Kale Avocado Salad from weelicious.comPin

When foods are delicious to eat it’s a no brainer that you want to make them, but when you want to eat them and it’s fun to make them with your kids it’s a bonus. How many recipes can you say you don’t need knives or forks to prepare them? Every week I go back into the Weelicious archives to make a recipe that the kids loved as toddlers and try again now that they’re older. I remember day after day of the kids pulling kale out of the garden, breaking it into pieces, mashing it up with ripe avocado and lemon and then licking half of it off their hands. For this Rewind Wednesday I’m bringing back an old favorite you might not have tried before. Let me know how your family likes it!

Now that our garden is in full swing and producing all kinds of fruits and veggies, Kenya and Chloe are constantly begging me to let them cut things to make for lunch and dinner. I’m not sure how much kale I was offered as a kid (if any), but as soon as my kids see it blooming in the garden, they want to eat it. Even though I’ve been blessed with two good eaters, I’m still continually surprised by what they want to eat now. This process of starting an edible garden has been incredible. Without fail, if Kenya and Chloe helped to grow and pick it, they are the ones convincing me to let them eat it — not the other way around.

Kale Avocado Salad from weelicious.comPin

This Kale Avocado Salad recipe was inspired by my gardening mentor, Lauri, as she makes it all the time for her kids. Coincidently, another mom friend of ours also makes it with her three kids and let’s them smash the avocados in with the kale using their hands (Chloe assumed those honors for me). Both moms told me it was their kids’ favorite recipe, so with that kind of popularity I had to give it a try.

To make my version even easier for little mouths to chew, I cut the kale into thin ribbons (you can leave it in bigger pieces if you prefer). The kale becomes soft and tender when it’s mixed with the lemon and olive oil making it a nutrition-packed side dish that everyone I’ve served it to has loved. Even if you aren’t growing kale in your backyard, you’re going to want to after you taste this!

Kale Avocado Salad from weelicious.comPin
Kale Avocado Salad from weelicious.comPin

Kale Avocado Salad

5 from 1 vote
Servings: 4
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients  

  • 2 Cups Kale, chopped fine
  • Juice of 1 Small Lemon
  • 1/4 Tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Avocados, peeled and pitted
  • 1/4 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts

Instructions 

  • Place the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and using your hands (or a spoon), stir to combine (it’s fun getting your hands in there to mash the avocado into chunks).
  • Serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Sodium: 170mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 4g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. I’d love to know a measurement for the lemon juice, if possible. I juiced a lemon that I didn’t think was very big and the lemon is crazy overpowering. I’ve ended up having to add loads of olive oil to balance it out, then add more kale, and really tinker with this recipe to get the dressing just right. It’s still too sour. (And I love lemon!)

  2. […] Kale Avocado Salad (You can mix this one up ahead of time, it only gets more delicious as the kale softens with the dressing) […]

  3. I’m helping my daughter by looking for healthy recipes to use for my grand daughter. This is a great site. I’m happy I found it!

  4. Wow, my almost 3yo is actually eating this! And I think it tastes, good, too. Used pumpkin seeds because we had them.

  5. Just to double check, as I have no experience with kale – this is a raw kale salad, right? No cooking required?

  6. I love your recommendation for kids cutting utensils. My boys always want to help out in the kitchen & of course cutting is their favorite. I usually give them a butter knife or an Ikea kid knife & they get frustrated because they can only cut soft foods. Thank you.

  7. […] Salad worthy of Mom’s I forgot to ask her how to make it, so I borrowed the recipe from here. Whoo! It was delicious; be sure to add enough lemon/lime juice and salt to taste so they can […]

  8. […] I have surprisingly found raw to be much less of an issue with both of my kids. Whether tossed in a kale salad, blended into a green smoothie, green juice or frozen in these green ice pops, my kids love raw […]

  9. […] I have surprisingly found raw to be much less of an issue with both of my kids. Whether tossed in a kale salad, blended into a green smoothie, green juice or frozen in these green ice pops, my kids love raw […]

  10. I think the weather out there would let you grow anhtniyg your heart desires don’t forget carrots, onions, beans for now. And how about a row of strawberries later. Don’t forget peppers, squash, and the chard in the picture that looks so luscious. The best way is to try everything and keep a record of what does well and what doesn’t. A seed catalog would give you all the varieties you could hope for and the necessary info to choose.Good luck!

  11. I love to toss in about a cup of chick peas into this salad! It gets even healthier with protein 🙂

  12. Hope this came turns out to be good. I honestly do not want to see any more sent offs or us losing Torres please play well!!! The rest of the team please FOCUS!

  13. fun birthday ideas…

    […]Weelicious â„¢ – Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family! » Blog Archive » Kale Avocado Salad[…]…

  14. This salad looks delish! I have a child with a tree nut allergy so cannot eat the pine nuts. What would you recommend as a substitute? Pumpkin seeds?
    Thanks!

  15. Tried this one today. Was pretty good and I felt great after eating it because it was so healthy. 🙂 Will definitely make again.

  16. I wish my son would eat leafy greens! I am going to make it for DH and I anyway. It reminds me of a salad I had at a local restaurant that specializes in Hawaiian Poke Poke. It was kale, avocados, raw sushi grade tuna, sesame seeds and a simple dressing. Yum!

  17. This looks wonderful! Have been incorporating steamed kale into lots of recipes lately so this will be another very healthy (delish) way to get my family to eat it. Thank you!

  18. Do you know at what age babies can eat kale? I get a lot of organic kale from the CSA we belong to, and I would love to puree it into my baby’s food because it is so good for you. She is only 7 months old. I will save this recipe for when she is a little older.

  19. What a pretty little side salad! Can’t wait to try it. Not sure if my picky guy will eat it, but I will always try and try again 🙂

  20. I’m having the same knife problem. a friend of mine uses a lettuce knife and that seems to work for her kids. but your suggestions would be appreciated. also wanted to say that I am so happy to have found your website. I recommend it to all of my friends whether they have kids,or not. every single recipe I’ve tried has come out delicious. I feel like we r in sync bc whenever I’m thinking if a particular recipe, it shows up in my inbox. or,yesterday I bought kale and avacodo and this am, is a recipe for it! amazing .. I know u have an iPhone app but can u make one for android and iPad? keep up the good work. thx!

  21. My husband recently bought a set of these 3-piece-set nylon knives from Curious Chef. They work pretty well. My 4-yr-old is using the smallest one now and with 3 sizes in the set, the knives practically grow with the kids 🙂

  22. My 2 year old, like your kids, lately wants to help me cut things up to eat and cook too. Do you have a recommendation for a kid-safe knife that they can use? I currently let her use a rounded butter knife to cut things but am wondering if it being so dull might actually be more dangerous? What do you think? What do you let your kids use? Thanks in advance!:)

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