If you’re looking for a power keto salad to enjoy for lunch, you’ve come to the right place. Featuring spicy kale, crunchy green and red cabbage, and topped with yummy bacon and sunflower seeds, this salad does not disappoint! Add the deliciously sweet and tangy lemon poppyseed dressing on top and you have yourself a restaurant style salad. It also keeps you full longer thanks to all the healthy greens and healthy fats.

Many people view salads as the ultimate diet food. In other words: they think that salads will leave them feeling unsatisfied, bored, and hangry.

What makes this salad keto? The main purpose of the keto diet is to cut carbohydrates out of your diet and replace them with healthy fats and protein. If you’re unfamiliar with the keto diet read all about it and the metabolic state of ketosis in Ketogenic Diet For Beginners.

This chopped sunflower bacon salad is the perfect amount of healthy fats from the bacon and sunflower seeds, and healthy fresh greens. There are no croutons, or bread crumbs, or tortilla strips here for a topping. Instead we cook up some fresh bacon to a crisp and combine that with sunflower seeds.

Our dressing is made from olive oil, fresh lemon and grated onion. The star in the dressing is the tangy lemon, sweet onion, and delicious poppy seeds. It’s sweet and sour, and tastes just like a spring day.

What types of vegetables should you avoid when on the keto diet? Above ground veggies usually contain less carbs than below ground vegetables. The worst offenders are potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, and sweet potatoes (sorry potato fans!)

Carrots are part of our chopped salad and I’d like to tell you that carrots are not entirely carb free. Carrots have fewer carbs than the aforementioned potatoes and artichokes. Carrots can be eaten in moderation on the keto diet, and in this recipe the carrot features 6 g of carbs which is nothing to be afraid of.

Lettuce, cabbage and scallions contain virtually no carbs. And an entire cup of sunflower seeds contains about 28 g of carbohydrates, and we are only using a fraction of that amount in this salad.

What vegetables contain the fewest carbohydrates? That would be spinach, romaine lettuce, cabbage, avocado, and celery. Cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant and cucumbers are also some of the best veggies for keto. It’s no wonder that cauliflower is often used to replace pasta and rice, and zucchini and squash are used to mimic spaghetti.

What are some other keto salad toppings you can use? Grilled chicken, shredded cheese, blue cheese and tomatoes are excellent salad toppings! You can also use olives, hard boiled eggs, walnuts, and even grilled shrimp! Strawberries, goat cheese, and cucumbers are also amazing keto salad toppers.

What You Need:

For the salad:

1/2 cup chopped kale

1/2 cup chopped green cabbage

1/4 cup chopped red cabbage

1 grated carrot

2 tbsp chopped green onion

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup chopped bacon

For the dressing:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp poppy seeds

2/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp grated onion

Instructions:

Start off by heating up a pan for browning our bacon. We will need about 1/4 cup of chopped bacon for our salad topping. This equals approximately 3 slices of bacon. Brown bacon in your pan and transfer to cutting board. Chop the bacon into small pieces and set aside.

Meanwhile, take the time to wash all your ingredients thoroughly: the kale, green and red cabbage, carrot, and green onion. On a cutting board chop your greens and carrot, and dump into a salad bowl.

Add bacon and sunflower seeds to the salad. Now it’s time to make our dressing. Juice one lemon. Grate onion using a cheese grater or food processor. Combine all ingredients save for the poppy seeds, and blend together in a blender or food processor. Fold in the poppy seeds last and pour over salad!

I hope you enjoy this delicious keto sunflower bacon salad! For more easy keto recipes, check out 3 Keto Recipes For Beginners.