You will love this Autumn-inspired Kale Salad Recipe with apples, pears, cranberries, and toasted pecans with honey lemon dressing. It’s so easy to prepare and it’s one of the few green salads that can be made ahead.

Autumn Kale Salad Recipe is loaded with apples, pears and pecans. The honey-lemon dressing softens kale and makes it so fresh.

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Kale Salad Recipe

We love this seasonal Kale Salad in the cooler months because it is loaded with all of our favorite Fall ingredients: crisp apples, pears, pecans, and kale of course! The simple honey-lemon dressing coats every bite of this kale salad and makes it completely fresh, nutritious, and delicious!

This salad and a bowl of Creamy Sweet Potato Soup are all we need for the perfect Fall meal.

Kale Salad Ingredients

Is Kale Good for You?

Kale is known for it’s nutrient-dense profile. it’s high in Vitamin K, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. It’s also the star ingredient in this salad! See the nutrition content estimates in the recipe card label below.

Kale is more versatile than you think. It’s also great in soups like Zuppa Toscana and our Sausage Kale Soup.

Healthy Kale Salad in bowl with serving spoons

How to Make Kale Salad Dressing:

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper in a measuring cup and stir until dissolved.

Pro Tip: If your honey doesn’t dissolve readily, you can place the bottom of your dressing container into a bowl of hot water to warm it slightly, which should do the trick!

kale-salad-recipe-with-honey-lemon-dressing-8

How to Prepare Kale:

Strip kale leaves (hold the stem in one hand and pull the leaves off with the other). Discard the stems as they are fibrous and tough.

Chop leaves into bite-sized pieces and double rinse the chopped leaves to catch any trapped dust in the curly leaves then thoroughly dry in a salad spinner.

How to prepare kale stripping off the leaves

Why Should You Massage Kale?

Raw kale is naturally a tough green and massaging it helps to soften it up so you can enjoy it without having to cook it. Be sure not to over-massage it so you don’t end up with mushy kale. Rub the kale and dressing together just until the kale starts to wilt.

How to Make Autumn Kale Salad:

1. Place kale in a salad bowl, add cranberries, and drizzle with all of the dressing. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale, just until the kale starts to wilt. This will help to soften it. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Adding dressing to kale salad

2. Before serving, top with sliced apples, sliced pears, thinly sliced onions, and toasted pecans. Toss to combine.

Kale Salad ingredients combined in a bowl with kale, apple, pears, pecans, cranberries, onion

Can I Make Kale Salad Ahead?

We completely LOVE that this Autumn Kale Salad is a make-ahead salad. Most green leaf salads like our Autumn Chicken Salad must be eaten soon after they are made but this one just gets better with time! I recommend letting the kale marinate with the dressing for 4 hours or overnight. We’ve enjoyed this salad after 2 hours but the leaves are softer and just right after marinating 4 hours.

PS. The lemon dressing preserves the fruit so leftovers of this kale salad are still very tasty the next day – perfect for a work or school lunch! 🙂

Tossed kale salad with apple, pear, pecan, onion, cranberries

This kale salad is loaded with the good stuff. Every bite is so satisfying! The make-ahead option makes it perfect for serving up at your next party.

What to Serve with Kale Salad:

There are some recipes that end up on the regular rotation during the cooler months. These are the dishes we love to cozy up with and they pair perfectly with Kale Salad. Check out more of our favorite Fall Recipes Here.

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Kale Salad Recipe with Honey Lemon Dressing

4.98 from 38 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Autumn kale salad recipe with apples and pears
This Autumn Kale salad is loaded with crisp apples, pears and crunchy pecans. The simple honey-lemon dressing coats every bite and makes it completely fresh, healthy and delicious!
Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 6 as a side salad

Ingredients for Salad Dressing:

Ingredients for Kale Salad:

  • 1 bunch kale, (8 cups loosely packed) well rinsed
  • 1 cup craisins, dried cranberries
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 apple, (I used a crisp fuji apple)
  • 1 pear, (firm)
  • 1 cup pecans, toasted on a dry skillet

Instructions

  • Combine all dressing ingredients and stir together until honey dissolves then set aside.
  • Rinse and strip kale leaves. Chop in bite-sized pieces. I rinse the chopped leaves a second time to ensure there isn't any dust hidden in the curly leaves then dry in a salad spinner.
  • Place kale in a salad bowl, top with 1 cup craisins and drizzle with dressing. Use hands to stir well and massage lightly until kale just starts to wilt. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
  • Before serving, add sliced apples, sliced pears, thinly sliced onions and toasted pecans. Toss to combine.

