Kale Salad with Apples and Golden Raisins
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The perfect salad to keep in your fridge and grab at lunch time, this kale salad with apples and raisins is tangy, tart, sweet, and full of flavorful nutrition.
Confession: I’m writing this post immediately after finishing one chocolate chip cookie…and one ball of chocolate chip cookie dough. Best of both worlds, ya know?
I should be eating more kale salad and less cookie dough, probably. I think I’m dealing with my stress by eating allthefood. Not the best coping mechanism, I’m aware.
I’ve got the grumpiest 5-year-old on my hands lately with strong will and a bad attitude. If I was a child psychologist, I would say she’s having a hard time dealing with all the change going on right now in our lives and with Ben being gone Monday through Friday every week. She goes from sweet as honey to “I don’t like you, I’m never talking to you again!” in about .5 seconds.
And for the record, she has yet to follow through on those “I’m never talking to you again” threats.
Some days I wouldn’t mind, to tell you the ugly truth.
Anyways, we’ll get through it just like we always do. Thankfully she’s really excited about the move, but I know it’s still hard on her little mini type-A personality. No idea where she gets that from.
In the meantime, do you think I can train myself to stress eat kale salad instead of popcorn doused with butter or cookie dough balls?
So, about this kale salad with apples and raisins. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, crispy, and chewy. It’s filling and satisfying. Pair it with grilled chicken breast for a healthy meal. (Grill some beer marinated chicken and prep this salad on Sunday for easy healthy eating all week long.)
You could make this kale salad with apples really fabulous by topping it with toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds. These vanilla bean candied walnuts or spicy candied bourbon pecans would be perfect for a special meal.
If you like dressing that’s more on the tangy side, cut back on the honey a bit or increase the amount of lime juice. The golden raisins in this salad lend a surprising amount of sweetness.
Now let’s all eat our feelings with a great kale salad!
You won’t have a hard time eating these delicious kale salads!
- Kale and Pear Salad with creamy yogurt dressing (top it with savory granola!)
- Sweet Kale Salad with dried cranberries and poppy seed dressing
- Kale Salad with Avocado and cumin lime dressing
- Kale Quinoa Salad with walnuts, cranberries, and feta cheese
- Kale Salad with Farro and honey Dijon dressing
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
For salad
- One bunch lacinato kale, chopped into thin strips (5-6 cups chopped kale)
- 1 large firm apple, chopped (I like Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, or Gala for this recipe)
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
For dressing
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix kale, chopped apple, raisins, and cabbage. Mix dressing ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup until combined. Taste and add more honey if desired to make it sweeter, or more lime juice if you like it more tangy.
- Pour dressing over salad and mix to combine.
- Best refrigerated 1-2 hours before serving but great immediately too.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Husband’s take: He actually prefers the dressing a little on the tangier side which is easily remedied with slightly more lime juice or less honey.
Changes I would make: None!
Difficulty: Easy!
Linda Birmingham says
I want to try all of the recipes on this page! Since I’m recently retired, I think I will!
I will leave a rating later.Thank you so much!
LindaB
Rachel Gurk says
Yay! Thanks Linda! I’m excited for you to try my recipes.
Joni johnson says
Looking forward to trying this
Rachel Gurk says
I hope you love it!
Paula peaks says
How can you make the dressing if you are diabetic and you want less sugar. what about applesauce in place of the honey any suggestions
Rachel Gurk says
Applesauce could work but it may lead to a grainy texture. The dressing may be fine without any sweetener at all if you like things on the tangy side. Otherwise I’d maybe try any sugar substitute that you’d normally use.
Julia Mueller says
This salad looks like absolute perfection! I’m loving all the flavors and textures..apple + kale is one of my go-tos! Definitely the perfect post-cookie dish. Sorry to hear about the grumpy kidlet…probably just a phase that everyone will get through.
Erin@WellPlated says
This is exactly what I should be eating for lunch every day, though NO judgement on the cookie/cookie dough combo. If E won’t chat, you know who you can call ;-)