This kale pomegranate salad combines leafy greens, sweet pomegranate, nuts and seeds for crunch and a creamy tahini dressing. It's so easy to make as a summer or festive Christmas salad and is so bright and colorful!
I love a pop of sweetness in my salads, and pomegranate seeds are so bright, colorful and have a nice touch of tartness too. This recipe joins my cucumber pomegranate salad and apple pomegranate salad in making the most of these little red seeds!
The best bit about this kale and pomegranate salad is how versatile it is. Enjoy as a light leafy green salad at a summer picnic, or serve as a winter salad for holiday celebrations!
Have a peek at my lamb's lettuce salad for some more tasty leafy greens!
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⭐ Why this Recipe is So Good
All the green goodness! Kale can be a little dull on it's own in my opinion, but the pomegranate seeds add such a nice sweetness.
Enjoy year-round. Serve as a Christmas salad with it's seasonal colors and produce, or as a light summer side dish.
Made without mayo. We make this kale pomegranate salad without mayo so it's egg free, and use tahini as a dressing instead.
🥬 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Kale - I suggest using curly kale, baby kale or Lacinato as they work well in salads.
- Pomegranate seeds - also known as pomegranate arils, these add a sweet and tart pop of fruit to the salad.
- Tahini - the light tahini has a better flavor for salad dressings than dark tahini, which can be a bit bitter.
- Nuts and seeds - I like to use pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas) and either sesame seeds or slivered almonds (score 1 on SIGHI), but you can use all pumpkin seeds or other sliced low histamine nuts and seeds to preference.
📖 Swaps and Variations
Swap apple cider vinegar for lemon juice. If citrus works for you then use a squeeze in the dressing (likely not my low histamine readers).
Add fresh cheese. To make the salad more hearty, you can add some fresh mozzarella or spoonfuls of ricotta. Feta and goat cheese can also be used, but are likely less suitable for low histamine readers.
🔪 How to Make Kale and Pomegranate Salad
We use fresh leafy greens, fruit and pantry staples to make this pomegranate kale salad without mayo. There's no need for any fancy kitchen equipment, and it's so simple to do.
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Prep the kale
Remove any hard stems from the kale, finely dice and then pour on olive oil and salt. Use your hands to massage the kale for a couple of minutes to break down the fibers and soften it (image 1).
Step 2: Toast seeds
Add the seeds (or nuts, if using) to a dry skillet and toast on a low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The pumpkin seeds will slightly brown and may pop (image 2).
Step 3: Make tahini dressing
Add tahini, water, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, salt and optional ground black pepper to a bowl. Whisk until it becomes a creamy dressing. Adjust with more water to thin, or more tahini to thicken, to preference (image 3).
Step 4: Combine ingredients
Combine the massaged kale, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame (or almonds) in a large bowl. Pour over the tahini dressing and toss to coat the leafy greens (image 4).
💭 Recipe Tips and Notes
- Don't skip massaging the kale! If you do it could taste tough and slightly bitter. Just a few minutes of giving the kale some attention makes such a difference and it becomes soft and delicious.
- Adjust the dressing. If you wish to thin the tahini dressing add a touch of extra water. To thicken, add more tahini and stir again.
- Love garlic? Add another clove for some extra heat and spice!
📋 Frequently Asked Questions
I suggest using curly kale, baby kale or Lacinato kale for salads as they have a softer texture once prepared as above.
It's super quick - just a minute or two is all you need to do!
Yes, it's a vegan salad as we don't use mayo or any dairy, and make a tahini dressing instead. It's also gluten free.
Slice the pomegranate in half and hold it cut-side down in your hand with fingers apart above a bowl or plate. Give it a little whack with a wooden spoon and the pomegranate seeds will fall out.
🥒 More Fresh Salads
Find easy to make and salad recipes, including my popular butternut and beetroot salad and my pretty beet and kale salad. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating or comment below!
📖 Recipe
Kale and Pomegranate Salad
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 4 oz kale
- ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon slivered almonds or sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
For the tahini dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove minced or finely diced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 3 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Remove the hard stems from the kale, and dice very finely.
- Add the kale to a large bowl, sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and pour in a teaspoon of olive oil. Massage the kale with your hands for a few minutes so it softens and wilts.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds and almonds (or sesame seeds) in a dry skillet (without oil) on a low heat until they start to slightly brown and pop for 3-4 minutes.
- Make the tahini dressing by combining the tahini, water, apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt and black pepper and whisking well. It will first look gritty, but keep stirring to get a creamy dressing. Add more water to thin the dressing if required.
- Add the pomegranate seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds and almonds to the kale and drizzle over the tahini dressing. Toss to combine and coat the kale in the dressing.
Notes
- Be sure to remove the hard tough stems from the kale, and to massage it. It will be quite tough if you skip this step.
- To thicken the tahini dressing add a little more tahini. To thin, a little more water. Adjust to preference.
- Move the seeds around in the skillet to prevent any burning as they toast.
- To make the salad more hearty, you can add some cheese. Feta or goat cheese is popular in kale salads but isn't likely suitable for low histamine readers. Fresh mozzarella or spoonfuls of ricotta could be used instead.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- kale, which scores 1.
- sesame (tahini), almonds, apple cider vinegar and garlic, which all score 1. Sesame is a top ten allergen, so only use if known to tolerate well.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Sheree Madsen says
This yummy. Easy to make as well. I added cucumber. I think next time I might add toasted pecans. Thank you for this. The night before I made this I made the chicken quinoa pesto. Loved this one a lot.
I was also wondering about your fish recipes. Is the fish meant to be frozen when it is cooked? ( or even freshly caught)
Also, do you do grass-fed beef recipes?
Claire says
Hi Sheree, so happy to hear that you liked the recipes! And yes, it is typically recommended that you use frozen fish on the SIGHI list etc, but check with a dietician for personal dietary advice for your circumstances. And no, I don't have any beef recipes I'm afraid.