Name: Loaded Mexican Kale Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 8 cups kale ((shredded, washed & dried)); 11.5 oz can of corn ((drained & rinsed)); 15 oz can of black beans ((drained & rinsed)); 1/3 cup red onion ((diced)); 1/2 cup cilantro ((chopped; loosely packed)); 1 cup cherry tomatoes ((halved)); 1 bell pepper ((diced)); 1 large avocado ((cubed)); 1 cup tortilla strips; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon honey; 1/2 lime ((zested)); 1/2 teaspoon dijon; salt and pepper

By: Denise Bustard31 Comments
Posted: 9/3/19 Updated: 11/18/20

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Loaded Mexican kale salad with avocado, black beans, corn and more tossed in a delicious honey lime dressing! Vegan-friendly, great for meal prep and ready in 20 minutes.

We all love a good taco salad recipe, but sometimes it's nice to healthify things up a little bit. This Mexican kale salad is my go-to when I'm craving something fresh, tasty, and loaded with vegetables!

Kale is one of my favorite greens: it is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, keeps well for meal prep, and goes well with so many flavors (hello Kale Caesar Salad, Kale Pasta Salad!).

Today we are loading our kale salad up with all the good stuff and tossing it all up in a delicious honey lime vinaigrette.

And with a few tricks, this salad can keep for meal prep. Yay!

This Mexican kale salad

is ready in 20 minutes
is vegan-friendly
can work for meal prep with a few tricks

Recipe Video

Watch the video below to see exactly how this salad is made! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!

Types of kale

Kale comes in a whole bunch of different varieties including curly (pictured), Tuscan (aka: Lacinato or dinosaur kale) or baby kale. You can use any type for this salad.

If you use baby kale, I would skip the massaging step
If you use curly or Tuscan kale, make sure you cut the stem out

The trick to avoiding bitter kale

If you are the kind of person who avoids kale because of it's bitter flavor and tough texture, you've got to try massaging it! While this might sound kind of strange, giving your kale a 2-3 minute massage works amazingly well to mellow the flavors and give it a softer texture.

Let's talk dressing

For this recipe, we are making a tangy and fresh honey lime vinaigrette. It lightly coats all the ingredients and brings a fresh, tangy flavor!

If you are looking for something creamier, try my creamy cilantro lime dressing.

Additional toppings

In addition to the delicious toppings listed, you can totally get creative here and add in some other things you might have in the fridge to your chopped kale salad:

jalapenos
pickled onions
jicima
roasted sweet potato
other greens (spinach, romaine)
and so many more things...

Lunch on the go

With a few adjustments, this Mexican kale salad can work for meal prep. Some of the ingredients in this recipe are not meal prep friendly: crispy tortilla strips, avocado, and cilantro, so we need to leave these off the salad until just before serving.

To store this kale salad for meal prep, I store in mason jars and layer in the following order:

vinaigrette on the bottom
beans, corn
kale
bell peppers, onions
tomatoes on the top

To serve, shake it out in a bowl, top with tortilla chips or strips, and add avocado if desired. I would leave the cilantro out as it become finicky trying to chop fresh cilantro at lunchtime 😆

More salad recipes

Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.