Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad

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The Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad is my newest favorite salad. I don’t do a whole lot of copycat recipes, but this one, I can’t even tell you how much this one needed to be made.

This is a copycat recipe for Costco’s Sweet Kale Salad and I’m telling you now that you’re going to love it.

Copycat recipe for Costco's Sweet Kale Salad

Sweet Kale Salad

The crunchy greens, sweet-tart cranberries, and crunchy-salty pumpkin seeds are tossed in a creamy poppyseed dressing to make this salad.

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All of the flavors work together to make this salad worthy of our Thanksgiving table, and likely at least a dozen more tables as well before the end of the year.

I would have never guessed that this combination of flavors would work so well, but it does! My kids don’t typically love the “green stuff” in this salad, they watched me make it and were skeptical. However, one taste and they were sold; my middle son even asked for seconds.

Costco Kale Salad

A couple of weeks ago, while I was grocery shopping, there were two women standing in the icy cold produce room at Costco chatting about how amazing this salad is.

I don’t even remember the last time I bought a pre-made salad, (I have a thing for making salads, and rarely am I impressed with the store-bought varieties.) However, these ladies were so enthusiastic, I picked up a bag to try for myself.

Holy smokes. I loved it. Absolutely, positively, loved the Costco salad.

Sweet Kale Salad

But I knew right away that we could improve on it. I’ve been making this poppyseed dressing for a few years now and every single person that tries it raves about it.

I knew that the homemade poppyseed dressing would take this salad combination right over the top and I wasn’t wrong. Plus, making the salad at home lets me add more of my favorite ingredients.

I went back to the grocery store the next day and picked up the ingredients to make this salad for myself. I made it that night and ate it for dinner, I ate it again the next day for lunch, for a snack, and with dinner again.

Even after tossing the salad with the dressing, it kept nicely for as long as it lasted in my house, about 36 hours.

All of my ramblings are simply to say that you really want to try this salad. If you’re not a big fan of kale, if Brussels aren’t your thing, if broccoli doesn’t thrill you, you just might like this salad anyways.

Kale Salad Ingredients

Sweet Kale Salad Recipe

  1. Combine all the kale, broccoli sticks, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, and pepitas in a large bowl.
  2. In a smaller bowl or jar, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, and salt.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to thoroughly coat.
  4. Let the salad rest for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.
How To Cut Broccoli Into Matchsticks

How To Make Broccoli Matchsticks

You might be tempted to skip the broccoli matchsticks in this recipe, but please try them. They offer the soft crunch that plays a big part in making this salad so unique. It is easy as can be and well worth the extra minute or two.

  • Slice the long thick stalk off of the head of broccoli.
  • Peel the outside of the stalk enough to remove the brown areas.
  • Slice the stalk into thin rounds.
  • Stack a few of the rounds and slice them into matchsticks.

It goes without saying I am a big fan of salads. It doesn’t matter if it is the main dish or a side. Here are a few more of my favorites you should try Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, Blueberry Apple Walnut Salad and this Summer Berry Pecan Salad uses the same Poppyseed Dressing recipe.

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Sweet Kale Salad

Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad

4.84 from 6 votes
If you love the Sweet Kale Salad at Costco, you’ll love this recipe even more!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients 

Salad Ingredients

  • 4 cups shredded and chopped curly kale
  • 2 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts
  • 1 cup broccoli matchsticks
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas
  • optional: chopped cabbage and/or chopped endive

Dressing Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic, champagne, or white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
  • 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
  • pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

  • Combine all the kale, broccoli sticks, Brussels sprouts, cranberries, and pepitas in a large bowl.
  • In a smaller bowl or jar, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, and salt.
  • Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to thoroughly coat. Let the salad rest for at least 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

You might be tempted to skip the broccoli matchsticks in this recipe, but please try them. They offer the soft crunch that plays a big part in making this salad so unique.
To make the broccoli matchsticks, slice the long thick stalk off of a head of broccoli, peel the outside enough to remove any brown areas, then slice it into thin rounds. Stack a few of the rounds and slice them into matchsticks. Easy as can be and well worth the extra minute or two.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcal · Carbohydrates: 14g · Protein: 3g · Fat: 7g · Saturated Fat: 1g · Cholesterol: 3mg · Sodium: 68mg · Potassium: 307mg · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 7g · Vitamin A: 3585IU · Vitamin C: 69.1mg · Calcium: 79mg · Iron: 1.2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @barefeetkitchen or tag #barefeetkitchen!

{originally published 11/17/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/25/22}

Costco Kale Salad Recipe
Copycat Costco Sweet Kale Salad

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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  1. Jody Rentz says

    Hi Mary,
    I used to purchase this salad frequently when it was organic, Costco no longer offers the same brand, I stopped buying it as I only eat organic greens and vegetable. I was happy to see your recipe.

    Thank You!
    Jody

  2. Linda says

    Hi Mary
    I absolutely love Costco kale salad and was buying it at least once a month, that being said I will never buy it again! I love your recipe even more and I can’t say enough about the dressing and I’m a little obsessed with the dressing I keep it the fridge & put it on regular salad as well my new favorite:) thank you so much for posting

    Linda5 stars

  3. Lloyd says

    Thank you so much Mary. I love this salad so much I get 3 bags a week at Costco. I could eat it 3 times a day lol. I wonder what subs I can use for the honey though since I’m a diabetic. That dressing is addictive.5 stars

    • Mary Younkin says

      Lloyd – A fellow salad lover. As a diabetic can you use agave nectar or coconut nectar? I am not super familiar will all of the best swaps but you might try researching those.

  4. Trish S says

    Hi Mary, This sounds so good and I have kale in the garden so this is on the dinner menu tonight! I was wondering if for the dressing I could substitute yogurt for the mayo? Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes!5 stars

  5. Karla Baker says

    I love jicama and wonder how that would work in this recipe, either adding or replacing something?

  6. Carol says

    This was a hit at dinner tonight with friends. I did use the broccoli and used baby kale and threw in several handfuls of shredded cabbage as well. I have to admit I subbed store bought poppy seed dressing instead of homemade but my friends still raved about the salad. I was afraid I had overestimated the amount of salad but we finished every last drop of it!! So much better than the bagged salad!!!