Wilted Kale Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

This wilted kale salad is packed with goodness!

In one bowl you’ll find kale, baby Bella mushrooms, toasted nuts, feta cheese, and a fresh citrus vinaigrette!

This wilted kale salad recipe is one to treasure for many reasons. 1) It’s healthy 2) It’s easy to make and 3) It’s perfect for any occasion. From simple family dinners to dinner parties with guests and holiday feasts, there is always room on the table for these warm salad greens. You can place them right next to your green beans and Brussels sprouts.

With kale being a superfood and packed with great nutrition, you can feel great about feeding this dish to the kids. Packed with good-for-you greens, I also added meaty baby Bella mushrooms and earthy toasted walnuts. The crumbled feta cheese adds a hint of saltiness while the fresh, slightly sweet citrus vinaigrette livens up the entire salad. The vinaigrette is just as important as the kale in this salad. I used fresh lemons and orange juice that I sweetened with SPLENDA® Sweetener. I used this particular sweetener because it added just the right amount of sweet taste without added calories.

What is Wilted Kale Salad?

In this case, the term “wilted” means cooked. So what we have here is a cooked green salad. While normally salads are served crisp and cold, this one is much more comforting and warm, not only that but the cooking process for the kale makes it taste less bitter and adds a lot more depth of flavor to the dish. Serve up your wilted kale salad at dinner as a side dish or serve it up for a nice healthy lunch option.

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Shallot
• Minced Garlic
• Red Onion
• Kale Greens
• Orange Zest
• Walnuts
• Chicken Broth
• Baby Bella Mushrooms
• Large Orange
• Lemon Juice
• Splenda Sweetener
• Salt
• Feta Cheese

For the exact measurements needed, please see the recipe card below.

How to Make Wilted Kale Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

1. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add shallots and garlic, cook for two minutes. Stir in onion.
3. Cook an additional minute or until onions just begin to soften.
4. Add kale (it will reduce quite a bit) orange zest and chicken broth.
5. Cover and reduce heat to low; cook kale for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms. Keep kale covered but remove from heat.
6. Meanwhile, toast walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
7. When the kale has finished cooking and mushrooms are tender, toss in walnuts, stir.
8. Place kale on your serving plate. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.
9. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, lemons juice, sweetener, and salt.
10. Drizzle over kale, toss and serve.

Recipe Tips

• Do not make this salad in advance. While you can prepare the dressing and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days in advance, do not make the actual green salad portion until just about ready to serve. this will help you to get the best textures and flavors out of the salad when serving.
• Sweetener. You can replace the requested Splenda with granulated sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, or even Stevia depending on what you have on hand or will enjoy.
• If desired you can omit the nuts or mushrooms or replace the feta cheese with a different variety. Adjusting this salad to your own tastebuds is simple and easy.

Check out these other fabulous kale recipes!

• Blueberry and Kale Quinoa Salad
• Herb & Lemon Aioli with Spinach and Kale Turkey Burgers
• Lemony Kale Salad
• Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup
• Kale and Sausage Pizza
• Ramen Broccoli and Kale Salad

Continue to Content

Yield: 6

Wilted Kale Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

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Kale salad with walnuts, mushrooms, feta and a citrus vinagrette! Super foods at their best!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 13 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 half a red onion, sliced
• 1 16 oz bag Kale greens
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced

Citrus Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 half a large orange, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 lemon juiced ( about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon SPLENDA® Sweetener
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, cook for two minutes. Stir in onion. Cook an additional minute or until onions just begin to soften. Add kale (it will reduce quite a bit) orange zest and chicken broth. Cover and reduce heat to low; cook kale for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms. Keep kale covered but remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, toast walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. When kale has finished cooking and mushrooms are tender, toss in walnuts, stir. Place kale on your serving plate. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, lemons juice, sweetener and salt. Drizzle over kale, toss and serve.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 364Total Fat 31gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 24gCholesterol 12mgSodium 389mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 5gSugar 9gProtein 8g

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