Simple Cranberry Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing
Add some vibrant color to your Thanksgiving table this year with this simple Cranberry Kale Salad with homemade dressing. Fresh cranberries, pumpkin seeds, apples, cabbage, red onion, and carrots are mixed with hearty kale leaves and tossed in a 3 ingredient citrus dressing!
If you’re looking for more Thanksgiving recipes, check out some of my other favorites like Roasted Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes With Pecans, Easy Stuffing Recipe, Eggless Sourdough Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bread Without Eggs, or Slow Cooker Turkey.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Simple Cranberry Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Ready In: 15 minutes
- Makes: 6 servings
- Main Ingredients: kale, cranberries, purple cabbage, pumpkin seeds
- Flavor Profile: sweet, tart kale salad with citrus dressing
- Dietary Info: vegan, gluten free, eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: colorful and vibrant kale cranberry salad that can also be a meal
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Gut Healthy: This Cranberry Kale Salad is a gut healthy side dish that will round out your Thanksgiving dinner. I make a 3 ingredient salad dressing that is easy and so delicious!
- Vibrant Colors: Add some color to your Thanksgiving table! While most Thanksgiving dishes are indulgent, this vibrant organic salad will add beautiful color and loads of nutrients to your Thanksgiving.
- Jimbo's Copycat: If you are a fan of Jimbo’s Naturally (health food store in Southern California) then you probably know about their delicious deli. And whenever I am out of town, I go there almost daily and I love all their kale salads. That’s where I got the inspiration for this Cranberry Kale Salad! I’ve also done a copycat recipe of their Kale Apple Salad With Honey Dijon Dressing. So, if you are a fan of their kale salads, then you’ll love this recipe!
Jump to:
- A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Tips for Simple Cranberry Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing
- How to Make a Simple Cranberry Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Serving Suggestions
- Recipe FAQ’s
- More Thanksgiving Recipes
- Simple Cranberry Kale Salad With Homemade Dressing
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I create a simple homemade dressing for this healthy salad with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and just one simple spice mix! This adds flavor, is free of seed oils, and ties everything together, adding richness and a tangy depth that complements this organic salad and all it's goodness. If you want to use your favorite vinaigrette, you can also do that.
This Cranberry Kale Salad is perfect as a light lunch or a side dish for any meal, offering a delightful combination of sweet, savory, and tangy flavors in every bite!
Ingredients
- Kale: I use curly kale for this, but you can use another variety or even your favorite leafy greens or romaine lettuce also works.
- Purple Cabbage: I love organic purple cabbage as it gives this salad crunch. Green cabbage also works.
- Pumpkin Seeds: I use organic roasted and salted pumpkin seeds for some crunch also making this a cranberry kale salad without nuts incase you have people at Thanksgiving with nut allergies. You could also use sunflower seeds in place of pumpkin seeds if you prefer.
- Red Onion: Adds a sweet and tangy flavor.
- Carrots: I prefer to grate carrots for the best texture.
- Cranberries: It's the time to use fresh in season cranberries! But, dried cranberries also works here.
- Spices: I use FreshJax Organic Citrus Spice Blend for the dressing. This blend gives this salad so much flavor in just one simple ingredient! You can use a similar spice blend or your favorite use on everything spice like everything bagel spice or even an Italian spice mix works too.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Tips for Simple Cranberry Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Make sure to remove stems from the kale leaves if you buy leaves in a bag. If you buy the full kale leaves, squeeze the top of the kale stem and pulling down to rip away the kale leaves away. The stems are not as pleasant to eat, even though you can eat them.
- I used purple cabbage here, but you can also use green cabbage if you like. Either one will work!
- I used the large grater to grate the carrots, think pizza cheese size.
- I used Somerset apples, which is a slightly sweet and tart apple. Other similar varieties would be Pink Cripps, Fuji, or Gala.
- I used fresh cranberries in this salad. But if you want to use dried cranberries you can also do that too and it is also delicious!
- You can add in some fresh lemon juice for a little more citrus burst if you want.
- If you want to add cheese, I prefer feta in this but goat cheese or parmesan cheese is also a nice option.
