Refreshing Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad Recipe - ZagLeft (2024)

I love the flavors in this beautiful Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad. Crunchy carrots, raw kale and red cabbage mixed alongside sweet apples, slivered almonds and sweet dried blueberries, then topped with a sweet and tangy apple cider vinaigrette.

This beautiful apple, kale and cabbage salad is inspired by a salad I enjoyed when my husband and I were in Sonoma County, California.

At one of the restaurants we stopped at – in between wine tastings, I had a fantastic vegetarian salad packed with plenty of fresh vegetables, raw kale, crunchy nuts and topped with a flavorful sweet and tangy vinaigrette.

It was a hearty and healthy bowl of color that I could have honestly eaten every single day of our trip.

Why This Recipe Works

• The flavors in this colorful salad come together perfectly, each complimenting the other.
• It’s hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
• This salad is easily customizable. You can add in other ingredients to your liking.

Ingredient Notes

See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.

• Apple cider vinegar
• Olive oil
• Honey
• Salt and pepper
• Carrots
• Red cabbage
• Kale
• Apple
• Lemon juice
• Almonds
• Dried blueberries

How To Make This Recipe

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Place the carrots, cabbage, kale, and apples in a large bowl.
3. Mix in the lemon juice.
4. Add the almonds and dried blueberries.
5. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss.

Expert Tips

• You can really alter the ingredients in this salad very easily. I threw in dried blueberries because that’s what I had on hand. You could add dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese or some chopped red peppers and a few cucumber pieces.
• I add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the salad and mixed it well to keep the apples from turning brown.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Store Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad?

I find it keeps well in the refrigerator for a day or so and actually flavors intensify.

How Do I Clean Kale?

Actually, this tip works for cleaning most vegetables. I first rinse the vegetable or fruit under running water, then I place it into a large bowl,cover it with water and add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.

The vinegar and water combination is agreat cleaning solution and best of all, it’s chemical free.

I mix it around a little in the water, then I let the kale or other produce soak for about 10 minutes. After I drain it and rinse it well, the fruit, vegetable or in this case, the kale isready to be eaten.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients

If you have any ingredients leftover from this salad recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:

• Apple cider vinegar: Pickled Onions, Ranch Dressing, Potato Salad
• Honey: Honey Lemon Custard, Peanut Butter Bars, Watermelon Sorbet with Strawberries
• Carrots: Carrot Cake, Curried Carrot Soup, Citrus Glazed Carrots
• Kale: Lentil Stew, Green Smoothie, Zuppa Toscana
• Apple: Apple Dutch Baby, Apple Butter, Fried Apples
• Lemon juice: Pesto, Cherry Pie Filling, Lemon Blueberry Muffin
• Almonds: Sautéed Green Beans, Butter Pecan Granola

But, seriously…look at the colors! Beautiful aren’t they?

Enjoy!