Kid-friendly Kale Salad with Apples Recipe

My easy Kale Salad with Apples is a healthy salad recipe that even your kids will love! It is full of crunchy sweet apples that balance out the harsh flavor of the kale. Tossed with a sweet vinaigrette, this kid-friendly salad is simply delicious!

This is an amazing vegan kale salad. There, I said it. Kale and amazing in the same sentence! This is by far my very best salad recipe.

This is the first kale salad that my family will eat. My kids went nuts over this salad, and they HATE kale!! I think it's because the apples add a bit of sweetness to balance out the slight bitterness of the kale.

You can enjoy this salad as a side dish, or toss in some grilled shrimp or chicken for a delicious light meal. If you love recipes with fruit, you will love this collection of gluten free recipes for Tu Bishvat.

If you love salad with dinner as much as we do, check out all of my delicious gluten free salad recipes.

Why This Kale Salad Is Amazing:

• My kids eat it. This is the miracle kale salad that gets healthy food into your kids.
• It is fresh and can be made ahead!
• It is easy to make in about 10 minutes.
• It will keep for 3-4 days in your refrigerator. So many wins!

This easy kale and apple salad recipe is full of 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!

Why Is Kale Massage So Great?

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.

Make it a meal with this East African Pilau Rice.

Step By Step Recipe Directions:

Step 1: Mix up the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and use a whisk to blend the salad dressing ingredients together. For best results, be sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature.

Step 2: Trim the main central vein out of every leaf of kale. Massage your kale and break it into pieces. Cut your apples into bite-sized pieces. Add the lettuce and raisins.

Step 3: Pour the dressing into the salad ingredients. Use metal tongs or wooden spoons to toss to coat all of the salad with the dressing. Allow the salad to sit for 10 minutes so the flavors can blend together.

Serve this delicious salad with these Gluten Free Biscuits, these crunchy Gluten Free Cheese Straws, or these Gluten Free Breadsticks!

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:

If you love eating salad, this easy Strawberry Spring Salad is also delicious!

More Delicious Salad Recipes To Try:

Recipe

Kale Salad with Apples

Sandi Gaertner

Kale Salad with Apples is a kid friendly healthy salad recipe! Crunchy sweet apples balance out the harsh flavor of the kale. Tossed with a sweet vinaigrette, this Gluten Free Kale Salad with Apples is simply delicious!

4 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Gluten Free Salad Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Calories 75 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Whisk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1 bunch kale * see note
• ▢ 2 apples chopped
• ▢ 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup raisins
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped basil

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, dijan, basil, and garlic. Whisk and allow to sit.
• In a large salad bowl, add all salad ingredients.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

Notes

1. To make your kale kid-friendly, you will want to massage the kale to remove the bitter flavor. To massage kale, put it into a bowl and use your hands to rub the leaves. Continue until the leaves soften and lose some of their stiffness.
2. Rub your kale with extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
3. You can customize this salad in a few ways. Add nuts and dried cranberries for a fun flavor combination.
4. Add cooked shrimp or chicken to make this salad a meal.

Nutrition

Calories: 75kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 12mgPotassium: 135mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1054IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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(*Original recipe Oct 2013. Photos edited 8/29/16. The post was updated with more detailed instructions 5/3/22.))

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