Kale Crunch Salad with Apples, Cheddar, and Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

close up image of kale crunch salad with maple balsamic on the side.

Kale Crunch Salad with Apples, Cheddar, and Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

This Apple Kale Salad with Walnuts and Cheddar is so delicious and pairs well with a hearty, meaty-dish! This is actually the best kale salad that you’ll ever eat!

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Kale Crunch Salad, Kale Salad with Cheddar, Kale Salad with Maple Balsamic Dressing, Kale Salad with Walnuts

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings people

Calories 349kcal

Ingredients

FOR THE MAPLE BALSAMIC

½ cup olive oil
¼ cup aged balsamic
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ tsp cinnamon *see notes
¼ tsp Italian seasoning
1 pinch kosher salt

FOR THE SALAD

5 cups red kale chopped
2 honey crisp apples sliced or julienned
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup pepitas
¼ cup walnuts chopped
¼ cup white cheddar shaved or grated *see notes

Instructions

First, make the dressing by combining the olive oil, aged balsamic, maple syrup, cinnamon, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt in a mason jar. Shake it until it’s well combined. (Alternatively, you can simply whisk it together in a pyrex or small bowl).
Next, remove the stems from the kale and give it a few pulses in the food processor or blender (be careful, you’re not making a smoothie, you’re just chopping the kale to soften it up). Or just chop it. Add it to a large bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons of the dressing to the kale and massage it in with your hands.
Then add the sliced honey crisp apples, dried cranberries, pepitas, walnuts, and white cheddar.
5: Toss it all together and serve the dressing on the side.

Notes

- The cinnamon in the dressing is delicious, but if the idea of adding cinnamon to your dressing sounds odd to you, you can leave it out or replace it with ¼ tsp of nutmeg (or just leave it out). However, there’s not a lot of cinnamon added, so maybe add just a pinch and give it a taste, then add the rest.

- You can use sharp white cheddar or mild white cheddar, it depends entirely on your preference. Sharp white has a tangy, bold flavor, and mild is creamier with less sharpness. Both work fabulously here, and you can’t go wrong with either.

Nutrition