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You are here: Home / Chef Recipes / Kid-friendly Kale Salad with Apples Recipe

Kid-friendly Kale Salad with Apples Recipe

August 29, 2016 By Sandi Gaertner 20 Comments

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https://www.fearlessdining.com/happy-national-apple-month/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!

Don’t believe me? Check out the comments on Pinterest about this salad!!

Quick and Easy Kale and Apple Salad in a large wooden bowl. Plates and forks are behind the bowl

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.

Close up of a kale and apple salad in a wooden bowl

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.

(*If you love apples as much as I do, try out some of my favorite gluten free apple recipes!)

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.

Top view of Kale and Apple Salad in a wooden bowl

Let me know what you think of this salad :-).

How to make Kale and Apple Salad:

Whisking the dressing ingredients in a bowl

Mix up the dressing ingredients.

Kale salad ingredients in a bowl

Pour it into the salad ingredients. Mix and allow to sit for 10 minutes so the flavors can blend together.

More Delicious Salad Recipes To Try:

  • Daikon Salad with Apples and Pepitas
  • Awesome Kale Green Sauce
  • Feta Raspberry Apricot Salad
  • Orange Fennel Salad
4 from 1 vote
Print
California Cafe's Gluten Free Kale Salad Recipe
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Quick and easy kale and apple salad recipe.

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 91 kcal
Author: Sandi Gaertner
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, avocado oil, vinegar, dijan, basil, and garlic. Whisk and allow to sit.
  2. In a large salad bowl, add all salad ingredients.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
Nutrition Facts
California Cafe's Gluten Free Kale Salad Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 91 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 6%
Sodium 21mg 1%
Potassium 364mg 10%
Total Carbohydrates 14g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 5g
Protein 1g 2%
Vitamin A 169.5%
Vitamin C 33%
Calcium 5.4%
Iron 6.5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Yummy Salad Recipes to Try!

GF Grilled Chicken with Citrus Vinaigrette
Tossed Salad with Turmeric Vinaigrette
Grilled Chicken Salad Over Kale with Watermelon

Brussels Sprouts and Apple Salad
Kale and Kumquat Salad
Heirloom Tomato Salad

Raspberry, Fennel, and Apricot Salad
Fig and Fennel Salad

(*Original recipe Oct 2013. Photos edited 8/29/16)

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Filed Under: Chef Recipes, Gluten Free Lunch Recipes, Gluten Free Salads, Gluten Free Side Dish Recipes, Gluten Free Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes Tagged With: apple, kale, lettuce, raisins

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Raia Torn

    February 2, 2014 at 12:15 pm

    This sounds delicious, Sandi! Thanks for sharing it at Savoring Saturdays!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      February 2, 2014 at 1:37 pm

      Thank you Raia. This is the only way my kids will eat kale willingly 🙂

      Reply
  2. Michelle De La Cerda

    August 30, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    What a beautiful salad, and would be a great salad to bring us into the fall.

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 30, 2016 at 3:02 pm

      Thank you so much Michelle 🙂

      Reply
  3. Meg @ With Salt and Wit

    August 30, 2016 at 6:15 pm

    I love this salad! I love trying new and healthy salads!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 31, 2016 at 6:47 am

      Thank you Meg 🙂

      Reply
  4. Maryanne | the little epicurean

    August 30, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    Love the combination of apple and kale. I’ll have to try massaging kale next time! Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 31, 2016 at 6:46 am

      I thought massaging kale sounded silly, but it really works to make the kale sweeter.

      Reply
  5. katerina @ diethood.com

    August 31, 2016 at 3:27 am

    What a gorgeous salad!! YUM!!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 31, 2016 at 6:46 am

      Thank you Katerina 🙂

      Reply
  6. Brandy | Nutmeg Nanny

    August 31, 2016 at 4:02 am

    So great for lunch! Yum!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      August 31, 2016 at 6:46 am

      Agreed, thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply
  7. Jen @ The Weary Chef

    August 31, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    I love all the greens in this salad! So healthy!

    Reply
  8. Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen

    August 31, 2016 at 7:17 pm

    I love this combination! I use a lot of kale in smoothies and need more good salad ideas. Definitely have to try this one!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      September 2, 2016 at 11:18 am

      I didn’t think to massage kale before a smoothie, but if it makes the kale sweeter, it is worth it 🙂

      Reply
  9. allie

    March 28, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    Gorgeous kale salad! Thanks for all the great kale tips – I massage mine too!

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      March 28, 2017 at 11:03 pm

      Thank you so much Allie 🙂

      Reply
  10. Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen

    March 28, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    Fruit and kale go so well together. This salad looks great!

    Reply
  11. Debi

    March 19, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    Loved it.I had to modify it a little as I was out of a couple of things, but it was delicious

    Reply
    • Sandi Gaertner

      March 19, 2018 at 3:51 pm

      I am so glad you liked it Debi 🙂

      Reply

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