Kale Salad with Cranberries and Feta

This Kale Salad with Cranberries and Feta Cheese is a healthy salad, with a simple dressing that's easy to make and bursting with flavor and color! The tangy balsamic dressing and sweet cranberries give it the perfect balance of tart and sweet. My daughter Abby created this delicious salad and our family loves it so much that I had to share it here!

The red, white, and green colors in this Cranberry Kale Salad make it a great salad for your holiday table, but it's great any time of year. It makes an ideal side salad and pairs perfectly with my Baked Cornish Hens (with Rosemary Wine Sauce) and Chipotle Mashed Potatoes. Or add some chicken breast and it's the perfect main course! It also makes a healthy lunch salad for on-the-go.

🥘Ingredient Notes

For this recipe, you'll need:

• Fresh Kale. I use curly kale - it's the most common variety you'll find at the grocery store.
• Dried Cranberries (craisins). Dried cranberries are economical and convenient - a large bag lasts months in the fridge.
• Sunflower Seeds. The sunflower seeds give this salad a great earthy flavor and welcome crunchy texture.
• Balsamic Vinegar. The balsamic vinegar adds a mellow tang that melds perfectly with the feta and
• Agave. (aka agave syrup and agave nectar) . Agave sweetens the dressing and balances the tangy ingredients. Agave syrup is about 30% sweeter than sugar so you use less. And it has a lower glycemic index (GI) than regular sugar, meaning it may cause a slower rise in blood sugar levels. This can be beneficial for people managing their blood sugar.

📖Variations & Substitutions

• Kale - you can use baby kale instead of common curly kale
• Dressing - you could use another dressing
• Balsamic vinegar - you could use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar as a substitute
• Olive oil - you can use extra virgin olive oil or another type of olive oil
• Sunflower seeds - you could use pumpkin seeds, pecans or walnuts instead
• Lemon juice- you can use lemon juice from concentrate instead of fresh, but you'll only need half the amount
• Agave Syrup - you can use honey instead, but you'll need twice the amount. You could also use maple syrup instead
• Feta cheese - you can use goat cheese instead
• Add-ins - add in green onion, red onion or crisp apples

🔪How to Make Kale Salad with Cranberries and Feta

Prep: Wash, strip and cut kale (see video below). *Some cooks recommend "massaging the kale" but I've never felt a need to do this.

🎥 Video: How to cut kale leaves for salad

Chop dried cranberries into small pieces (at least quarters)

Add kale, cranberries, feta cheese and sunflower seeds to large bowl.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in bowl

Add dressing just prior to serving

Hint: If you like the dressing less tangy and a little sweeter, simply add more agave syrup

🌡️Storage

Store the salad separately from the dressing. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Salad dressing can be stored in a mason jar.

These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.

🔢WW Points

This kale recipe (as a side salad ) is Weight Watchers friendly @ 2 WW points if you use fat-free feta cheese. The dressing is 3 ww points per tbsp. If you make it a meal, it's 3 WW points (dressing is the same). Add chicken breast at no extra points!

❔ Recipe FAQ's