Deb’s Kale Salad with Apple, Cranberries and Pecans
A flavorful, vegetarian raw kale salad loaded with Granny Smith apple, cranberries, pecans, radish and goat cheese, tossed in zippy honey mustard dressing.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
I just walked into my closet, tugged on the little string that dangles from the ceiling for light and counted fourteen pairs of boots. Fourteen pairs. That’s twenty-eight individual boots. Most are black, a few pairs have heels, one pair of riding boots covers my knees, and all but the rain boots are made of leather. Needless to say, I love boots. They are my footwear of choice in the cold weather months and I will never have enough of them. At this rate, they will soon require a closet of their own.
I harbor the same deep affection for kale salads. Kale salads make me happy. They are a staple in my diet in the same way that boots are a staple in my wardrobe and I will never tire of them. Kale salads, I tell you, are the answer to all sorts of problems.
Too hot outside to cook anything? Kale salad. Tight jeans? Kale salad. Feeling sickly? Kale salad. Hung over? Wanna eat all your troubles away? Kale salad. Don’t know what to bring to a potluck with paleo, gluten-free and vegetarian attendees? Put on your best announcer’s voice and shout, “kaaaale salaaaaaaaad!”
There are a few tricks to making a kale salad taste really great, which I’ve elaborated on here. Every time I’ve heard from a real-life friend or commenter that one of my kale salad recipes turned them on to kale salads in general, I’m thrilled.
This salad is the fourth kale salad to appear on my blog and surely not the last. It’s hearty and holiday worthy, full of crunch from crisp apple, radish and pecans, studded with sweet, ruby red cranberries and tangy crumbled goat cheese, and tossed in a zippy honey mustard dressing. What’s not to love?
Watch How to Make Deb’s Kale Salad
The recipe came from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman, from which many more recipes are to come. I would imagine that if you’ve found your way to this food blog, then surely you are familiar with Smitten Kitchen.
Deb’s blog is, simply stated, the best. Honestly, I sometimes wonder why anyone (myself wholly included) bothers with food blogging when Deb has so clearly mastered the medium. Her writing is captivating and witty. Her recipes are unfailingly stellar in both concept and execution. Her photos make you want to quit whatever it is that you’re supposed to be doing when you find yourself drooling at her blog and hop into the kitchen immediately.
I had been eagerly awaiting the release of her cookbook for months and now that I have my own copy resting on my coffee table, I can say that it is magnificent. Every recipe has been meticulously tested and illustrated in photographs by Deb herself, and Deb never lets you down. If you like to cook, you are going to want this cookbook. If you’re not sure what to buy as gifts this holiday season, make it this cookbook. Seriously. Did I mention that she has a full vegetarian section and 90 pages of desserts in there?
I made a few alterations to Deb’s kale salad recipe, given the season and what I had in stock in my pantry. I added a chopped Granny Smith apple and traded dried cranberries for the dried cherries. I also used apple cider vinegar instead of white wine vinegar, though I’m not sure I can really taste the difference in the end result.
I’m making this salad again this evening for girls’ night with Downton Abbey and will be making it again for my family’s Thanksgiving. It’s a winner.
PrintDeb’s Kale Salad with Apple, Cranberries and Pecans
A hearty, holiday-worthy raw kale salad with chopped Granny Smith apple, cranberries, toasted pecans and goat cheese, tossed in a zippy honey mustard dressing. It’s both vegetarian and gluten free.
Ingredients
Salad
- ½ cup pecan halves
- 8 ounces kale (I used regular curly green kale, but Deb recommends Cavolo Nero or Lacinato, Dinosaur or Tuscan Kale)
- 4 to 5 medium radishes
- ½ cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese, chilled
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons honey or maple syrup
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread the pecans on a baking tray. Toast them until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes, tossing them once or twice to make sure they bake evenly. Remove the tray from the oven and set them aside to cool.
- Pull the kale leaves off from the tough stems and discard the stems. Use a chef’s knife to chop the kale into small, bite-sized pieces. Transfer the kale to a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands by lightly scrunching big handfuls at a time until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant.
- Thinly slice the radishes (this is easier to do if you first chop off the root end so you can place the base of the radish flat against your cutting board). Add them to the bowl.
- Coarsely chop the pecans and cranberries and add them to the bowl. Chop the apple into small, bite-sized pieces and add it to the bowl as well. Crumble the goat cheese over the top.
- In a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour the dressing over the salad. Toss until the salad is evenly coated with dressing. Serve immediately, or for even better flavor, let the salad marinate for 10 to 20 minutes beforehand. This salad keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman.
Make it vegan: Omit the goat cheese, and use maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing.
If you love this recipe: Be sure to check out my kale salads roundup here!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I’m not a big fan of kale, but i had 5 leaves languishing in the fridge so i gave it a try. I followed the recipe omitting the radish since I had none and subbed dubliner cheese for the goat cheese. It was delishious! I’m not a vegetarian so I judge a recipe based on how good it tastes and not how healthy it is. I will add this to my “keeper” list and an option fir my potluck list.
