Healthy Kale Broccoli Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

This Kale Broccoli Salad hits all the healthy and delicious marks! This salad uses black kale, crunchy cucumber and fresh broccoli for a powerhouse nutritional punch! Crunchy green apple and dried cranberries give some sweetness, along with a maple syrup spiked dressing with apple cider vinegar. Simple, yet impressive😄

🥗Why you'll love this kale broccoli salad

• 😄You'll impress your friends and family - this broccoli and kale salad is not only delicious, it LOOKS yummy and once your guests get a taste of it, the "mmmm's" and "I love this salad!" comments will come a-rollin' in
• 🔪It's really easy to make - you're really just a chopping machine to get this salad ready to eat. And after whisking up a simple dressing, you've got it in the bag
• ✅It's naturally gluten-free and healthy - this kale broccoli salad will make you feel healthy without having to go on strange diets or starvation plans. It's just good, clean salad!

📝Ingredients for this kale broccoli salad recipe

Here's what you'll need for this broccoli kale salad:

• Black kale - use black kale and you can skip the step of massaging large, curly kale leaves!
• Broccoli
• Green apple
• Cucumber
• Dried Cranberries
• Slivered almonds - toasted these almonds will give you a lovely crunch in the salad
• Olive oil
• Apple cider vinegar
• Maple syrup
• Kosher salt

🔪How to make a kale broccoli salad

🥬What's the difference between kale and black kale?

Black kale (also known as Lacinato kale, Dinosaur kale, or Cavolo Nero) and curly kale (often referred to as green kale) are two popular kinds of kale.

Although both can totally work in this salad, there's a few why I'm reaching for black kale these days:

• Black Kale: Black kale often has a slightly sweeter and more mild flavor compared to curly kale. It's taste is less bitter and peppery, making it a good choice for salads you'll make for a crowd because it's crowd-pleasing! Black kale is also more tender and less fibrous than curly kale. It's easier to eat raw in salads without massaging or blanching it beforehand.
• Curly Kale: Curly kale tends to have a stronger, peppery, and slightly bitter flavor compared to black kale. Some people really like its strong taste, while others may find it a bit too much. Curly kale can be a bit tougher and more fibrous, especially in its raw form. Ideally, if you're using curly kale in a salad, it's best to massage it with some oil and a pinch of salt to soften the leaves before using it.

Got a ton of kale?

Make Air Fried Kale Chips!

Get the recipe →

🍽️What to serve with this broccoli and kale salad

This healthy broccoli and kale salad makes a great side dish to go along with any protein+healthy carb combination!

It's easy to make a complete and healthy meal when you have options like this.

Try these proteins with this salad:

And some options for easy, potatoes or rice - naturally gluten-free side dishes😄

🥡Storage and Leftovers

One of the best parts of this salad is that it keeps for days!

You can eat it over the next couple days with supper or use it to make lunches as part of a meal prep for the week ahead!

🏅Top Tips

• Why black kale? Using this close cousin of regular kale means you don't have to worry about hard to chew and large, leafy kale. Regular or "curly kale" is great but black kale is easier to work with, especially when you want to use it in a salad
• Make ahead tip: because you'll use ingredients for this salad that can hold their own, you can make this salad up to 1 day in advance and store it in the fridge. If you're making this salad ahead of time, just keep the nuts separate from the other salad ingredients. And leave the apple chopping until you're ready to serve.

Hope you love this salad like we do❣️

If you try it, please rate and comment below and let me know what you thought!

~April

More Salad Recipes to Check Out

📖 Recipe

Healthy Kale Broccoli Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

This Kale and Broccoli Salad hits all the healthy and delicious marks! This salad uses black kale, crunchy cucumber and fresh broccoli for a powerhouse nutritional punch!

4.34 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy kale salad, kale salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: April Saunders, RD, MPH

Ingredients

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• 1 bunch Black kale
• 2 cups Broccoli
• 2 Green apples
• 2 English cucumber
• ⅓ cup Dried Cranberries
• ⅓ cup Slivered almonds
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon Maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

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Instructions

• Toast the almonds on the stove in a small pan over low-medium heat. Don't let them burn; check and shake often. Will take about 6-8 minutes to toast them. Remove from heat when they get a nice golden brown on them.
• While the nuts are toasting, wash and chop up all the salad ingredients: chop the black kale kales, finely dice the cucumbers, chop the broccoli and dice the apple.
• Add the kale, broccoli, cucumber, apple and dried cranberries to a very large bowl.
• Whisk up the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and salt.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine everything.
• Top with the toasted almonds. Serve right away.

Notes

Yield: a LOT. This salad makes 10-12 cups.

When you're chopping the ingredients, make them as small as your want. I like smaller than bite sized so you get all the salad ingredients in one bite!

Make ahead tip: you can make this salad up to 1 day in advance. Chop everything except the apple. Store the salad ingredients in a large bowl in the fridge. Store the toasted nuts and dressing separate from the salad. Add the apple, nuts and dressing right before serving.

 

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Kale Broccoli Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

Amount per Serving

Calories

167

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

6

g

9

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Trans Fat

 

0.002

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

4

g

Sodium

 

134

mg

6

%

Potassium

 

527

mg

15

%

Carbohydrates

 

27

g

9

%

Fiber

 

6

g

25

%

Sugar

 

18

g

20

%

Protein

 

4

g

8

%

Vitamin A

 

4816

IU

96

%

Vitamin C

 

74

mg

90

%

Calcium

 

172

mg

17

%

Iron

 

2

mg

11

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Calories

167

Nutrition Facts