Nutrition Per Serving

275kcal Calories34g Carbs2g Protein17g Fat2g Saturated Fat200mg Sodium226mg Potassium5g Fiber24g Sugar975IU Vitamin A19mg Vitamin C37mg Calcium1mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Kale Salad Recipe with Honey Lemon Dressing
Amount per Serving
Calories
275
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
17
g
26
%
Saturated Fat
 
2
g
13
%
Sodium
 
200
mg
9
%
Potassium
 
226
mg
6
%
Carbohydrates
 
34
g
11
%
Fiber
 
5
g
21
%
Sugar
 
24
g
27
%
Protein
 
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
 
975
IU
20
%
Vitamin C
 
19
mg
23
%
Calcium
 
37
mg
4
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: kale salad
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
Calories: 275

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

 

Autumn Kale Salad Recipe is loaded with apples, pears and pecans. The honey-lemon dressing softens kale and makes it so fresh. Easy, excellent kale salad! | natashaskitchen.com

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Liz
    March 2, 2023

    My new favourite go-to. Love that I can make it ahead of time!

    Reply

    • NatashasKitchen.com
      March 2, 2023

      Hi Liz! Yes, we love this too! 🙂

      Reply

  • iza
    January 29, 2022

    Loved that salad. Love the dressing even more. Use it on all my salads. Yum!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      January 29, 2022

      That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Iza!

      Reply

  • Sandra Landriault
    January 17, 2022

    Looks amazing. I am definitely going to try it. I am allergic to apples and pears. Do you think canned mandarin oranges would work?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      January 17, 2022

      Hello Sandra, I honestly haven’t tested this recipe with Mandarin oranges yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!

      Reply

      • connie spencer
        January 30, 2022

        Have not made it yet.Sliced persimmon would be good and look great.

        Reply

  • Mary
    December 5, 2021

    Hi Natasha! Where is that wooden bowel from? Or do you have one that you really like for mixing salads? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 5, 2021

      Hi Mary, you may find the Wooden Bowl that I used in my Amazon shop and affiliate link. Here is the link.

      Reply

  • Mona
    November 25, 2020

    And of course another delicious fulfilling salad! But I used baby kale blend and walnuts as that’s what I had….but wow what a salad!!!! 👍👍👍👍

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      November 25, 2020

      Hi Mona, so great to hear that you loved this salad. Thanks for sharing your good feedback with us!

      Reply

  • Jenjira
    November 9, 2020

    Hi Natasha, I made this salad more than 3 times , I really love it. May i share your recipe in Thai language because they can not read english. Thank you very much .

    Reply

    • Natasha
      November 9, 2020

      Hi, unfortunately, the best I can suggest is to try using google translate to translate the recipes. We don’t speak Thai so there is no way for us to do that.

      Reply

  • Lara
    October 14, 2020

    I tried this salad and it was amazing even without cranberry(as I didn’t have at the moment)
    Thank you Natasha

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 14, 2020

      You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed that Lara!

      Reply

  • Kate Hill
    October 13, 2020

    Easy to make salad and dressing; so crunchy and delicious! Will be on repeat in our home!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      October 13, 2020

      So glad to hear that, Kate!

      Reply

  • Donna Brady
    October 13, 2020

    Natasha, I have a bed of kale in the garden but it isn’t curly leaf. Do you think I could use it in this recipe?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 13, 2020

      Hi Donna, that may work! I would love to know how you like it!

      Reply

  • Malak
    October 9, 2020

    Hi natasha can you do stuffed crust pizza thanks for all the recipes

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 9, 2020

      Hi Malak, thank you so much for that suggestion!

      Reply

  • Connie
    October 8, 2020

    What a wonderfully refreshing salad! I did have to improvise a little with what I had on hand. Because the lemon was really tart, I added a little more honey. Also substituted Trader Joe’s Cruciferious Crunch mixture (has lots of kale in it). Didn’t have time to refrigerate 4 hours so just fixed it and served. It turned out delicious in spite of me!! Thanks Natasha for another great recipe!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 8, 2020

      You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Connie!

      Reply

  • Nomakeup.net
    October 7, 2020

    My husband and I both loved this recipe.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 7, 2020

      That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review!

      Reply

  • Lily
    October 6, 2020

    This salad was so easy to make and tasted delicious, we had it as a side to dinner and it was the first thing gone. So much flavor in a simple side salad.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 6, 2020

      Isn’t it amazing! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Lily!

      Reply

  • Erin
    October 6, 2020

    What a wonderful fall salad. All my favorites in one place!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      October 6, 2020

      So glad to hear that, Erin!

      Reply

  • Betsy
    October 6, 2020

    Delicious and easy! Perfect salad for these autumn evenings. The honey lemon dressing is so bright, light, and yummy!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      October 6, 2020

      I’m so happy you enjoeyd that Betsy! Thank you for sharing that wonderful review!

      Reply

  • Karen
    September 16, 2020

    Hi Natasha,

    I love kale salad! The recipe that I make is very similar. The direction tells you to massage the chopped kale with your fingers after adding the oil before the lemon juice. It really does help take the bitterness out and tenderize the leaves without having to wait 4 or 24 hrs.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      September 17, 2020

      Hello Karen, that’s nice to know. Thanks for the tip, I should try that next time!

      Reply

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