I’m in love. The dressing alone on this Apple Dijon Kale Salad was enough to make me swoon. It’s just a very simple Dijon vinaigrette, but it’s so good that I kept dipping my spoon in for taste after taste. And because kale is so sturdy, it stands up well to being pre-dressed with the vinaigrette, making this salad great for weekly meal prep. In fact, I’m sure that as the juice from the apples begins to mingle with the dressing, it will only make it even better.
I love that this salad combines so many flavors and textures in one bowl. You have the slightly bitter flavor of the curly kale, the sweet and crispy apples, crunchy walnuts, and super sweet raisins. Then, all of that is topped off with a tangy dijon vinaigrette. It just all works.
How to Serve Apple Kale Dijon Salad
Eat this Apple Dijon Kale Salad with a cool glass of crisp white wine, some awesome crusty bread, and maybe some cheddar cheese. That’s what I call the perfect summer dinner.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Apple Dijon Kale Salad
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil ($0.69)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar ($0.24)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.14)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 10-15 cranks freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 1/2 lb chopped kale (about one bunch) ($2.32)
- 1 medium granny smith apple ($0.79)
- 1/4 cup raisins ($0.27)
- 1/2 cup walnut halves ($0.80)
Instructions
- Rinse the kale well in a colander under cool running water. Allow the kale to drain as you prepare the rest of the salad.
- In a blender combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, clove of garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until the garlic is minced and the dressing is smooth.
- Wash the apple and slice it into thin wedges, or dice it into cubes. Roughly chop the walnut halves. Make sure the kale is as dry as possible and then add it to a large bowl along with the apples, walnuts, and raisins. Starting with just half, drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Add more dressing as desired (I used the whole batch).
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Nutrition
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How to Make Apple Dijon Kale Salad – Step By Step Photos
Pre-chopped bagged kale is pretty easy to find these days and fairly inexpensive (since it doesn’t wilt quickly), so I usually pay for this convenience. I used roughly 1/2 pound, or about what you’d get from one large bunch of kale.
I like to chop the kale into even smaller pieces for use in fresh salads because it makes the kale easier to chew and eat (if cooking the kale I generally leave it in larger pieces). Place the chopped kale in a colander and rinse well under cool running water. Let the kale drain as you prepare the dressing.
Now it’s time to make the AH-MAZING dressing. Just add 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1.5 Tbsp Dijon mustard, one clove of peeled garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to a blender.
Then blend the dressing until smooth. Taste the dressing and adjust the salt or pepper if you’d like. If you find the dressing too tangy for your liking, you can add a small amount of honey or sugar to help tone it down, but I suggest leaving it really tangy because it creates a nice juxtaposition of flavors in the salad. I love this little $15 Hamilton Beach blender, BTW! (affiliate link)
Now chop the toppings. I sliced the apple into thin wedges, but you could also dice it. Roughly chop 1/2 cup walnuts because smaller pieces mean more in every bite… but pieces that are *too* small means not enough texture. Find the happy medium. The raisins are already the perfect size.
Before you build the salad, make sure that kale is as dry as possible. Shake the water off and if you’re feeling like an over achiever, get in there with a paper towel to absorb some more. Put the kale in a large bowl, add the apples, walnuts, and raisins. Pour the dressing on, starting with just half, then toss to coat. Add more dressing if desired. I desired ALL OF IT. ;D
And now you’re ready to eat this epic Apple Dijon Kale Salad. Seriously, add a glass of some dry riesling or something else crisp. You won’t be sorry. Oohh, this would be great with some grilled meat. I LOVE SUMMER.
This salad is amazing! I serve it at dinner parties and my guests ask for the recipe every time. You’re getting lots of traffic from my circle of friends. :-) Thanks for creating and posting this one! I make it almost weekly and take it for lunch, add grilled chicken and more. What a versatile dish.
Tart and tangy! I have been looking for a good dijon recipe and thought I would check out what BB has to offer. This (like every other recipe) didn’t disappoint! I just made the dressing, but I can see how the added sweetness of the raisins would be amazing. I can’t wait to make this salad in its entirety!
I made this salad when it was first published…I made it with 1/3 c mayonnaise instead of olive oil. Now I’m seeing that is says olive oil…did I just make a mistake in using mayonnaise, or has the recipe changed since it was published?
Nope, it was always olive oil (see the step by step photos). :) But I can see how mayonnaise would work well, too!
This was great, not sure why I’ve waited so long to try it! I sent some in my 8 year old’s lunch box, and he was disappointed that I didn’t give him any for today’s lunch.
Made this for dinner tonight to balance out our seafood chowder dinner. I just swapped out baby kale and spinach for the kale, but it was still delicious. Oh! And I added shredded carrots. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers again tomorrow!
This was really nice! I used pecans and cranberries because that was what I had. I added a bit of herbed goat cheese. The dressing is great, I like that you could toss this ahead of time w/o worry about it getting soggy.
Thanks!
Have made this several times, and yes, it keeps very very well. The apples don’t get brown at all the the kale gets more tender (but not gross or wilted) as time goes on. I find the dressing a little bit harsh so I add a blob of honey to mine.
Hi,
I’m Elisa, a writer for Spoon University, and I’m writing a story about vegan diets. If it’s okay with you, I’d love to use this photo in the article and of course give you proper photo credit.
If you could let me know as soon as possible, that would be great.
Thanks so much ahead of time.
Yes, that is fine Elisa. :)
The dressing was fabulous and the toppings – apples, walnuts, and raisins – are always great on a salad. It turns out that I don’t like an all-kale salad, though. I think a little kale mixed with lettuce or other greens would make for a nicer salad. Add a little goat cheese and it would be perfect!
SO healthy and nourishing, but also unbelievably delicious! I got an entire bag of 12 apples for 1.29 at a local market, and this was a great way to use them. I’m starving in grad school, but I love healthy food and this was PERFECT (as are all these recipes.) I added some crumbled feta and served with fresh oat flour/flax bread. It made 3-4 servings, easy. Tasty, affordable, and I feel like I am glowing with nutrients. THANK YOU BETH!
First time visitor, came by from the HuffPost article and—-AAAAHHHHH tossing kale stems??? Really? Chop em up and stir fry them, throw them in soup, but please don’t throw them out!
Thank you, Mary! I had the same thought!
I made this the night before for my lunch the next day. This is an awesome salad. I added goat cheese, and wow. So so so good. The kale was perfect and I think its because I let it sit over night in the dressing. Yum!
Oooh, I love goat cheese and I bet it was spectacular with this! #jealous
Made this last night and it was DELICIOUS!! I doubled the dressing recipe and used the other half for a second salad with the same ingredients on lettuce (the men in the fam aren’t too big on kale hehe). The dressing was a big hit and I have some left over!
Does anybody know if I can still make the dressing without a blender? I do not own one D:
You can whisk the ingredients together (mince the garlic first), but it just won’t hold together quite as tightly. It may separate a little. :)
I made this and have been eating it all week, its absolutely delicious, gets better each day. I mostly stuck to the recipe although I used golden raisins and added some chopped dates because I thought they would go well. I topped it with a fillet of dijon-maple roasted salmon. Thanks for the recipe!