This kale salad with cranberries is hearty enough for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It's a great salad for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my links, I may make a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my full disclosure policy here.
This kale salad with cranberries and apples is full of bright flavors and it can be a real savior during the fall and winter months. We can't let the falling temperatures and waning light make us forget about how much we need healthy, hearty salads – green things, fresh things, raw things.
As the base of our salad, kale can hang out with all kinds of additional ingredients, but let's keep it fall and include all those tasty fall things: Pecans! Apples! Cranberries! Enjoy those seasonal flavors and feel absolutely zero guilt about what you're eating!
Jump to:
A Kale Salad with Cranberries is an easy, quick, and satisfying fall salad recipe!
- You only need 8 ingredients, including the dressing!
- Ready in 15 minutes.
- Full of seasonal fall and winter ingredients: kale, apples, pecans and lemon.
- Filling enough for a light meal.
- It's gluten free.
- It's vegetarian, but can be made vegan if you leave out the cheese.
Ingredients you'll need
- Kale: Use old-fashioned curly kale, not the Tuscan or lacinato variety. We're going to tone down the texture when we massage the salad dressing into it.
- Dried cranberries: If they don't make you think of fall, I don't know what will!
- Pecans: Did you know that pecans in the grocery store can be up to two years old? Instead of risking that scenario, I order them from Millican Pecan, a family farm in Texas, because they are only selling the freshest pecans from the most recent harvest. They are harvested every fall and you can absolutely taste the difference!
- Parmesan cheese: You really must use the real parmigiano reggiano cheese for this recipe. The sharp, salty, crystal-y texture makes this salad sing! Whatever you do, just DON'T use that stuff in the shaker!
- Apples: Try a sweet red apple like Fuji or Pink Lady.
- Lemon juice and zest: The lemon and the salt in the vinaigrette will soften the texture of the kale leaves.
- Olive oil and salt: round out the ingredients for the lemon dressing.
How to make kale salad with cranberries - step by step instructions
Step 1: Make the lemon vinaigrette
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil to a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Zest the lemon first, with a Microplane grater. If you squeeze the lemon juice out first, it will be much more difficult or impossible to get the zest off.
Step 2: Prep and chop the kale
PREP TIP: To remove kale leaves from the stem, grasp the leaves and fold them inward with one hand, and grasp the stem with the other hand. Pull hands away from each other at the same time to easily separate the kale leaves from their stems.
To slice the kale thinly, stack a few of the leaves together and roll them up. Slice very thinly down the roll with a good chef's knife, being very careful to protect your fingers. The kale will slice into nice, thin ribbons.
Step 3: Massage the salad dressing into the kale
Place the kale in a large bowl, add the lemon vinaigrette and massage the dressing into the kale leaves.
Once dressing is added to the kale, take your hands and rub the kale as if you're trying to press the dressing into it. Do this for a couple of minutes, then set the massaged kale aside to rest for at least 5 minutes.
Step 4: Toast and chop the pecans
Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pecans. You're not really looking for color here. You just want to leave them long enough so that the oils start releasing. You'll know that when your kitchen starts smelling very pecan-y.
Once the pecans have cooled, chop them roughly. I like to use my mezzaluna for chopping nuts. You can just go back and forth so easily, it gets the job done in half the time.
Step 5: Grate the parmesan and slice the apples
Grate your parmigiano reggiano until you have about 2 ounces. Kitchen scales are handy for more than just baking! My Escali Primo digital scale actually matches the orange ceiling I have in my kitchen! If you don't have a scale, use about ½ to ¾ cup.
Slice the apples nice and thin using a good chef's knife or a kitchen mandoline.
Step 6: Add cranberries and remaining ingredients to the kale salad
Add the parmigiano to the massaged kale and mix well.
Add apples, pecans, and cranberries to the kale and combine to finish the salad.
Tips for success
- Massaging the kale is a very important step that you should not skip! Kale is very hearty, and massaging it with something acidic like lemon juice softens it and breaks it down a bit, giving it a much nicer texture.
