AMAZING Kale Salad topped with Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles

We eat a ton of kale salad but this one is the absolute best! I highly recommend this one, you WILL NOT be disappointed. I’ve added the Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles to make it more of a meal-type salad and it’s awesome! You can make this without the tempeh too, it’s so good either way! Plus, this salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days so it makes awesome leftovers!!

AMAZING Kale Salad topped with Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles

The original recipe is from food blog Melomeals: VEGAN FOR $3.33 A DAY, one of my favorites!

Here is her recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups kale, destemmed and cut in a chiffonade – I use Black Kale/Lacinato or also called Elephant Kale
1/2 – 1 teaspoon best quality sea salt (smoked salt would be fabulous here!) – I use Alderwood Smoked Salt from World Spice Merchants but you can use regular salt if that’s all you have (Smoked salt is best though!!)
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar – I add a little extra
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon orange zest
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped red cabbage
½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tablespoons minced red onion
½ cup chopped green olives – make sure you mince them well
1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Pinch nutmeg
½ cup raisins
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Salt/pepper to taste if needed

Directions:

– In a large mixing bowl, add the kale, salt, orange juice, vinegar and garlic powder. Massage well with
your hands for several minutes.

– Add the rest of the ingredients and massage well

Let salad sit for 10 minutes; taste and adjust seasonings and enjoy!

For the Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles – you can use these in a lot of other dishes too, they are great in breakfast burritos, other salads and just by themselves! You can also keep them in cubes instead of mashing them.

* 2-4 blocks Organic Tempeh – from Trader Joe’s

* 2-4 tsp Liquid Smoke (depending on how smoky you like it!)

* 2-4 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (depending on how sweet you like it!)

– I use 4 blocks of tempeh (from Trader Joe’s) so I have enough for leftovers (I always double this salad recipe for leftovers) – you can use 2 for a single batch of this salad

** Note: I used to cook these in oil but I’ve since removed oil from our diet. You can bake these crumbles on parchment paper at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so.