That’s great to hear, Lynne! Thank you for sharing.
Just made this recipe and substituted the pecans for walnuts and no goat cheese and it was delicious! 10/10 would recommend.
I love the maple syrup in the dressing. I used to hate kale but this is delicious and very easy to put together. I actually get cravings for this salad!
Winning! That’s great to hear, Teresa.
I love this – just made it and sampled it. Also thought it would be good too adding maybe some bacon or sweet picked beets eh?
This recipes is one of my go-tos! To add some creaminess while keeping the recipe dairy-free I sub roasted sweet potato or squash for the goat cheese. On the same pan you can roast a chicken breast or salmon filet for some extra protein.
This is a recipe that I would pay $20 for at a restaurant. I would roll my eyes at paying $20 for a salad, but then say to myself after I had eaten it that it been worth every penny.
Has anyone tried this with collards?
That could work too! Let me know what you think, Cam.
Perfect! So easy to put together. I found this recipe after a quick google search. I had a bunch of kale and I wanted a quick and easy recipe as a side dish for our dinner. I substituted the pecans with walnuts, and skipped the radishes (I just didn’t have any!), but it turned out great! I’m saving this recipe for the future.
I made this salad using kale from our garden, which I believe is oak leaf? It’s not as curly, but was very good. I used my kitchen scale to weigh 8 ozs. of kale and it was not enough so I doubled; could have tripled. So I am wondering what I am not understanding? I adjusted the ingredients because I felt it would have been too much for the kale portion. I used feta because we are not fans of goat cheese. We loved it and it will definitely make It into our keeper recipe book!
Hi Lynn, I’m sorry you didn’t feel the ratios were correct when you made it. Produce can vary so much in weight, bunch size etc. I’m happy you were still able to enjoy it!
I just discovered this recipe last week and have made it twice already. So easy and delicious!
This recipe is the best kale salad I’ve had. We eat it almost daily as I have an overabundance of kale in my garden. I substituted cashews and raisins as this is all I had and skipped the goat cheese. Delish!
DELICIOUS!!!!! I HAVE MADE THIS SEVERAL TIMES… NEVER HAD THE GOAT CHEESE ON HAND AND PARMESAN CHEESE WAS PERFECT SUBSTITUTE.
This was perfection! I was looking for a different kale salad rather than my old standby with lemon vinaigrette, bread crumbs and Parmesan. (True Food Kitchen recipe). The salad dressing is awesome. I didn’t have radishes so I grated carrots in the salad for color. Outstanding recipe, Thank you
We adore kale, grow it every year and try to incorporate it in many dishes. Your salad is amazing!! Love the radish addition. I had some left over homemade curry vinaigrette in the fridge so used that instead of your yummy sounding dressing (which I’ll use next time). Also, omitted the cheese as we are eating more vegan meals. Thank you for sharing this wonderful and healthy salad!
You’re welcome, Cindy! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Loved this and your advice on prepping Kale! This is coming to Thanksgiving this year! I added grilled chicken for a complete lunch. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Tanya!
Hi there,
Can this be a make ahead salad for the week?
Sure, this is a good salad to meal prep. I hope you love it!
Absolutely delicious, easy, beautiful in a glass salad bowl! Thanks for another terrific recipe.
You’re welcome, Miriam!
So glad I found this recipe! Using what I had on hand, I omitted the radishes and substituted a Bosc pear for the apple. Delicious! And glad I finally know how to properly make a kale salad. Thanks—this will be a new regular.
Thank you for sharing, Elizabeth!
Made this last night and it was SO good! I wasn’t sure if the apple would brown in the salad but it disappeared so fast it didn’t have a chance lol. The dressing was just enough (I used one bunch of curly kale) to add flavor but not soak it. Wasn’t sure if I did the pecans right — toasted them for about 6 minutes but couldn’t tell if they were “lightly browned” — don’t they start out brown? Are there pale pecans out there? Definitely adding this to our Thanksgiving menu. Thanks Deb!
What a delicious mix of flavours and textures. Thank you Deb and Kate, I thoroughly enjoyed this salad.
You’re welcome, Leanda! I appreciate your review.
I really liked this salad.
I made it for a Christmas Party I was attending.
As I had to premake it, I left out the cheese, added a 4 leaf mix salad and some halved mixed colour cherry tomatoes
I premade the dressing in a jar and added the chopped apple.
This stopped the apple from going brown and kept everything still crunchy.
This meant that I could make the salad, earlier in the day, in two parts cover and seal each part and at serving time toss both parts together.
I got lots of compliments and requests for the recipe.
The flavors, textures and colors in this add up to a beautiful and delicious salad! Rave reviews from all the salad lovers at my table.
I’m glad it was a hit, Peg! I appreciate your review.
I wish I could give this 10 stars! The best kale salad I’ve ever made. I’m eating it as a snack in my bed on NYE.. THAT’S how good it is. I used pepitas instead of pecans and added chickpeas!! So good!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Christy! Thank you for your review.
