Do you love kale? This kale and apple salad is one of my favorite dishes. And a bonus, my kids will eat this salad too!
This is an amazing kale salad.
Yup, I said that…my family originally thought I was crazy! Honestly, I owe this all of this kale love to Chef Lopez at California Cafe in Los Gatos, CA. This is the first kale salad that my family will eat. My kids went nuts over this salad, and they HATE kale!! (Sadly, California Cafe closed a couple of months ago. This was a wonderful place to dine when you are gluten free.)
You can enjoy this salad as a side dish, or toss in some grilled shrimp or chicken for a delicious light meal.
I truly hope you like this kale apple salad recipe, the apples add a bit of sweetness to balance out slight bitterness in the kale.
This easy kale salad recipe has romaine lettuce, kale, apples, and raisins…feel free to add other fruits, the dressing really works with the different flavors.
Kale
I love how healthy kale is, but my kids HATE when I cook kale. Using kale raw in a salad can be challenging. Knowing how to use lactino kale
One tip I must share from Chef Lopez is to massage your kale. It softens the kale leaves and I know this sounds weird, but it reduces the bitterness a bit as well. Another great tip to making kale taste good is to make sure you remove the vein that goes down the middle of the leaves. This is where the bitter flavor comes from so try to remove as much as you can.
You can also enjoy kale in soups, sauteed with garlic and olive oil, dehydrated into kale chips, and toss it into your favorite smoothie.
Let me know what you think of this salad :-).
How to make Kale and Apple Salad:
Mix up the dressing ingredients.
Pour it into the salad ingredients. Mix and allow to sit for 10 minutes so the flavors can blend together.
*If you love kale as much as I do, you should try this Awesome Kale Green Sauce recipe from Eat Your Way Clean!
Quick and easy kale and apple salad recipe.
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and massaged
- 2 apples, chopped
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil
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In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, avocado oil, vinegar, dijan, basil, and garlic. Whisk and allow to sit.
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In a large salad bowl, add all salad ingredients.
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Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
More Yummy Salad Recipes to Try!
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- GF Grilled Chicken with Citrus Vinaigrette
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- Tossed Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette
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- Grilled Chicken Salad Over Kale with Watermelon
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- Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad
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- Kale and Kumquat Salad
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- Heirloom Tomato Salad
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- Raspberry, Fennel, and Apricot Salad
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- Fig and Fennel Salad
(*Original recipe Oct 2013. Photos edited 8/29/16)
This sounds delicious, Sandi! Thanks for sharing it at Savoring Saturdays!
Thank you Raia. This is the only way my kids will eat kale willingly 🙂
What a beautiful salad, and would be a great salad to bring us into the fall.
Thank you so much Michelle 🙂
I love this salad! I love trying new and healthy salads!
Thank you Meg 🙂
Love the combination of apple and kale. I’ll have to try massaging kale next time! Thanks for the tip!
I thought massaging kale sounded silly, but it really works to make the kale sweeter.
What a gorgeous salad!! YUM!!
Thank you Katerina 🙂
So great for lunch! Yum!
Agreed, thanks for stopping by 🙂
I love all the greens in this salad! So healthy!
I love this combination! I use a lot of kale in smoothies and need more good salad ideas. Definitely have to try this one!
I didn’t think to massage kale before a smoothie, but if it makes the kale sweeter, it is worth it 🙂
Gorgeous kale salad! Thanks for all the great kale tips – I massage mine too!
Thank you so much Allie 🙂
Fruit and kale go so well together. This salad looks great!