Kale Salad With Apples And Lemon Vinaigrette

This simple kale salad recipe is full of crunchy fruits 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 on its growing ability. It’s not just me, I swear.

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

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

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

I love adding it to 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.

This delicious kale salad is bursting with fresh flavors, sweetness and crunch from fruits, and a delicious 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. 
• 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 or pecans. 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.

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Tools you may need:

Large bowl

Cutting board

Knife

Whisk

Small bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

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. 

Ingredients you will need:

For the salad:

Kale

Apples

Carrots

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

Sunflower seeds

For The Dressing:

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

Garlic – fresh-minced tastes best.

Mustard

Honey

Olive oil or avocado oil

Salt and pepper

How To Make Kale Salad:

1. De-stem and chop kale and place in a large bowl.
2. Add about 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of oil and massage kale. Massaging kale helps break down the tough leaves, making it easier to eat and bringing out the flavor.
3. Chop apples and carrots and add 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. 
4. Sprinkle sunflower seeds and pomegranate into the bowl.
5. 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.
6. Add olive oil and whisk until completely combined.
7. Pour desired amount of vinaigrette over kale salad. 
8. Toss until combined well. Or, serve the dressing on the side.
9. 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

Kale Salad Recipe With Lemon Vinaigrette 

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.