Make the Barbuto Kale Salad at Home

Make the Barbuto Kale Salad at home! One of our favorite restaurant salads and it is incredibly easy to make it in your kitchen using all gluten-free ingredients.

This is the most easy and delicious kale salad to make any time of the year. It’s fresh, it’s delicious and it’s a great make-ahead dish and dress before serving. My only recommendation here is to dress the salad and serve within an hour. The prime time is about 10-15 minutes after dressing so the kale marinates a bit and it’s also not too soggy.

Kale has such a bad rap with some who claim it is too tough or doesn’t taste good. But the key to getting your kale salad to taste amazing is to massage it with dressing really well and also shred it so it’s thin for the salad. I find leafy kale to be really tough to eat and if I cut it in, almost like slaw, it tastes best.

This kale is packed with nutrition, flavor and it makes for a great side dish salad, appetizer or even a main if you add some protein on top. I love adding some salmon, chicken or a burger!

The dressing is homemade and while the thought of eating anchovies can gross some out, I can promise you this dressing is delicious. It takes less than 5 minutes to make and the touch of dijon in it with the parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs on the salad are just the ultimate combo.

After eating at Barbuto in Manhattan oh so many times, I needed to recreate the deliciousness at home. And I’m not going to be modest here – I nailed it.

What ingredients are in this Kale Salad with Anchovy Dressing:

• Curly leaf kale, dino kale or tuscan kale – leave stems intact for this
• Basil leaves – fresh basil leaves work best
• Salt-cured anchovies – rinsed and deboned and chopped into small pieces
• Garlic – minced fresh garlic
• Egg yolk – at room temperature
• Dijon mustard – this little bit adds such flavor 
• Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice from lemons works best
• Extra-virgin olive oil – highly quality oil is key here
• Pecorino Romano cheese – freshly grated from a block works best
• Gluten-free breadcrumbs – or use regular breadcrumbs if not gluten-free. Crushed up crackers can also work well here

How to make copycat Barbuto Kale Salad:

1. Wash kale well and dry in salad spinner and julienne as thin as possible
2. Place kale in large bowl and set aside
3. Mince the basil and add to a bowl with the anchovies, garlic, egg yolk, dijon, salt pepper, lemon and olive oil and whisk together well
4. Coat the the kale with desired amount of dressing and massage in really well
5. Sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs and serve in 10-15 minutes so the kale really marinates in the dressing (this tastes best within 1 hour of prepping so it doesn’t get soggy)

FAQs on making Barbuto’s Kale Salad:

• Does this salad work with any kale? I prefer using curly kale, dino kale or tuscan kale for it.
• Do I need to massage the kale? I like to! it releases some of the bitterness and helps tenderize and soften it for salads. I don’t recommend skipping this step.
• I don’t like anchovies, will I like this? I am going to say 99% of people (even if they dislike anchovies) love this salad. It’s one of the most popular dish on Barbuto’s menu for a reason!
• Can this salad be made ahead of time? Absolutely. Add all of the shredded kale, cheese and the breadcrumbs to a large bowl then dress when you are going to eat. Prime time is 10-15 minutes after dressing. That way the kale marinates a bit but it isn’t soggy.

A few other salad recipes to make:

Shaved Broccolini, Brussels Sprout and Kale Salad

Strawberry Balsamic Kale Salad

Copycat Sweetgreen Kale Caesar Salad

The Best Salmon Kale Salad Ever