Kale Salad with Cranberry, Walnut and Feta
Ready in ten minutes, this salad features fresh kale, dried cranberries, walnuts and feta combine together in this delicious Kale Salad with Cranberry, Walnut & Feta. Tossed in a light lemony vinaigrette, this is one of these salads you’ll want to make over and over.
Lookin for other easy healthy salads? Try my chickpea salad, chinese chicken salad or this delicious fattoush salad next!
I just love how versatile Kale Salad can be! I’ve been experimenting with different dressings and flavour combinations and have a few more Kale Salads on the way!
Are you a salad lover? Awesome! Our other favourites include this Spinach Salad.
Once you master the simple art of ‘kale massaging’ you will make this one of your go-to greens for your favourite salads!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS
- quick and easy to make. You can have this salad on the table in 10 minutes!
- with kale being readily available in the grocery store all year, you can enjoy this delicious salad any time.
- the light vinaigrette is not only delicious but healthy as well!
- it’s so versatile. You can add your favorite salad ingredients and make it your own. We enjoyed this salad plain for dinner with Gigi Hadid Pasta and we only added the lemon vinaigrette, shaved Parmesan cheese and a few sourdough croutons. It was such a delicious meal! It’s also delicious with my pasta e piselli in the springtime.
INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
If you’re out of feta cheese or looking for a substitute, we’ve rounded up the best feta cheese substitutes for you!
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the kale
Start by slicing (or ripping by hand) the kale from the woody stalk in the middle of the kale leaf.
Put the kale into a colander or sieve and give it a thorough rinse. Let it drain well – a salad spinner works great for this.
If you don’t have a salad spinner, you can pat it dry with a paper towel by laying it flat on top of the bowl and pressing down.
On a cutting board, roll up the kale lengthwise and chop it into smaller pieces. I like to cut them about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch wide.
Place the kale in a large mixing bowl.
Massage the kale
Next, massage the kale. Yes – a quick 30 second kale massage is the secret to softening up the kale’s texture.
Drizzle 1 to 2 tsp. of olive oil over the kale and gently massage it by hand. You will feel it quickly start to soften up.
Toss in the Add-ins
Add in the dried cranberries, walnuts, grated lemon rind, walnuts and crumbled feta cheese.
Make the dressing
Using a mason jar, place the olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Put the lid on and shake it vigorously for one minute.
The dressing will emulsify into a delicious dressing ready to be poured onto the salad.
Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss the salad until the dressing is coating most of the leaves and other ingredients.
Storage Instructions
Once the dressing has been tossed into the salad, it should be eaten immediately.
You can meal prep this salad by preparing the kale and dressing separately and storing the dressing in a mason jar and the kale in a plastic storage container.
Put the add-in’s in a small container in the refrigerator and toss all three together when you’re ready to eat the salad.
Kale Salad with Cranberry, Walnut and Feta
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Description
Ready in ten minutes, this salad features fresh kale, dried cranberries, walnuts and feta combine together in this delicious Kale Salad with Cranberry, Walnut & Feta.
Ingredients
6 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing
2 tbsp. lemon juice
lemon zest from one lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Start by slicing (or ripping by hand) the kale from the woody stalk in the middle of the kale leaf.
- Next, rinse the kale in a colander or sieve. Use a salad spinner to remove the excess moisture or pat it with a paper towel.
- Use a cutting board and roll up the kale lengthwise and chop it into smaller pieces. I like to cut them about 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch wide.
- Place the kale in a large mixing bowl.Next, massage the kale. Yes – a quick 30 second kale massage is the secret to softening up the kale’s texture.
- Drizzle 1 to 2 tsp. of olive oil over the kale and gently massage it by hand. You will feel it quickly start to soften up.
- Add in the dried cranberries, walnuts, grated lemon rind, walnuts and crumbled feta cheese. Don’t stir yet.
- Using a mason jar, place the olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Put the lid on and shake it vigorously for one minute.The dressing will emulsify into a delicious dressing ready to be poured onto the salad.
- Pour the dressing onto the salad and toss the salad until the dressing is coating most of the leaves and other ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 small salad
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 10.4 g
- Sodium: 175.4 mg
- Fat: 15.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.4 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 9.1 mg
This was just what I was looking for! The only thing that I wanted to do was reduce the tartness of the dressing, so I added a little more honey. I loved it, and can’t wait until lunchtime, so that I can have the leftovers.
So great to hear that you enjoyed the salad! And yes, definitely good call to test the dressing for tartness and adjust to taste 🙂
This was the perfect salad to make between Christmas & New Years when we wanted something lighter and easy for a change!
I have made this kale recipe salad for MUCH less than the prepared store-bought ones! I used coarsely chopped pecans instead of walnuts. I also chopped my feta cheese and the cranberries into smaller pieces. A GREAT hit the five times I have made it!
That is so true! Much less that store-bought ones. So many variations that you can change up to add in and we love the pecans too! 🙂 Sandra
Didn’t have cranberries or walnuts so used raisins and sliced almonds and it was still delicious.
Oh yes! Love it with raisins and almonds. The lemon vinaigrette goes with so many different add-ins right?! So happy to hear that you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting.
I would never have thought I would love this salad so much!! It makes all the difference in the world to massage the kale in oil. It tastes all together different so much lighter and fresh. Easily one of our favourite salads now!!
Super fast, easy and delicious recipe that is super nutritious! I have made this several times now, and I love it! My family loves it, and even my five year old daughter will eat it. I also shared it with some friends and their kids and they liked it as well! Thank you so much for this yummy recipe!
I’m thrilled to hear that your family loves this kale salad recipe! I really appreciate that you took the time to let me know!
Our garden is exploding with kale this summer and this is just the perfect summer salad to use our bounty. Such a refreshing dish during those hot summer days!
I invited extended family for dinner and this salad received rave reviews.
Thank you SO much for your lovely comment! So happy to hear that it was enjoyed by all!
I made this as written…except I added a chopped apple.. It was delicious! Loved the dressing! I balked a little at the Feta, but I added and it just made it fabulous! Next day, even better! Thank You!
So happy to hear that you loved the dressing – so easy right? Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Simple ingredients + quick prep + delicious = MUST PRINT to have in my “Internet issues / WiFi not working” recipe book.