Broccoli Kale Salad with Cranberries

Name: Broccoli-Kale Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: ½ bunch kale (about 5 large leaves); 12 oz broccoli slaw; 1 cup dried cranberries (6 oz) (sweetened); 1 apple (honeycrisp (small)); ½ cup pepitas (roasted and salted); ¼ cup apple cider vinegar; ½ cup grapeseed oil; 1/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed, from one navel orange or 3 Clementines); 1 TB honey; ¼ tsp dried tarragon; Salt and pepper to taste

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with Broccoli Slaw and Citrus Vinaigrette

To illustrate how cooking sometimes takes its own path, this salad started with a completely different recipe that a friend shared years ago for a farro (grain) salad, which had a unique dressing: Clementine vinaigrette. The salad was good, but the real star was the dressing. I decided to make my own version with this tasty Broccoli-Kale Salad.

With this recipe, I’m trying for something that resembles the sweet kale salad I sometimes get from Costco. My version has a little less sugar and a lot more control over the quantity. Plus, I do have occasional negative experiences with those store-bought, pre-mixed salads. By making my own, I always know how fresh it is.

One of the great features of a kale salad is how well it keeps. Leftovers are really no problem! They’re still delicious the next day. I can’t speak to how well it keeps beyond that – the salad never lasts longer than 2 days in this house. Yes, only two people here, LOL.

In addition to kale, this salad features broccoli. But not florets. I use pre-shredded broccoli slaw for this.

I love that the mix includes a little carrot and purple cabbage for sweetness and color. It elevates this salad right into the superfood category!

How to make this broccoli kale salad with cranberries

To start, prepare the kale by stripping the leaves from the stems and rinsing well. Place in a large bowl and massage for 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and chop into very small pieces, then return the pieces to the bowl (Note: If preferred, you can also chop fine first and then massage).

Add one 12-ounce bag of broccoli slaw mix to the bowl and one cup of sweetened dried cranberries.

chopped apples added to the salad in a bowl

Quarter and remove the core from a small honeycrisp apple and dice (I do not remove the skin from the apple). Add diced apple to the bowl.

Make the dressing by mixing grapeseed oil, apple cider vinegar, honey tarragon and citrus juice. Use fresh-squeezed juice from one naval orange, or 3 Clementine oranges. This will yield about 1/3 cup of juice. Shake or whisk vigorously until well combined.

pouring dressing into the bowl of broccoli kale salad

Add the dressing to the salad and mix, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

The final ingredient is a half-cup of pepitas. I buy them already roasted and salted. Hint: In order to preserve their crunch, add these right before serving.

This makes a big bowl of salad, with a sweet – but tangy – dressing that is warm weather friendly and potluck easy due to the omission of mayo.

But don’t wait ‘til summer! It’s great to enjoy year-round!

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5 from 20 votes