If you’ve ever dined at the Veggie Grill, you may have already tasted their “All Hail Kale” salad. It’s ridiculously delicious.
In fact, it’s the kind of salad you’d serve to people who claim they don’t like salad.
They’d eat their words. And then, more salad.
Since we don’t dine out very often, I’ve been determined to create a “copycat” recipe to mimic the flavors found in this dish. Luckily, my job was pretty easy, since the original recipe is already posted online. However, now that I know what’s in their Papaya Ginger salad dressing, I’m not so thrilled. (Over 3 cups of canola oil!)
For the following healthier version, I drastically reduced the oil and upgraded the ingredients. The resulting dressing is downright addictive, and certainly rivals the original!
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Papaya Ginger Dressing
Makes 1.5 cups
Adapted from this recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup papaya chunks
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 ounce fresh ginger, peeled
2 Tablespoons coconut vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup water, or more to thin
Directions:
In a high-speed blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth and silky.
- ½ cup papaya chunks
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ ounce fresh ginger, peeled
- 2 Tablespoons coconut vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup water, or more to thin
- In a high-speed blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until completely smooth and silky.
- Massage into kale leaves, and serve!
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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To prepare the salad, you’ll need:
1 bunch curly green kale
Papaya Mango Salsa, from Trader Joe’s (or any salsa of choice)
Maple Glazed Walnuts
Papaya Ginger Dressing (recipe above)
Shredded cabbage (optional)
Remove the kale leaves from the stems, and wash and dry thoroughly. In a medium bowl, toss the shredded cabbage in a bit of the Papaya Ginger dressing, and coat well. Set aside.
The Veggie Grill tops their salad with a homemade Corn Salsa, but when I saw that Trader Joe’s carried a Papaya-based salsa, I knew it would be perfect over this salad. Plus, it saves me a step in the preparation process. To prepare the store-bought salsa, all I do is rinse it well– to remove as many additives as possible.
This salsa adds a great spicy “kick” to the sweet salad dressing.
Top the kale leaves with a bit of Ginger Papaya dressing, then use your hands to massage the dressing well into the leaves. The kale will soften and wilt as you go!
Transfer the massaged kale to a serving plate, top with marinated cabbage, salsa and Maple Glazed Walnuts, then serve!
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I hope you enjoy this salad as much I we do!
While this dish is technically mis-combined, you can easily remedy that by removing the walnuts and adding some ripe avocado slices, instead. (Remember, avocado is a fruit and fruits can combine with leafy greens!)
Reader Feedback: Have you ever tried to re-create your favorite restaurant meals at home?
Would apple cider vinegar work? I don’t have any coconut vinegar? I’ve never had the original dressing, so I’m guessing I wouldn’t think it tastes any less “authentic”
Yes, apple cider vinegar would definitely work!
This recipe sounds quite refreshing…I have been enjoying roasted kale lately so this is a nice way to change it up. 3 cups of canola oil in the original recipe…that’s why I love modifying recipes to make them healthier!
i am always recreating the creamy, tangy tahini vegan dressings i get a veg restaurants. that stuff is like crack and sooooo good massaged over kale! in fact, i think i’m gonna make it tonight!
Hi. I’m trying to learn more about food combining. What exactly about this salad makes it mis-combined? Fresh fruit with nuts? Thanks! Looking forward to trying this salad.
Yes, fresh fruit doesn’t properly combine with nuts, with the exception of bananas. You can see my food combining chart if you want to learn more!
Thanks for posting this with the healthy alt and the ida for the TJ’s salsa! This VG salad is SO FREAKING GOOD but the few times I’ve been back to the west coast, I wasn’t as impressed. Time to make is myself I guess!
*make it
Hi Megan,
I just started reading your blog – love it!
Just wondering why you don’t eat out often?
Thanks!
Mostly for financial reasons– eating out is expensive! Plus, we usually prefer the food I make at home.
That looks fantastic! Thanks for the idea of using papaya for a salad dressing!
Looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try. YUM!
This salad sounds so good. I’d never have thought to combine papaya and ginger in a salad dressing, but what a great idea it is!
Thank you for this recipe! Made it last night and it was sooo good! Will be making it at least once a week now! So thank you!
Balmy weather just rolled into the Midwest and so it seems appropriate to have salad at every meal. Perfect timing for finding this delicious recipe. Thank you!
My daughter and I had fun making this salad tonight. The whole family loved it! Thank you so much for introducing us to this yummy use of kale.
I have always thought of kale as a garnish used at restaurants. However, I was very happy with this dish! The dressing was a great alternative to heavy creamy dressings I typically use. I omitted the nuts and salsa. I added blood orange segments, fresh raspberries, and red onion. I even timidly added the kale to my smoothie the next morning and enjoyed it! The salad was even better for lunch the next day after the kale softened up in the dressing.
[...] All Hail Kale Salad from The Detoxinista (sooooooo [...]
I made this last night for dinner & it is amazing! It’s definitely a new favorite. Adding the Papaya Mango Salsa from TJ’s was brilliant. The kick it gives makes the salad, in my opinion. Thanks so much!
how much shredded cabbage does this require?
You can use as much or as little as you like! For a large salad that served 4 people, I used an entire 12 oz. bag.
Where can I find coconut vinegar? I’ve never heard if it. This looks amazing!! Love the flavors!! Would be great in the summer!!
I bought mine at Whole Foods, but it’s also available on Amazon.
How long will this dressing last before going bad?
Since it contains fresh fruit, I’d only keep it for about 3 days.