Last Updated on July 9, 2025
Here’s a kale fennel salad that’s perfect to accompany a hearty fall meal. It has loads of flavor from the orange acidity, the crunch of the fennel and sweetness of dried cherries.
After you made the White Pizza Sauce in my last recipe post, you were probably wondering what to do with the rest of the kale and fennel. Well you won’t have to worry about that anymore. Here’s a kale fennel salad that tastes great, uses the produce you bought, and gets a flavor boost from dried cherries, toasted almonds and orange.
Prepping the Salad
I just love the flavor and crunch of raw fennel. I used a mandolin to shave thin slices to mix in with the torn kale pieces.
The orange used was a juicy California navel that gets peeled, then the sections are cut away from the skin dividers which leaves just the flesh of the orange, without the tough skin. I found a good video on YouTube that shows how to do this. The key is to use a super sharp knife which makes cutting near the skin sections really simple. A dull knife is going to be frustrating. I know because I’ve been there, done that. (Time to sharpen up the Wusthof).
When I sectioned the orange, it was over a bowl to catch any drippings, then the leftover orange was squeezed to get all the additional juice.
I toasted the sliced almonds in a small skillet on the stovetop. Start out on high heat then when the almonds start to brown, turn the heat down to low and use a spoon or spatula to continually toss the almonds. Once slightly browned, immediately transfer them to a small bowl to prevent them from getting scorched. This only takes a couple minutes.
Prepare This Before Serving
You can make this salad ahead of when you’ll be eating. Just store it in your refrigerator. The kale doesn’t wilt like lettuces do. I would keep the orange slices separate as well as the toasted almond slices. Add these to individual salads once plated.
Give this flavorful kale fennel salad a try.
Kale Fennel Salad with Orange-Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 cups curly kale, washed and torn into pieces discard the larger stems
- 1/2 large fennel bulb thinly sliced
- 1 navel orange, sectioned from the skin
- 1/3 cup dried cherries
- 1 oz. toasted sliced almonds about 1/4 cup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
- juice of leftover orange
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- For the dressing, mix together the orange juice, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
- Toss the salad ingredients, minus the orange sections, with the dressing in a large bowl. (The orange sections will absorb the brown color of the balsamic vinegar if tossed in the salad. Best to add them to individual servings).
Eileen Herbert
This sounds really good. I’ll have to try it!