White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing

Last Updated on August 12, 2025 by Christin Gillespie

This White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing is a gourmet-style recipe that will be loved at first bite. It features hearty white beans, massaged kale, creamy avocado, homemade macadamia nut parmesan, & an iconic lemon macadamia nut dressing. Enjoy this plant-based creation for an easy dinner, or save it for meal prep!

Get ready to fuel your body & satisfy your taste buds with this White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing.

This delectable salad includes massaged kale, hearty white beans, creamy avocado, & macadamia nut parmesan, but the star is a lemon macadamia nut dressing, which will amaze your palate. The dressing is a blend of fresh lemon juice, rich macadamia oil, buttery macadamia nuts, sweet honey, tangy Dijon mustard, garlic, & seasonings. It’s citrusy, a tad nutty, subtly sweet, a little sharp, & super creamy.

Without question, this first-class, plant-based salad will be a new favorite!

Why You’ll Love This Healthy Kale Salad Recipe

• Flavorful & Fueling: This plant-based creation is tossed with healthy ingredients to nourish your body in a delicious way.
• Simple to Make: Ready in 15 minutes or less & is easy to prepare.
• Great for Meal Prep: Since this White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing stores well in the fridge, it makes for a phenomenal recipe to enjoy healthy meals throughout the week.

Ingredients

• Organic White Beans: White beans are loaded with fiber & plant-based protein. Any type of white beans works well too. Great northern, cannellini beans, or navy beans.
• Organic Avocado: Make sure to use a large & ripe avocado.
• Organic Kale: For the greens of this salad, we’ll be using fresh kale.
• Organic Macadamia Nut Oil: It provides the dressing with a rich, buttery flavor without being too overpowering. 
• Organic Macadamia Nuts: Unsalted, please! Macadamia nuts blend right up with the other ingredients for flavor & added creaminess. Plus, they’re high in healthy fats, vitamins, & minerals.
• Organic Lemon: Just a squeeze of fresh lemon takes the dressing to the next level!
• Organic Honey: Specifically, local raw unfiltered honey or Manuka honey.
• Organic Dijon Mustard: To balance out the sweetness, Dijon mustard adds a bit of “tang.” Careful, a little goes a long way.
• Organic Garlic: Please use fresh garlic rather than powdered. This is an ingredient that you never want to skip!
• Organic Seasonings: A pinch of sea salt & black pepper!
• Organic Macadamia Nut Parmesan: We’ll be sprinkling a bit of homemade macadamia nut parmesan over the top.

How to Make

1. Kale. Add the washed & chopped kale to a large mixing bowl along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Using your clean hands, massage for 1–2 minutes to soften the kale.
2. Macadamia Nut Parmesan. To a food processor, add the parmesan ingredients. Process until completely broken up & a fine powder forms, about 30 seconds.
3. Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing. Add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth & creamy. If needed, add more spring water to achieve your desired dressing consistency. 
4. Add & Toss. To the kale bowl, add the drained white beans, diced avocado, macadamia parmesan, & dressing. Give it a good toss.
5. Serve. Divide between bowls & enjoy!

Tips for Making this Kale Salad Recipe Perfectly

• Always Massage the Kale: Trust me on this one. Kale leaves can be very tough & chewy if not massaged. So, make sure to massage the kale leaves for at least 2 minutes—you’ll get a nice hand workout in.
• Organic Beans: I used organic great northern beans for this salad recipe, but another variety of white bean will work, such as cannellini or navy beans. 
• Organic Avocado: Use a large ripe avocado for the salad. If your avocado is on the smaller side, I would recommend using two.

Storing

This White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing is the perfect recipe for healthy leftovers & meal prep! 

Storing. Transfer the salad to an airtight glass container & refrigerate for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend dicing the avocado or adding the dressing until the salad is ready to enjoy.

More Kale Salad Recipes You’ll Love

• Pesto White Bean Kale Salad
• Black Bean & Avocado Crema Kale Salad
• Quinoa & Avocado Kale Caesar Salad
• Copycat Erewhon Kale White Bean Salad
• Crispy Chickpea Chopped Kale Salad

Sharing Is Caring!

If you make this White Bean Kale Salad with Lemon Macadamia Nut Dressing recipe, please leave a review & rating below. I love hearing from you, & it helps others learn more about the blog as well. Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram & TikTok for even more healthy content!

Xoxo.

CMG.

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