- I prefer to grate the parmesan myself on a box grater. The texture and taste is much better. Pre-grated cheese can get dried out. Since there are so few ingredients here, make sure each one tastes the best that it can!
- When toasting the pecans, you're not really looking for color. You just want to leave them long enough so that the oils start releasing. You'll know that when your kitchen starts smelling very pecan-y.
- Be sure to zest the lemon before squeezing the juice! I use my handy Microplane grater for this task.
- To slice the kale, stack the leaves, then roll them up, and use a good chef's knife to slice into thin ribbons. Be sure to protect your fingers! My Global G-2 knife is lightweight and I love the rounded, stainless steel handle because it's not bulky and works for my small hands as well as my husband's man hands!
- Wait until you are ready to toss the salad before you slice the apples so they don't turn brown! Do this as your last step!
Recipe variations and substitutions
Kale, cranberries, apples and pecans all love each other in this salad, but you can mix it up to keep things interesting!
- Make it with Tuscan kale instead of curly kale.
- Add a bit of honey to the salad dressing for added sweetness.
- Swap the cranberries for dried cherries.
- Use walnuts instead of pecans.
- Try pears instead of apples.
- Substitute pecorino romano for the parmesan.
When to serve a kale salad with cranberries
Truthfully, you can eat a kale salad with cranberries year-round, but we tend to think of it in the fall and winter. Try these ideas!
- It's perfect as a light fall lunch.
- It would be the star of your Thanksgiving dinner!
- Serve alongside roast chicken or slow roasted salmon.
- All of the fruit and nuts make this a great dish to serve at brunch!
More kale recipes
- This Massaged Kale Salad with Lemon-Basil Dressing recipe is adapted from the famous one at Barbuto restaurant. It makes an elegant starter.
- For a main course and side dish in one, try my Dijon Chicken Thighs with Apples and Kale
- You can make pesto from all kinds of things. Try Kale Pesto on pasta for a healthy swap.
Recipe
Kale Salad with Cranberries, Apples, and Pecans
Ingredients
Lemon Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- zest of one lemon
- pinch kosher salt
Kale Salad
- 2 bunches curly kale
- ¾ cup toasted chopped pecans
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 2 oz freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese about ½ to ¾ cup
- 1 sweet red apple such as pink lady or fuji
Instructions
Lemon Vinaigrette
- Zest the lemon and add to mixing bowl.
- Squeeze ¼ cup fresh lemon juice - from 1 - 2 lemons depending upon size - and add to bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt.
- Whisk until combined and set aside.
Kale Salad
- Remove kale leaves from stems. Lay them flat, stack them and roll them up. Slice into thin ribbons.
- Pour dressing over chopped kale and massage it into the kale leaves for a couple of minutes. Allow kale to stand for at least 5 minutes so the leaves continue to soften.
- Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pecans. Allow them to cool slightly, then chop roughly.
- Grate the parmigiano reggiano on a box grater and set aside.
- Slice the apple into thin wedge slices.
- Add the cheese to the massaged kale and mix well.
- Add all other ingredients and serve!
Notes
- When toasting the pecans, you're not really looking for color. You just want to leave them long enough so that the oils start releasing. You'll know that when your kitchen starts smelling very pecan-y.
- Did you know that pecans on the grocery store shelf can be up to two years old? Yuck! I order mine from Millican Pecan* because they are only selling fresh pecans from the most recent harvest. The taste is overwhelmingly better. Try them*, they will blow your mind!
- Use REAL parmigiano reggiano and grate it yourself! You won't be disappointed. The flavor makes all the difference.
- Be sure to zest the lemon before squeezing the juice! I use my handy Microplane grater for this task.
- To slice the kale, stack the leaves, then roll them up, and use a good chef's knife to slice into thin ribbons. Be sure to protect your fingers! My Global G-2 knife is lightweight and I love the rounded, stainless steel handle because it's not bulky and works for my small hands as well as my husband's man hands!
- Kitchen scales are useful for many things. I've used my Escali Primo digital kitchen scale for weighing loads of things from grated cheese to red potatoes.
Leave a Reply