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Salada de palmito is a fresh, tangy salad of tender hearts of palm, ripe tomatoes and red onion, dressed simply with olive oil and lime. It is on the salad bar of nearly every Brazilian churrascaria and comes together in 10 minutes. It is naturally low carb and pairs with almost any grilled meat or fish.
Per serving: 132 calories · 4.7 g net carbs · 3 g protein · 11 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)
What You’ll Need


Ingredients
- 1 jar or can (14 ounces) hearts of palm drained
- 2 cups torn lettuce
- 1 large tomato cut into wedges
- 1/4 small red onion very thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Slice the hearts of palm into 1/2-inch rounds or cut them lengthwise into strips.
- Soak the red onion slices in cold water for 5 minutes to soften their bite, then drain.
- Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- Arrange the lettuce on a platter and top with the hearts of palm, tomato and onion.
- Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with parsley just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition

About This Dish
Hearts of palm are harvested from the soft inner core of palm stems. Brazil is both a major producer and a major consumer, and palmito appears in salads, pies, pastéis and on pizza. Much of today's palmito comes from cultivated peach palm (pupunha), which sends up new shoots after harvest. Wild juçara palmito from the Atlantic Forest is now protected because overharvesting threatened the species. In churrascarias, a bowl of palmito is one of the classic items on the salad bar.
This recipe is from The Ultimate Brazilian Keto Cookbook by Gisele Costello, Chapter 9: Salads (Lençóis Maranhenses National Park). See all Brazilian recipes