How to Make a Simple Cranberry Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Massage the kale for 1 to 3 minutes, this will help remove some of the bitterness. In a large bowl, add the kale leaves, chopped cabbage, carrots, cranberries, red onion, apple, and pumpkin seeds.
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. Sprinkle with the Citrus Pepper Blend seasoning.
- Toss, taste, and add more olive oil, balsamic, or seasoning to your liking.
Serving Suggestions
This Cranberry Kale Salad without nuts makes a wonderful addition to your holiday menu! It adds color, veggies and makes a delicious side dish to Roasted Herb Butter Turkey, Apple Cider Honey Baked Ham or Savory Mustard Herb Ham.
Enjoy this as a side salad to any meal all year long. It pairs beautifully with favorite recipes like Slow Cooker Pumpkin Stew, Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Stew, How to Make Turkey Carcass Soup With Bone Broth, and Organic Meatloaf with Bone Broth!
And, you can also add in leftover chicken, steak or even deli lunch meat such as turkey or ham to make this Cranberry Kale Salad without nuts into a light lunch with added protein!
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, if you don't have fresh cranberries, you can use dried cranberries in its place.
While kale can be a bit more bitter in the greens department, it pairs beautifully with sweeter veggies. That's why this salad has carrots, apples, cranberries and a citrus dressing. These ingredients all help compliment the more hearty kale creating a beautiful harmony of flavors! You can also massage the kale to remove some of the bitterness.
You do not need to, but it helps with the bitterness of the kale.
Yes, these are great substitutes if you don't want to use kale. You could also use romaine lettuce if you prefer.
I prefer the sweeter varieties as it pairs really well with the tart cranberries and hearty kale. Use varieties like Fuiji, Gala or Pink Lady.
Yes, you can use your favorite balsamic dressing if you don't want to make it.
Yes, this works great with leftover turkey or leftover ham from the holidays. It's also delicious with leftover chicken, chicken sausage, or summer sausage.
Yes, if you plan to make this ahead of time on Thanksgiving, be sure to just prep the salad but don't dress it. Just wrap the salad bowl in plastic wrap or use a lid for your glass bowl and place in the fridge up to a day in advance. Then, before serving, just dress the salad. This way it won't become soggy with the dressing sitting on there for a longer period of time.
You can prep this a day in advance, but I wouldn't do it much further in advance. Just don't dress the salad if you are prepping it.
This is perfect as a side dish to any chicken, steak, turkey, or ham dinner. I love serving this during the holidays as a side salad. It also goes really well with sandwiches for lunch!
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Simple Cranberry Kale Salad With Homemade Dressing
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 cups kale leaves
- 1 cup chopped cabbage
- 1 large carrot (large grated)
- 3 ounces cranberries
- 2 slices red onion (diced)
- 1 apple (diced)
- 3 tablespoons roasted salted pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon FreshJax Citrus Pepper Blend
Instructions
- Massage the kale for 1 to 3 minutes, this will help remove some of the bitterness.
- In a large bowl, add the kale leaves, chopped cabbage, carrots, cranberries, red onion, apple, and pumpkin seeds.
- Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. Sprinkle with the Citrus Pepper Blend seasoning.
- Toss, taste, and add more olive oil, balsamic, or seasoning to your liking.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Make sure to remove stems from the kale leaves if you buy leaves in a bag. If you buy the full kale leaves, squeeze the top of the kale stem and pulling down to rip away the kale leaves away. The stems are not as pleasant to eat, even though you can eat them.
- I used purple cabbage here, but you can also use green cabbage if you like. Either one will work!
- I used the large grater to grate the carrots, think pizza cheese size.
- I used Somerset apples, which is a slightly sweet and tart apple. Other similar varieties would be Pink Cripps, Fuji, or Gala.
- I used fresh cranberries in this salad. But if you want to use dried cranberries you can also do that too and it is also delicious!
- You can add in some fresh lemon juice for a little more citrus burst if you want.
- If you want to add cheese, I prefer feta in this but goat cheese or parmesan cheese is also a nice option.
- High Altitude – Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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A staple for Thanksgiving every year!