Houston's Kale Salad Recipe Copycat w/ Thai Peanut Dressing (2024)

By Jaime Published in Recipes Last Updated on April 28, 2020

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We wanted a copycat Houston’s kale salad recipe that was like the one at our favorite Chicago restaurant. This Cabbage and Kale Salad recipe, along with this Thai Peanut Salad Dressing recipe, fit the bill perfectly.

Every once in a while, when we’re in the Chicago area, we stop by one of our favorite restaurants. It’s called Bandera in Chicago, but most places it’s called Houston’s. We always get the same thing: my husband orders a large bowl of the kale salad with chicken, and I order their vegetable plate, with a side of their kale salad (no chicken). It’s tossed with an amazing Thai peanut dressing. We’ve never had anything like it.

There aren’t many recipes I’ve tried to create a copycat recipe for, but this is one of them. Another recent one was J. Alexander’s Carrot Cake recipe. OMGoodness. You need to try it, too.

Since we don’t get to Chicago very often, I began to think about how I could re-create this delicious Houston’s kale salad at home.

How to Make a Kale Salad That’s Not Chewy

Raw kale salad can be my nemesis. It’s often too chewy, and even when I try to “massage” the kale like all the experts say to do, I still don’t like the texture. It’s like I’m chewing…and chewing…and chewing.

What makes this recipe work for me is using a food processor. I let my food processor “chew” the kale pretty fine, but not to where it’s mushy. I get all the healthy benefits of kale without the frustration! The one I use is an older Cuisinart food processor, similar to this one.

The Secret Ingredient That Makes The Thai Salad Dressing So Flavorful

This salad isn’t very expensive to make, either. The biggest cost was buying the roasted peanut oil for the dressing (recipe below), but I know I’ll be able to use it for several salads throughout the summer.

It’s like the “secret” ingredient for the salad dressing.

I splurged and bought the Loriva roasted peanut oil since it was what my local store had in stock, but you can get other brands for less money on Amazon if you plan ahead, like this one by 365 (the Whole Foods “store brand”). Check the price here.

If you like a sweeter salad dressing, you can also add a tablespoon of sugar when you’re whisking the dressing together.