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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.
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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
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 371, Fat: 18g, Carbohydrates: 56g
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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 (<–recipe link)
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?
Made this tonight for my hubby and I! This salad was DELICIOUS. 😉
This sounds so delicious. With recipe ingredients in hand, I went to Trader Joes last night and they said that the Papaya Mango salsa has been discontinued. We are on the east coast, so I don’t know if it is nationwide.
I make this salad but with shredded red beets and shredded carrots instead of the salsa. Yum! If you let the kale sit for a bit with the dressing on, it helps to soften the kale. Thanks so much for the dressing recipe – When I order the salad at Veggie Grill it comes with dressing on and with a small container of dressing on the side. I always take the container home to make my own version of the salad later, but now I can do my own (healthier) dressing!
How long will this dressing last before going bad?
Since it contains fresh fruit, I’d only keep it for about 3 days.
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 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.
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! 🙂
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.
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.
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!