How to make kale pasta salad

1. Cook the pasta and then rinse it with cool water and drain it thoroughly.
2. Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients and add them to a large salad bowl.
3. Add the dressing ingredients to a jar and shake it thoroughly.
4. Toss the pasta salad, and you can either enjoy it right away or let it chill first.

How to prepare the kale

Sometimes recipes will say that kale needs to be massaged (it’s naturally quite tough), but I find it’s easier to simply remove the leaves from the stems and then chop the kale finely. This is how I prepare most of my kale salads. The salad dressing will also help soften the kale up a bit.

A few recipe notes

• I used a whole salami and cut it up myself. Anything around 8 ounces will work fine – you don’t need to be exact.
• Feel free to use whatever color bell pepper you prefer.
• You can make this pasta salad ahead if you wish. It is best freshly made (in my opinion), but the kale won’t go soggy like lettuce does. We were still enjoying the leftovers three days later.

Other kale recipes you may enjoy:

• Berry Quinoa and Kale Salad
• Triple Berry Kale Salad with Creamy Strawberry Poppyseed Dressing
• Easy Vegetable and Kale Lasagna Roll-ups
• Asian Kale Ginger Peanut Salad

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Kale Pasta Salad

Kale Pasta Salad. A lighter pasta salad that you'll be enjoying all summer! It has a tangy parmesan vinaigrette dressing and plenty of fresh veggies.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 cups uncooked penne
• ▢ 8 ounces salami (diced)
• ▢ 1 cup little tomatoes (grape, cherry, etc., halved)
• ▢ 1/2 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
• ▢ 2 cups (packed) kale (stems removed and chopped finely)
• ▢ 1/4 cup red onion (or to taste)
• ▢ Salt & pepper (to taste)

Dressing

• ▢ 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 clove garlic (minced)
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1 teaspoon (packed) brown sugar

Instructions 

• Boil a large, salted pot of water for the pasta. Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions. Once the pasta is done, rinse it under cool water and let it drain thoroughly.
• Meanwhile, prep your other ingredients and add them to a large salad bowl as you go along. The kale should be removed from the stems and chopped very finely. Add the dressing ingredients to a jar.
• Once the pasta is done, add it to the bowl. Shake the dressing thoroughly and toss the salad until coated. Season the pasta salad with salt & pepper as needed. You can eat it right away or chill it for an hour or so prior to eating.

Notes

• Serves 6+ depending on how much people eat.

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 9gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 855mgPotassium: 153mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin C: 0.7mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!