Far more affordable than ordering from a salad chain, this is a hearty kale salad you can make for dinner tonight, then enjoy the leftovers all week. With plenty of protein from firm tofu and a Greek-yogurt-spiked Green Goddess dressing, plus tons of fiber from kale, sweet potatoes, and apple, it’s deeply nutritious but not the least bit boring.
It has a handful of components, but the beauty of this dinner salad is that the more time-consuming elements can be prepared in advance. Roast your sweet potato and tofu, scrunch the mountain of sliced kale, and blitz up the tangy-herby dressing when you have the time, then store everything separately in airtight containers for up to 5 days. When hunger strikes, it’ll take barely 5 minutes to compose the salad.
Check out more great salads for lunch and beyond: Happy Fridge Salad; Just-Keeps-Getting-Better Lentil Salad; Maple-and-Bacon Fall Chopped Salad; and Chopped Salad With Shallot Vinaigrette, Feta, and Dill.
Recipe information
Total Time
45 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. Toss 1 lb. sweet potatoes (about 2 large), scrubbed, cut into 1" pieces, 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt on a large rimmed baking sheet to coat; push to one side. Whisk 2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce, 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tsp. garlic powder, and ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt in a large bowl. Add one 14-oz. package firm tofu, drained, patted dry, cut into 1" pieces, and toss to coat. Turn out onto empty side of baking sheet. Roast, tossing halfway through, until tofu is deep golden brown and starting to crisp and sweet potatoes are very tender, 35–40 minutes. Let cool.
Step 2
Meanwhile, blend 1 cup (firmly packed) tender herbs (such as parsley, dill, cilantro, and/or basil), ¾ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, ⅓ cup mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest, 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp. garlic powder in a blender until smooth. Taste dressing and season with more salt if needed.
Step 3
Place 1 lb. Tuscan kale (about 2 bunches), ribs and stems removed, leaves thinly sliced, and a couple big pinches of salt in a clean large bowl; massage kale with your hands until softened a little and deepened in color, about 1 minute. Add ½ cup salted roasted sunflower seeds or chopped salted roasted almonds, half of dressing, and remaining 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and toss with your hands to coat. Transfer to a large shallow bowl.
Step 4
Toss 1 crisp red apple (such as Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Gala), scrubbed, cored, cut into ½" pieces, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. Arrange apple, sweet potatoes, and tofu over kale in separate mounds. Serve with remaining dressing alongside.
Do Ahead: Sweet potatoes and tofu can be roasted, kale can be sliced, and dressing can be made 5 days ahead. Place in separate airtight containers; chill.
