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.
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.
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.
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.
Sweet Kale Salad Recipe
- 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.
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.
Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad
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
Nutrition
{originally published 11/17/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/25/22}
beth lehman says
so excited to try this!! i had the salad a few weeks ago and can't stop thinking about it!! (also, there isn't a costco within a few hours of me!)
Tanya Walker says
Ok, this is Kismick! I was at an office party and this salad was there and I made a fool of myself and ate it all….burp! So I Google the bag and made the salad myself. I did the same thing as you and ate it up in 3 days! I used a homemade poppy seed dressing too! Now I am glad there is a recipe other then the bag to follow!
Anonymous says
This looks so good but I have no idea where to find pepitas! Any tips? Or possible replacements?
Anonymous says
Pepitas – they're pumpkin seeds – you can use salted or unsalted. You can make your own too – just scoop out the insides of a pumpkin spread on a baking sheet & bake – guts & all – they'll separted easily after baked.
Anonymous says
Check Wal-mart in the produce section. That's where I find bagged pepitas.
BROKEN HEARTED says
just my opinion, but use whatever grains you have on hand. i used sunflower seeds. i added shredded carrots…being creative and make it your personal salad 🙂
Jane says
I love this salad and have made it many times. It gets better the next day as the dressing softens the kale leaves. I add in the zest from the lemon and don't even bother with the cheese. It feels healthier that way.
Anonymous says
I was looking for a recipe to replicate the Costco kale salad dressing. I substituted unsweetened vanilla almond milk for the milk and regular balsamic for the white vinegar. It tasted great, thank you!
Nicolle says
Can I use stevia instead of the sugar/honey?
Juliana says
Hi,
I’m thinking about adding crumbled goat or feta cheese. Have you ever tried either with this salad?
Mary says
Feta and goat cheese are both delicious with this salad! Enjoy.
Julie says
Is there anyway to get nutritional values of salad? I’m in Ketos and need to break out per portion size the Carbs(fiber & sugars)/Protein/Fat.
Thank you.
Mary says
Sure there is. Just plug the ingredients into a recipe calculator like this one: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Cathy says
I love it! I love the several kinds of vegetables, nuts… Simple, easy, fast, health, fresh and taste good.
Mary says
I’m thrilled that you like the salad, Cathy!
Igorzmum says
I make this salad at home to only I also put bleu cheese crumbles in my salad and if it’s going to be dinner I’ll also add pieces of chopped thick bacon as well.
Mary Younkin says
That sounds delicious too!
Suzanne says
I made ours gluten free, just make sure you use gf vinegar and gf mayonnaise! Great
Mary Younkin says
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying the salad, Suzanne!