Kale Blueberry Salad With Pecan Cheese (Vegan)

This Blueberry Kale Salad With Pecan Cheese is super light and delicious! The earthy tahini dressing combined with the nut cheese and fresh blueberries is to die for. This marinated kale recipe goes great with just about anything. 

This recipe and video was sponsored by Heinen’s, my favorite fresh grocery store in Ohio! If you love fresh flavorful loaded salads like me, check out my favorite Arugula Pear Salad, Cucumber Watermelon Salad and Cucumber Apple Salad on my blog. Lately I have been loving topping off my salads with my Chickpea Crouton recipe.

If you enjoy this creamy dressing, you would also enjoy my Whole30 Caesar Dressing as well.

What Makes This Blueberry Kale Salad?

• The homemade tahini dressing is a client favorite of my meal prepping clients. The fresh lemon juice combined with the soft tahini and garlic is delicious, it is also super easy to make, too!
• The pecan cheese adds a nice spin, I never realized how much nuts can resemble cheese, but they can! I love making different cheeses out of nuts, you can check out more of my recipes with nut based cheeses on my blog. My Dairy Free Lasagna is made with my homemade cashew based nut cheese too.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• Blueberries-Fresh blueberries! Wild blueberries are always preferred. 
• Shredded Kale-You can buy bunches of kale and chop them yourself, or buy a bag of shredded kale. I like shredded because it is already chopped for you!

For the pecan “cheese”:

• Pecans-You can use any kind of nut here, nut pecans are my favorite. 
• Nutritional yeast-This is my go to cheesy alternative for making nuts taste cheesy! I love nutritional yeast. It is a go to and favorite in paleo cooking.

For the dressing:

• Lemon-This in combination with the apple cider vinegar adds a nice kick!
• Apple cider vinegar-To give this dish some acid.
• Tahini-I am obsessed with the early flavors in tahini. Make sure your tahini is not old though. If it is old and dried out it will taste funny (trust me I know from experience.) 
• Coconut aminos-This is my go to soy sauce alternative. It is naturally soy and gluten free!
• Olive oil-You can use any kind of oil here but note that it may change the flavor profile a bit.
• Garlic-For flavor.
• Water-I personally like my tahini a little thicker, but I know others don’t. If you like your tahini thick, skip the water! If you like it thinner like some, add a little bit of water.

How To Make:

For the dressing:

• Place all ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth.

For the nut “cheese”:

• Clean out the food processor and blend until smooth. Like 20 seconds. 

To assemble:

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl. I personally like to allow the kale to marinate a bit so I allow it to sit prior to eating it. Sometimes I will even marinate it overnight!

What Does This Salad Pair Well With?

• I love making this salad with just simple baked chicken breast, or salmon! Even if you do not have fresh chicken or fish on hand, you can use my Frozen Salmon in the Air Fryer Recipe to make yourself a nice serving of protein to add on top without the hassle of needing to defrost anything.

What Kind Of Food Processor Do You Suggest?

• I have had this one HERE since college and LOVE it. 

If you like this recipe, you will love my other kale salads below:

• The Best Kale Salad With Pomegranate & Carrots 
• Japanese Steakhouse Kale Ginger Salad
• Sauteed Kale & Mushrooms 

If you enjoyed this recipe it would mean the world to me if you rated it and left a comment below. It helps others find it on google.xoxo-Allianna