Starting to put more vegetables in my life! This flavorful salad was amazing. Thank you for this recipe.
You’re welcome, Regina! I appreciate your review.
Delicious, fast, pretty salad with on hand ingredients for lunch or light dinner. Thanks!!
You’re welcome, Miriam!
Tried it as posted. Was outstanding. I like messing with the ingredients a bit and did the following:
I added to the dressing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice as well as the zest from the lemon. Add last.
Well done!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Guy!
Omitted the radish but added roasted sweet potato chunks and sliced red grapes. And because it was Thanksgiving and I had them on hand, topped the salad with some french fried onions for flavor and crunch. Everyone loved it!
Made this tonight.
Really lovely salad.
The toasted pecans steal the show.
Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it.
I too LOVE Deb Perelman!
I have white Piknik cheese I’ll sub in but the apples are key!
All I can find is a garlic goat cheese so I’m wondering can I add that to this and also can I add minced garlic to the dressing?
Sure, let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy it, Theresa.
I added the garlic and I also poured a little butter over my pecans and toasted them and it was perfect except for one thing, I really love kale and I’ve only ever had it before in already prepared salads and pasta salads from Giant Eagle and theirs were absolutely delicious but this one the kale just seemed so rough, can’t explain it any other way, is there a way to make the kale not so rough?
Hi! You can try to massage the kale more. Thank you for your review, Theresa!
Hi, I just made the autumn salad and LOVE it! I also appreciate your kale enthusiasm, I feel the same way about kale and have been looking for new recipes, thank you very much!!
I made this salad but used agave instead of honey. It was excellent.would give it 5 stars for sure
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Erika! I appreciate your review.
I have lots of kale in my garden and this recipe was a great way to use it. It is delicious and healthy too!
Thank you for your review, Jan! I bet it was better with homegrown kale.
Have you made this with barley and or feta? Asking because that is what I have on hand.
You can try feta. I hope you enjoyed it, Regina!
Can the goat cheese be substituted? If yes, what other cheese do you recommend?
Sure, you could omit or try feta if you like.
We loved it. Best kale salad recipe ever!
Thank you for sharing, Mike!
Kale has a very strong flavor and needs an equally strong dressing to balance it out. The dressing in this recipe is delicious and I could eat it just by itself By The Spoonful. Thumbs up to this recipe.
Thank you, Mimi! I appreciate you taking the time to review.
Although this seems perfect for Fall or Thanksgiving, my kale and radishes are ready now in June/July! It works perfect in summer too! Made as written and its awesome!
That’s great, Jill! Thank you for sharing.
Yummly in my tummly! This is a keeper! Thank you for sharing this Kate and Deb! About to have my second helping. Nom nom nom.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed this salad.
Hi lovely person,
I have wanted to make a Kale salad forever.The birth of my
second Grandson 9 days ago was part of my inspiration to make something healthy for the family.
My daughter has always loved my salads and she did love this CranberryPecan apple Kale salad on your website.
I will make it again as I have lots of the ingredients left..
I love hearing about all your boots in your closet.
Best Wishes and thank you
After an overindulgent weekend I was on the hunt for a kale salad and I’m so glad I found this adaptation.
I slightly modified it by not including cranberries or pecans since we didn’t have any but I did throw in some pumpkin seeds which added a nice texture. My favorite part of the recipe was the Granny Smith apple! Such a great sweet-tart crunch. I will definitely make this again – it’s my new favorite kale salad!
Thank you for sharing, Zohra! I appreciate your review.
This is my go to kale recipe! Substitute seasonal firm fruits like apple , peach, blueberries.
That sounds delicious and a great idea! Thank you for sharing, Sue.
I love this salad!! I made a tweek adding pineapple tidbits to apple match sticks. It keeps apples from turning brown and goes sooo well with goat cheese. Thanks Nancy Crosby, Guyton, GA
Made this tonight to serve with dinner… perfect for a simple autumn dinner with soup– thanks for a delicious recipe!
Great to hear!
Excellent salad! I don’t even like kale but trying to eat healthier. A must try
Great to hear! Thank you for your review.
I thought this was delicious! I eliminated the goat cheese because I don’t like cheese and used grilled chicken.
I’m bringing this to an office Christmas party tonight since it looks so festive and people never bring enough vegetable sides lol. I added pomegranate seeds and bacon so picky people will be enticed to try it LOL
The best kale salad EVER!!! This salad made me like kale and fruit in salads. It’s life changing for real!
That’s great to hear, Emma! Thank you for your review.
I made this for Christmas dinner (to go with steak and a potato gratin) and it was FANTASTIC. People who say they hate kale gobbled this up. And it looked gorgeous and festive. Highly recommend.
Wonderful to hear, Lynn! Thank you for sharing.
Great recipe, and too simple to be so good! I made this on Christmas Day and, not only does it look super festive, it was my favorite thing on the table. It was my dish, I know, I said it anyway! Winner !