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I love the flavors in this beautiful Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad. Crunchy carrots, raw kale and red cabbage mixed alongside sweet apples, slivered almonds and sweet dried blueberries, then topped with a sweet and tangy apple cider vinaigrette.


Why This Recipe Works
- The flavors in this colorful salad come together perfectly, each complimenting the other.
- It’s hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
- This salad is easily customizable. You can add in other ingredients to your liking.
Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil
- Honey
- Salt and pepper
- Carrots
- Red cabbage
- Kale
- Apple
- Lemon juice
- Almonds
- Dried blueberries

How To Make This Recipe
- In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Place the carrots, cabbage, kale, and apples in a large bowl.
- Mix in the lemon juice.
- Add the almonds and dried blueberries.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss.

Expert Tips
- You can really alter the ingredients in this salad very easily. I threw in dried blueberries because that’s what I had on hand. You could add dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese or some chopped red peppers and a few cucumber pieces.
- I add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the salad and mixed it well to keep the apples from turning brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Store Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad?
I find it keeps well in the refrigerator for a day or so and actually flavors intensify.
How Do I Clean Kale?
Actually, this tip works for cleaning most vegetables. I first rinse the vegetable or fruit under running water, then I place it into a large bowl, cover it with water and add a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
The vinegar and water combination is a great cleaning solution and best of all, it’s chemical free.
I mix it around a little in the water, then I let the kale or other produce soak for about 10 minutes. After I drain it and rinse it well, the fruit, vegetable or in this case, the kale is ready to be eaten.

Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this salad recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Apple cider vinegar: Pickled Onions, Ranch Dressing, Potato Salad
- Honey: Honey Lemon Custard, Peanut Butter Bars, Watermelon Sorbet with Strawberries
- Carrots: Carrot Cake, Curried Carrot Soup, Citrus Glazed Carrots
- Kale: Lentil Stew, Green Smoothie, Zuppa Toscana
- Apple: Apple Dutch Baby, Apple Butter, Fried Apples
- Lemon juice: Pesto, Cherry Pie Filling, Lemon Blueberry Muffin
- Almonds: Sautéed Green Beans, Butter Pecan Granola
But, seriously…look at the colors! Beautiful aren’t they?
Enjoy!
Apple, Kale and Cabbage Salad

Ingredients
- 4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- pinch black pepper
- 2 large carrots , scrubbed, peeled and coarsely grated
- 1/2 head red cabbage , finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups kale , finely chopped
- 1 large apple , peeled, cored and diced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup dried blueberries (or other dried fruit)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Place the carrots, cabbage, kale and apples in a large bowl.
- Mix in the lemon juice.
- Add the almonds and dried blueberries.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss.



Such a beautiful salad. Who could resist? Not me. 🙂
I love salads like this with all the colors and textures ! I may sneak in some pistachios…
Pistachios would be a great addition, Valerie.
When I travel I love eating locally and fresh. Plus when I travel so much of it surrounds food…haha. I plan where I’m going to eat from day one. This salad looks super fresh and totally delicious!
Thank you 🙂
Although you wrote this during a different holiday season I think that all of the pretty color would be gorgeous for Easter, too! This does look really good. 🙂
You’re so right, the colors certainly are pretty. Thanks, Marye!
that looks amazing!! i love kale and apple together, so refreshing!
Thanks Lindsay. The apple, kale and cabbage taste so good together.
definitely trying this! Yum!!!!
This salad looks amazing and sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it this weekend.
Wow, this looks fantastic! Thanks for posting.
This looks wonderful – I’m on a real food journey and this will be a great addition to my menu. It’s so pretty too!
Carole @ Garden Up green
Ooh this looks so yummy!!