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Kale Salad with Apple (& Honey Lemon Vinaigrette)

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This Kale Salad with Apple is made with a few simple ingredients in about 10 minutes. There’s hearty kale, crisp apple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, shaved parmesan and onion all tossed in a buckwheat honey vinaigrette. So good!

An overhead shot of a bowl of kale and apple salad.

Kale Salad with Apple

You may remember me telling you about all the kale growing in my parent’s garden.  Hubby and I have yet to grow kale, but maybe next year.  Why would I when I can nab some of my parent’s, lol??  Because they were overflowing with the stuff and super insistent that I take some (don’t have to tell me twice), I’ve been using kale in allllll the ways.  Today I’m bringing you this simple kale salad with apple (the apple comes from hubby and my garden or, er, tree).  I thought of other add-ins, but then I realized ‘Dawn, K.I.S.S.’—> keep it simple, stupid and that’s exactly what I did!

Ingredients for kale and apple salad.

Tips for Making this Raw Kale Salad

  • Cut the kale into bite-sized pieces or ribbons.  Nobody want a huge piece of kale.  You want it to be chopped like this—>

A bowl of chopped raw kale.

  • Then, massage the vinaigrette into the chopped kale and allow it to sit in the fridge, covered, for a bit to allow it to break down slightly when mixed with the vinaigrette.
  • If you want to make this kale salad vegan, simply replace the honey with maple syrup and omit the cheese.
  • Granola as a garnish is highly recommended (I have to thank hubby for this idea).
  • I used buckwheat honey for this honey lemon vinaigrette because it has such a rich ‘molasses-like’ flavour, but feel free to use whatever honey you have on hand, or even maple syrup.
  • If you are making this salad ahead of time, toss the apples with a little lemon juice to minimize oxidation.
  • Use whatever apple variety you like or have on hand. Speaking of which, check out dem apples—>

Holding up an apple picked from an apple tree.

Other Easy Salad Recipes you May Enjoy

An overhead shot of a bowl of kale salad with apple alongside some apples and pumpkin seeds.

Hope you love this kale salad with apple as much as I do!

Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon 🙂

~Dawn

P.S. If you think this raw kale salad with apple will make your belly happy too, please be sure to hit that little Pin button.  Many thanks, you guys! XO

An overhead shot of a bowl of kale and apple salad alongside some cranberries, kale, apple and pumpkin seeds.
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5 from 10 votes

Kale Salad with Apple

This Kale Salad with Apple is made with a few simple ingredients in about 10 minutes. There's hearty kale, crisp apple, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, parmesan and onion all tossed in a buckwheat honey vinaigrette. So good!
Course Lunch, Side Dish, starter
Cuisine Canadian
Keyword kale salad, fall salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 304kcal
Author Dawn Coombs

Ingredients

  • 6 cups kale -cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup red onion -thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
  • 1 apple -variety of your choice

Vinaigrette

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp buckwheat honey -or your fave
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Place all ingredients for vinaigrette in a small mason jar, cover, and shake to combine.
  • Place kale in a bowl and drizzle vinaigrette over top. Using your hands, rub in the vinaigrette (massage the kale leaves for a minute or so).
  • Toss kale with remainder of salad ingredients.  Best covered and placed in the fridge for a couple hours (though, you can enjoy it right away).  

Notes

  • Cut the kale into bite-sized pieces or ribbons.  Nobody want a huge piece of kale.
  • Massage the vinaigrette into the chopped kale and allow it to sit in the fridge, covered, for a bit to allow it to break down slightly when mixed with the vinaigrette.
  • If you want to make this kale salad vegan, simply replace the honey with maple syrup and omit the cheese.
  • Granola as a garnish is highly recommended (I have to thank hubby for this idea).
  • I used buckwheat honey for this honey lemon vinaigrette because it has such a rich 'molasses-like' flavour, but feel free to use whatever honey you have on hand, or even maple syrup.
  • If you are making this salad ahead of time, toss the apples with a little lemon juice to minimize oxidation.
  • Use whatever apple variety you like or have on hand. 
Tried this recipe? That's awesome!Mention @dawn.girlheartfood or tag #girlheartfood!

Nutrition

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 619mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 201.3% | Vitamin C: 153.4% | Calcium: 16% | Iron: 12.5%

A bowl of kale and apple salad alongside some apples and pumpkin seeds.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leanne | Crumb Top Baking

    October 21, 2018 at 9:42 pm


    Love that you kept this simple Dawn! And with fresh, local ingredients, no need to make it complicated! Apple and kale are a great pair, and that dressing sounds delicious! And I like your hubby’s idea for granola as a topping! Brilliant! Hope you had a great weekend!

    Reply

  3. Kelly | Foodtasia

    October 19, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    How lovely to grow your own apples! And it’s so beautiful! This salad is just bursting with flavor – so delicious! I love salads like this with that perfect combination of textures and flavors 🙂

    Reply

  5. Katherine | Love In My Oven

    October 18, 2018 at 11:43 pm

    It’s the best when parents offload their garden produce, haha! My in-laws gave us a bunch of kale this summer from their garden that I would have loved to use in this salad! I love the granola idea – I never would have thought of that. Cheers, chicka!

    Reply

  6. Milena

    October 18, 2018 at 8:11 pm


    I am not the world’s biggest raw kale fan, much prefer it cooked…but….looking at this salad..You may have changed my mind. Like the massage tip:) And the vinaigrette rocks! I am a fan of buckwheat honey. Great job on growing those apples!

    Reply

  7. Ben|Havocinthekitchen

    October 18, 2018 at 7:42 pm


    Apples make an excellent addition to fall salads, and I often use them either fresh or slightly caramelized in honey/maple syrup. This combo of kale, cranberry, pumpkin seeds, apples, and granola (great idea indeed!) is just perfect. I would have probably added just a bit of crispy bacon too. Very well done!

    Reply

  9. Bill

    October 18, 2018 at 2:14 pm


    Those are beautiful apples! This seems to be the year I learn about different varieties of honey, they seem to be everywhere, and that’s a good thing :). The granola is a cool idea, kudos to him.

    Reply

  11. Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen

    October 18, 2018 at 10:45 am


    This looks WONDERFUL! I love kale salads because, even if I load them with ALL the toppings, I feel like I’m being healthy. This vinaigrette sounds soooo good–I’ve never tried buckwheat honey but the molasses flavor intrigues me so I’m going to have to find some. And then make this salad :). Love it! Have a great weekend, Dawn!

    Reply

  13. David @ Spiced

    October 18, 2018 at 9:09 am

    I’m so impressed with the apples you grew, Dawn! Seriously. We have 2 apple trees, and they’re getting big enough (finally) to produce a handful of apples. But the apples just look janky and misshapen…nothing like your perfect apple in that photo! I probably need to go read about how to take care of the trees in the summer growing season so that our apples look better in the Fall. In the meantime, though, this salad. You’ve been killing it with some fun Fall recipes lately! I need to put this one on the menu….and kudos to your husband for the granola idea, too!

    Reply

  14. [email protected]

    October 18, 2018 at 8:56 am


    The first word that comes to mind as I look at this salad is crisp! And that’s really what I want from my fall salad – all the flavor with that wonderful crispy crunch of the apple and seeds. Your dressing’s a winner too! Thanks for sharing, Dawn! Have a great weekend, my friend! XOXO

    Reply

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