Delicious bites of salami and roasted red peppers are embedded into this chopped italian kale salad for a healthy yet hearty dish. Meal prep this for lunches throughout the week, or bring it to a friend’s gathering for a refreshing and fiber packed side dish!

Looking for more chopped salads? Try my Chili Oil Cucumber Pepper Salad, my Fresh Corn and Sungold Tomato Salad, or my Toasted Almond Red Cabbage Salad.

The best parts about this recipe

• It’s a super versatile side dish or meal prep lunch
• Easy to eat and really PACKED with fiber 
• Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days even after everything is chopped

Table of Contents

• Ingredient Notes
• How to make Italian Chopped Kale Salad Step by Step
• Recipe and Cooking Tips
• Storage and Reheating
• Additions and Substitutions
• FAQ
• Video Tutorial
• The Recipe
• Looking for more similar recipes?

Ingredient Notes: 

Lacinato kale – I choose to use this lacinato (also known as Dino kale) over regular curly kale since it’s a bit less rough. You could use curly kale instead, I just recommend running it through the food processor instead of manually chopping it. Make sure to destem the kale first and remove the leaves from the stem before chopping.

The other crunchy veg – Fennel bulb + Persian cucumbers add a crunchy texture and a light refreshing flavor. You will only use the fennel bulb bottom, and you can save the fennel top for a vegetable or fish broth.

The Italian components – salami, cheese, roasted red peppers and peperoncini are what give this salad an italian flare. I would get an uncured salami and a relatively hard cheese (like a parmesan or pecorino).

Parsley – Optional, but I love herbs in my salad and this bring another layer of freshness to the dish.

Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette – The binder that adds flavor and fat to bind all the ingredients together. Be sure to use fresh minced garlic and fresh lemon juice for the best tasting vinaigrette.

How to Make the Chopped Italian Kale Salad – Step by Step Instructions:

Step 1: Wash and dry the kale. Chop either using a food processor by pulsing a few times or chopping by hand. Add this to a large bowl.

Step 2: Thinly mandolin the fennel, then chop this into ⅛” pieces. Add this to the bowl.

Step 3: Chop the cucumbers into ¼” pieces and also add this to the bowl.

Step 4: Finely chop the parsley and pepperoncini.

Step 5: Chop the salami, cheese, and red bell peppers. Aim to cut each of these to be the size of a dime.

Step 6: Finely mince the garlic. Add this to a glass jar or bowl. Make the dressing by adding in the remaining ingredients. Whisk well, taste, and adjust seasoning as desired.

Step 7: Right before serving, add the dressing to the salad. Toss well, season with more salt and pepper as desired, and serve.

Recipe & Cooking tips:

Tip 1 – Use a mandolin to shave the fennel before taking a knife and finely chopping it. This helps get it thinner and easier to cut!

Tip 2 – Keep your salami in the refrigerator and COLD until you need to slice it. Once it starts to get warm, the fat will make it difficult to cut.

Tip 3 – To make the vinaigrette, start by adding the lemon juice to a clear jar. Instead of measuring out the oil, you can just look at the jar and add enough oil so that the lemon juice is 1/3 of the oil.

Storage

Storage: Store the chopped ingredients separate from the dressing in an airtight container for up for 3 days in the refrigerator. Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Additions and Substitutions

Additions:

• Cherry tomatoes – for a juicy pop of color
• Pickled red onions – would be great for flavor and color
• Garbanzo beans – to add more carbs and make this even more hearty

Substitutions:

• Kale – If you’re not a big fan of kale, you can replace this with romaine lettuce.
• Lemon juice – If you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, you could substitute with red wine vinegar to make a red wine vinaigrette. Just use 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar instead of the juice of 1 lemon.
• Pepperoncini – I know this may not be a popular ingredient, but I love to keep these in my fridge for an extra pop of flavor. If you don’t have this, you can substitute chopped kalamata olives.

FAQ

WANT CURATED HEALTHY RECIPE INSPIRATION SENT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY WEEK?

[substack_form]

VIDEO TUTORIAL:

Recipe:

Print

If you liked this Chopped italian kale salad: