This Whole30 and Paleo salad will fill you up! Try this Asian salad with my homemade sesame seed dressing and you’ll never go back to boring ranch again.

I originally published this article in August 2014 and in September 2020 I updated the photos and provided some more salad prep tips. I hope these changes make the recipe easier to understand and a lot more fun to follow!

A Salad That Makes Kale Taste Good

There are so many health benefits of this salad! Kale is a superfood. It’s full of antioxidants, fiber, and nutrition. Unfortunately, it also has a very bitter taste – which is why so many people don’t like eating it.

To make the kale easier to eat, remove the leaves from the stems and cut the leaves in 1/8-inch strips. This will turn the salad into an easy-to-eat slaw.

Believe me, the salad dressing is what makes everything about this salad taste absolutely amazing!

Paleo and Whole30 Salad

Bursting with irresistible flavor, this incredible Asian-inspired shredded salad is one of my favorite creations. It fits perfectly in the Paleo and Whole30 diets because it uses all whole and fresh ingredients.

I crafted this coleslaw-of-sorts out of a desire to increase my intake of power-packed veggies like kale, cabbage, carrots, sprouts, and broccoli while tantalizing my senses and avoiding processed additives.

Whole30 Note

I sweetened the dressing with honey which is not Whole30 compliant. Replace the honey with unsweetened, no added-sugar, apple juice. Apple juice is a compliant way to sweeten sauces, soups, and entrees on Whole30.

I don’t know about you, but I rely on scrumptious, seductive ways to persuade myself into ingesting the large volumes of bulk fiber and raw veggies recommended for optimum health, wellbeing, and nutrition.

Asian Slaw Ingredients

There are two parts to this salad – the slaw and the dressing. I used whole ingredients for both of them.

Here’s what I used in my salad – all of the amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post:

• Shredded Kale
• Shredded Red Cabbage
• Shredded Carrots
• Broccoli Slaw – You can substitute this with shredded green cabbage instead
• Bean Sprouts
• Green Onions
• Golden Raisins – If you are on Whole30, use unsweetened raisins
• Slivered Almonds
• Whole Salted Almonds
• Cilantro – You can leave this out if you don’t like cilantro
• Mandarin Oranges
• Grilled Asian Chicken – to save time you can use rotisserie chicken or eat it without any meat.

Homemade Toasted Sesame Seed Dressing

I am so proud of this salad dressing! Save this recipe because you can use this as a marinade for chicken or pork roast.

Here is what I used to make my homemade sesame seed dressing:

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Toasted Sesame Seed Oil
• Olive Oil
• Soy Sauce – If you are on Whole30, use Liquid Aminos
• Fresh Lime Juice
• Honey – Substitute with sugar-free apple juice if you are on Whole30
• Fresh Garlic
• Fresh Ginger
• Sea Salt

More Salad Recipes

Here are a few more of my favorite salad recipes for you to try!

• Cannellini & Cherry Tomato Salad
• Bacon Veggie Salad
• Pesto Mediterranean Pasta Salad