Kale Apple Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette

This simple kale apple salad recipe is full of crunchy sweet apples and veggies and topped with a tangy lemon vinaigrette. Beautiful enough for parties, but delicious enough just for lunch, your whole family will love this healthy kale salad.

January always gets me really excited for salads, and it may not be for the reason you think.

See, January means my favorite seed magazine comes in, and I get to scour the pages for all the plants I want to grow this spring and summer.

…Or should I say dream about growing, since my yard is very limited in its growing ability. It’s not just me, I swear.

One thing it can grow, however, is kale and different salad varieties. 

It is one of my favorites to grow. It is so easy and healthy, and grows abundantly for me.

The best part about growing kale? Eating it, of course!

I love adding it to fresh salads, soups, smoothies, pasta dishes, and more. It is a great way to add a healthy boost to meals and sneak in those extra veggies.

Well, it’s hard to “sneak” since it’s bright green, but you get what I’m saying.

A delicious kale salad recipe is bursting with fresh flavors, sweetness and crunch from fruits, and a yummy tang from the lemon vinaigrette, and all those flavors perfectly meld together to make a delicious and healthy salad.

Tips For Making The Perfect Kale Salad:

• Use pre-shredded kale to make this recipe even faster. Just make sure to pick out any little stems.
• Swap out the homemade lemon vinaigrette for your favorite dressing. A creamy avocado salad dressing, apple cider vinaigrette, or a tangy tahini dressing (green goddess is my favorite)
• Since we have a nut allergy in this house, I used sunflower seeds to give it an extra crunch. If you don’t have allergies, you could also use sliced almonds, pecans, or crunchy walnuts. Go nuts (see what I did there?).
• If you plan to make this ahead of time, sprinkle the apples with lemon juice, and wait to add the sunflower seeds or nuts and lemon dressing until right before serving.
• While I typically serve this as a side dish, make it into a main-dish by adding grilled steak or chicken for protein and some wild rice for a healthy carb.

The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Tools you may need:

Large bowl

Cutting board

Knife

Whisk

Small bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

Immersion blender – This is the best took to make homemade salad dressings hands down.

FAQ:

What kale is best for salad?

Baby, Dinosaur, and Red Russian work best for salads. Curly kale would also work, but part of it depends on preference. If you don’t like chewing tough kale, then you may want to pick a softer one, like baby or red Russian.

Is kale salad healthy?

Oh yeah. It is brimming with healthy, fresh ingredients. Kale, apples, pomegranates, and carrots contain tons of nutrients. 

Should you massage kale for salad?

Massaging kale not only breaks it down to make it more enjoyable to eat, but it also can help make it less bitter.

Ingredients you will need:

For the salad:

Kale

Fresh apples: I like to choose pink lady or honeycrisp apples as they are super crunchy and sweet.

Carrots

Pomegranate seeds: you could also substitute this for dried cranberries, but watch out for added sugar, if you’re trying to avoid that.

Seeds: I like to use sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

Cheese: Totally optional if you are not dairy free. Salty feta cheese would be amazing on this salad or even the tangy flavor of goat cheese.

For The Homemade Dressing:

Lemon juice – fresh is always preferred for the best flavor.

Garlic – fresh-minced tastes best.

Dijon mustard

Honey – or substitute for maple syrup

Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil

Salt and pepper

How To Make Apple Kale Salad:

Wash and dry raw kale.

With clean hands de-stem and chop kale and place in a large bowl.

Add about 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of oil and massage kale. Massaging helps break down the tough leaves creating more tender kale, making it easier to eat and bringing out the flavor.

Chop or slice apples and carrots 

Add sliced apples and carrots to the bowl. If you are making this ahead of time, toss a little bit of lemon juice with the apples to prevent them from browning. 

Sprinkle sunflower seeds (or other seeds and nuts) and pomegranate into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, make lemon vinaigrette dressing by adding the garlic, mustard, honey, salt, pepper, and lemon juice and whisking until well-mixed. It will be a nice, pale yellow color.

Add olive oil and whisk until completely combined. Or use an immersion blender to bring it together in seconds.

Pour desired amount of vinaigrette over kale salad. This is totally based on preference. 

Toss until combined well. Or, serve the dressing on the side.

Enjoy!

More healthy recipes:

• Healthy Chicken Salad Recipe With Veggies
• Chicken And Bacon Chopped Salad With Honey Mustard Dressing
• Steak Rice Salad Recipe: Easy Weeknight Meal
• Classic Minestrone Soup Recipe With Bacon
• Mashed Butternut Squash Recipe

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Please and thank you.