vinegar and no sodium mustard. (Westbrae on Amazon)

    Cant wait to use it on other vegs like green beans!

    I think you could add a little tomato paste to get a knock off Catalina, too!

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 20, 2019 at 3:19 am

      Yay, thank you Alyr! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you so much for making it and leaving feedback!!

      Reply
  20. Babs

    January 20, 2019 at 5:15 pm

    5 stars
    Found this recipe yesterday and made it this morning. First taste was awesome (as well as following bites!). I didn’t have kale on hand, but had spinach. Same with carrots and just shredded a couple big ones. Wasn’t sure if I could premake to have ready ahead of time or how it may change the texture, but will find out in a few hours. This definitely is a favorite and I’ll be making it regularly! Five stars!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 20, 2019 at 6:59 pm

      So glad it was a hit Babs! Thank you so much for the review!

      Reply
  21. Nonie

    January 22, 2019 at 2:32 am

    5 stars
    I served this tonight. My husband licked his fingers and said, “mmm, delicious”. I want to put in a picture but there is no way to do that. I served it with a stuffed squash. Fabulous dinner.

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 22, 2019 at 4:53 am

      Oh yay, such a great review! So glad your hubby loved it too!

      Reply
  22. Kerry

    January 26, 2019 at 11:03 pm

    My almonds did not get creamy, I was so sad. What did I not do right?

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      January 27, 2019 at 1:46 am

      You have to keep going. Depending on the strength of your food processor, it will go quickly or take longer. I’ve used both a 7 cup and an 11 cup and it works, it just will take a lot longer in an older or smaller food processor. You did roast the almonds first?

      Reply
      • Name*

        January 28, 2019 at 5:42 am

        This is the first time I have EVER written a note, you are an absolute doll for answering. I DID roast them and a LOT of time later they were not being creamy. But I put all of it together anyway and beat it to death with a whisk and it was heaven and my new absolute favorite, it’s the bomb. Just imagine if I can get actually get it like it’s supposed to be, thank you for your caring response and crazy good food

        Reply
  23. Penny

    December 17, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    5 stars
    I find it challenging to enjoy kale sometimes, but this dressing made it easy! I love that it’s almond butter based too because I often don’t get enough vitamin E. <3

    Reply
  24. Janice

    February 22, 2021 at 6:56 pm

    5 stars
    Made the Kale Salad for breakfast this morning and it is delicious! And, homemade almond butter! You are spot on that it is sooo much better than store bought. I scraped the bowl clean getting every last drop and put a bit on your pumpkin muffins (that were made yesterday). What a way to start my day!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      February 23, 2021 at 1:58 am

      Yay, that is lovely to hear Janice, thank you!

      Reply
  25. Harriet

    March 17, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    5 stars
    Easy, delicious,& filling!! Making this again tonight for St. Patrick’s day since it’s sort of got the colors of the Irish flag. I like to add hemp seeds on top too. Thank you!

    Reply
    • brandi.doming@yahoo.com

      March 17, 2021 at 9:03 pm

      Yay, that is lovely to hear Harriet!

      Reply
  26. Vickie Mosely

    May 30, 2021 at 8:41 pm

    5 stars
    This is a constant stable in our home. I double it and keep it on hand to dip out of during the day. So good!!

    Reply

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I'm Brandi, creator of this vegan blog and cookbook author of The Vegan 8 Cookbook. The majority of my recipes focus on 8 ingredients or less, not counting salt, pepper or water. I love to create health-focused recipes, using whole foods to improve fitness and muscle-building, with the occasional comfort meal thrown in there! I'm an expert on oil-free cooking and baking! read more →

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The Vegan 8 is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my full disclosure policy here.

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