This hearty kale salad with apples, walnuts, cranberries and feta is a delicious balance of sweet and savory flavors, soft and crunchy textures all in one bowl. Serve as a side dish or a light lunch.
Are you over the kale craze yet? You may be by now, however I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like this kale salad with apples, walnuts, cranberries and feta.
I began serving it at family gatherings and barbecues as a result of an overabundance of kale in my garden a few summers ago. So much that I insisted each of my guests take a little gift bag of kale home with them!
Here’s the thing about this salad: it’s the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors as well as soft and crunchy textures all in the same bowl. Sweet dried cranberries, the crunch of toasted walnuts and apple slices, and salty, creamy feta make this salad so satisfying. I can enjoy a huge bowl of this for a light lunch.
If you haven’t tried planting kale in your garden before, I highly recommend it. Kale can be planted in your traditional garden bed, in raised garden beds or even containers and can be harvested up until the first frost in the autumn. Here’s a handy link with tips for planting and harvesting kale.
The secret to tender kale leaves is….
The key to making sure raw kale is easy to chew is to massage the leaves with a little olive oil, making sure that each piece is well coated in oil. This will soften the leaves and make them more tender. 
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the complete printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
Wash and dry your kale leaves. Remove the tough stems and roughly chop the kale. Add to a salad bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil and massage the oil into the leaves until they are all coated.
In a separate bowl, add all ingredients for the vinaigrette (olive oil; apple cider vinegar; Dijon mustard; honey; salt and pepper) and stir to combine. 
Add the vinaigrette to the kale and stir to combine. Top with remaining ingredients (apple slices; toasted walnuts; cranberries and feta), toss and serve.
Tips and suggestions:
- Do not skip the step of massaging olive oil in the kale leaves. This makes the kale tender.
- To toast the walnuts, place walnuts on a baking dish in a 325 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- I also enjoy substituting pecans for the walnuts, but basically you can add any nuts that you prefer.
- Add a can of chickpeas to this salad for extra protein and to turn it into a complete meal. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Leftover kale salad keeps well refrigerated for 1 day.
If you try out this recipe, do let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!
Here are more salad recipes for you to try out!
- Italian Rice Salad
- Sicilian Style Fennel and Orange Salad with Hazelnuts
- Italian Potato Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Tomatoes
- Italian Green Bean Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad with Pesto
- Grilled Tuna and White Bean Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6 cups coarsely chopped kale tough stems removed (about 6 large leaves)
- 1 apple peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup toasted walnuts
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the kale leaves and add to your salad bowl. Add a little olive oil and using your fingers, massage each leaf until all are coated in oil.
- In a separate bowl, add the vinaigrette ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Add the vinaigrette to the kale and toss well.
- Toss in the remaining ingredients (apple through feta) and serve.
Notes
- Do not skip the step of massaging the olive oil in the kale leaves. This makes the kale tender.
- To toast the walnuts, place walnuts on a baking dish in a 325 degrees F preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- I also like substituting pecans for the walnuts, but basically you can add any nuts that you prefer.
- Add a can of chickpeas to this salad for extra protein in order to turn it into a complete meal. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Leftover kale salad keeps well refrigerated for 1 day.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact portion size and ingredients used.
I too was lazy last fall with pulling my kale, figured I’d wait until spring. What a wonderful surprise to find several of the two different kinds of kale plants I have still growing, I’m so excited to have fresh kale here in Vermont in May! Your recipe looks amazing, can’t wait to try it! (one of my plants is bolting, so I’m guessing the other variety will not be far behind;-))
The same happened to me again this year! Thanks for stopping by Ann, hope you enjoy the salad!
Looks great!
Thanks Lea!
I like to overwinter my kale and collards, too! You will be rewarded with a bolting kale plant with flowers soon (if not yet done so already). Those flowers makes seeds by the end of the year which is how you can grow kale again. 🙂
Yes it is starting to flower! I have to keep the seeds. Thanks!