10 Minute Kale Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Eat all the vibrant colors and flavors of the rainbow with this kale tomato salad! The green salad is quite simple, combining massaged kale, juicy cherry tomatoes, and crisp bell peppers with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese. Lightly tossed in a tangy lemon olive oil vinaigrette, this side salad is fresh, satisfying and oh so good! Ready in 10 minutes — from start to finish!

Kale Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

This is one of my absolute favorite kale salad recipes. It’s simple, fresh, and full of flavor—the combo of tender kale, juicy cherry tomatoes, and salty parmesan cheese tossed in a zesty lemon-olive oil dressing is just so satisfying. It reminds me a bit of my 5-Minute Arugula Salad with Chickpeas—another easy, flavorful salad we make on repeat around here.

If you’re already a kale fan, you’ll love this one. And if you’re not totally convinced about raw kale yet, this salad might win you over. The lemony dressing softens the leaves and mellows out the bitterness, turning even kale skeptics into believers.

Have extra kale on hand? You can toss it in a pan for sautéed kale with olive oil or make a batch of bite-size crispy kale chips—both are quick and delicious ways to use it up.

Kale Parmesan Salad Ingredients

• Kale, you will need 2 bunches, wash it and chop into bite size pieces.
• Olive oil, to massage the kale of course!
• Cherry tomatoes, cut them in half. don’t have cherry tomatoes? You can also use grape tomatoes, chop up some roma/plum tomatoes.
• Bell peppers, they add crunch to the salad! Since this is a rainbow salad I recommend a variety of colors – yellow, orange and red! If you don’t have bell peppers you can also use sweet lunchbox peppers.
• Parmesan Cheese, to make it a little creamy.
• Lemon Juice, to balance out the kale flavor.
• Salt, Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes for the seasonings.

Extra: Love nuts? Sometimes I like to add 1/2 cup almonds into the salad if I want to bulk it up and add even more crunch!

Recipe Tip: Massage the Kale

To make sure your kale is tender and easy to chew, you have to massage the kale leaves first (oh la la!). I know it sounds silly, but it’s really important to always make sure to do this!

Kale is naturally bitter and dry. To help with the tough exterior, you want to massage the olive oil onto the kale with your hands. After a few minutes, the leaves will wilt and taste so much better!

How To Make Kale Salad

You’ll need 2 bunches of kale for this salad (about 10 ounces worth). Once the kale is washed and chopped, place it in a large bowl.

Pour olive oil over the kale and use your hands to massage it into the leaves until they’re slightly wilted.

Add cherry tomatoes and chopped bell peppers – I like to use a variety of colors to make this a rainbow salad.

Now add Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the bowl.

Toss everything together, then serve and enjoy!

Storing Leftover Kale Salad

This kale salad stores well if you have leftovers! I often will make it for lunch to eat for a couple consecutive days!

Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, good for about 4 days. When ready to serve it, just give it a mix. If it seems dry you can drizzle a little extra olive oil on top.

Pin for later: