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Sweet Kale Salad is topped with chunks of apple, candied pecans, dried cranberries, and bacon, served with a homemade sweet dijon vinaigrette!
Kale salad is sweet and delish. It will make a kale lover out of anyone!! For more must make salads, try Favorite Broccoli Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, and Strawberry Harvest Salad.
Kale Apple Salad
Natalie from Life Made Simple has a salad recipe that’s perfect for fall.
It’s topped with chunks of apple, candied pecans, dried cranberries, and my favorite part – bacon!
We love this kale salad because it has so much flavor going on. It’s sweet thanks to the apple and candied pecans, slightly salty because of the bacon, and tart and tangy with the dried cranberries and vinaigrette.
The kale is so mellow and tender it’s almost unrecognizable. However, if you do want to swap it out for some other greens, try shaved Brussels sprouts or a spring mix.
Kale Salad Dressing
This kale salad comes together in minutes.
We love making a sweet dijon vinaigrette using apple cider and grainy mustard. It’s divine! For the dressing you’ll need:
- Shallot
- Whole grain and regular Dijon mustard
- Maple syrup
- Apple cider vinegar
- Apple cider
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil or a mild tasting oil
PULSE + POUR. Pulse everything in a food processor or whisk vigorously to emulsify it. Pour it over the salad and toss to combine.
Recipe Tips
This salad is best if enjoyed within an hour or so of making it. If you want to MAKE IT AHEAD, simply keep the dressing in a separate container and toss when ready. I’d also suggest holding off on cutting the apple so you don’t end up serving it with a bunch of brown apple chunks.
To serve it as a main dish, I’d recommend adding these ingredients:
- Gorgonzola or Feta cheese
- Grilled chicken
- Roasted pepitas
For more salad recipes:
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Waldorf Salad
- Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Tuna Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Lemon Poppy Seed Salad
Kale Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups kale chopped
- 1 apple cut into 1/4-inch chunks
- 2/3 cups candied pecans whole or coarsely chopped
- 6 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 cups dried cranberries
For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp shallot coarsley chopped
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp apple cider or apple juice
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 tsp. coarse kosher sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cups olive oil or mild tasting oil
Instructions
- In a medium serving bowl combine kale, apple, pecans, bacon, and cranberries
- In a small food processor combine the ingredients for the dressing. Pulse until creamy and emulsified.
- Toss salad in dressing and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can easily add feta or gorgonzola cheese, roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or grilled chicken to make this a more substantial salad.
- Don’t like kale? Swap it out for shave brussels sprouts or a mixed greens!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks Natalie from Life Made Simple for sharing!
This salad is so delicious, I could eat it every day
Yay!! So glad you love the salad!
Make sure to check the instructions…..the mustard and apple cider vinegar are in there twice. Thank you!
Thanks for catching that. We’ll update it.
This sounds so perfect for the winter months! Yum!
Looks as delicious as it is healthy. So neatly prepared to, couldn’t wait to try it out. The ingredients in this recipe should make anyone concerned about healthy eating excited to give it a try. Even kale haters should find the meal a delight, it tastes nothing like kale, despite its being the title ingredient
Thank you so much for sharing that! I am so glad you liked it!
Yum! I love finding a healthy salad that also tastes good!
What a gorgeous colorful salad! Looking forward to trying this soon!
Thank you!! Hope you like it! 🙂
This is one salad i could eat over and over again!
This sounds so perfect for the winter months! Yum!
Sure is!! Thank you 🙂
I love a good salad! Especially with a good homemade dressing! Can’t wait to make this 🙂
Let me know what you think! Hope you like it!
I always love new ways to eat kale – one of my favourites and we grow so much of it in the garden! Healthy too so great for the kids (if I can get them to eat it)!
I agree!! How fun to grow it!! Thank you for stopping by!