Fall Kale Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This fall kale salad with a light and tangy apple cider vinaigrette is a delicious side dish for autumn. Packed with seasonal produce like apples, pomegranate seeds and curly kale, this quick and easy salad is great with just about any main dish!

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• Why we love this recipe
• Ingredients
• Ingredient Notes
• Instructions
• Tips and FAQ
• Other Fall Salad Recipes to Enjoy
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Why we love this recipe

• Loaded with fall flavors: we're talking crisp apples, tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pumpkin seeds, salty feta, and a tangy and delicious apple cider vinaigrette.
• Quick and easy: All you have to do is quickly prep the ingredients (mostly just the kale and apples), then whisk together the dressing and mix everything together. It's the perfect quick, light meal or side, ready in about 10 minutes!
• Homemade apple cider vinaigrette: Our homemade apple cider vinaigrette tastes delicious and is super easy to whip together. It's super versatile and can be used as a marinade for protein, or on other fall dishes like this orzo harvest salad.
• Well balanced ingredients: This salad has plenty of contrasting (but complementary) textures and flavors, so it's far from boring! Plus, the kale is chopped finely so you don't have any huge pieces that are difficult to eat.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this fall kale salad with apple cider vinaigrette:

Ingredient Notes

• Apples: We used honeycrisp apples in this fall kale salad, but you can use other common varieties like Fuji, Pink Lady, Granny Smith or Gala. We prefer honeycrisp for the crisp texture and sweet flavor.
• Feta: We love this brand of vegan feta. Feel free to use regular feta if you're not vegan! This fall kale salad would also be great with shaved parmesan or goat cheese instead of feta.
• Pomegranate seeds: These are optional (we know they can be a pain to prep!), but they do add a lot of refreshing, tart flavor to this fall kale salad.
• Pumpkin seeds/pepitas: These add a fall flair and crunch to this salad. For max flavor and crunch, opt for roasted, salted pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas). If you don't have pumpkin seeds, feel free to substitute with any seed or nut of your choice.
• Kale: We love curly kale for our salads, but lacinato kale (aka tuscan or dinosaur kale) would also work. When prepping, be sure to remove the hard stem so you don't end up with any super tough, woody pieces.
• Apple cider: If you live somewhere that has local apple orchards, do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle of fresh, local cider. You can use the leftovers for apple cider donuts, apple cider margaritas, hot apple cider, and so much more!

Instructions

(PREP) Slice the apples and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.

(1) Whisk together the ingredients for the apple cider vinaigrette until well combined and set aside.

(PREP) Finely chop the kale and add to a large bowl. Pour half of the dressing over the kale and use your hands or large tongs to massage the dressing into the kale. This helps soften the kale, making it easier to eat. We suggest massaging the kale for about 1-2 minutes.

(2) Add the apples, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds and feta to the kale and pour in remaining dressing. Toss well to combine and serve right away.

Tips and FAQ

• Toss the apples in lemon juice: Toss your apples in a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice just after cutting. The acidity keeps them from browning, which means you can store this salad for longer.
• Massage the kale: To help soften the kale (and make it easier to eat), we use our hands to massage the dressing into it. We gently squeeze the kale and toss it until it's well coated. Your hands are the best tool for this, but if you're worried about germs, consider using food safe gloves or tongs. Tongs are a bit more difficult to use, so you may need to massage for a bit longer.
• Storage: If you're not eating this salad right away, we suggest storing the apple cider vinaigrette separately. If you are making for meal prep, wait to add the apples until before serving.

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