Do you have a Whole Foods near you? Like…dangerously close? Walking distance?
Because if you do, you probably spend approximately $50 a week on their prepared foods. O and I can pretty much always agree on their buffet bar as a quick and relatively healthy lunch or weeknight dinner out, and O has this impressive obsession with their chicken-fried tofu nuggets… oh, and we may or may not have bought our house based on its proximity to Whole Foods (leaning towards “may not”, but it was certainly a draw..)
One of the dishes we always, always load up on is their raw kale salad with cranberries. It’s light and bright but packed nutritionally, and the sweet, tart cranberries balance the bitter, earthy kale beautifully.
So this year, planning Thanksgiving and knowing I can stray a bit from the typical menu without a total revolt from my family, I had planned on making a creamed kale. You might remember this from my Thanksgiving menu! I wasn’t totally sure how I’d make yet another hot dish on the big day, but figured it’d be a nice, actual vegetable option for the more balanced of my guests. And then it hit me.. the Whole Foods kale salad with cranberries!
This kale salad is perfect for Thanksgiving because you can make it one or two days in advance and keep it in the frigo, just waiting to be set out on the table when it comes time. The raw kale is such a glorious treat next to the super heavy key players on Thanksgiving, and the cranberries are not only a beautifully vibrant pop of color and flavor, but a sweet seasonal addition that echoes your traditional cranberry sauce (with rosemary!) perfectly.
Even my dear mother asked, a few weeks ago, what my menu would be, and I mentioned the cream kale. “Oh,” she added. “…”, she concluded. But when I told her I was making the switch to the raw kale salad with cranberries, she was far more enthused. “I’ll actually eat that!”, she said. Good to know, ma. Good to know.
So make this for Thanksgiving, make it for Christmas Eve, make it for Christmas Day. It’s so easy, it’s make-ahead, and it’s the perfect side dish at these feasts, both gustatorily and nutritionally!
Kale Salad with Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp bunch organic curly kale
- 1 whole juice of one lemon
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 2 teaspoons raw local honey
- 1 teaspoon salt , to taste
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tbsp pine nuts or chopped walnuts , optional, to taste
Instructions
- Rip the leaves of the kale from the stems and tear into bite-sized pieces, Place in a large bowl.
Make your dressing: whisk together the juice of one lemon, 3 tablespoons good olive oil, 2 teaspoons raw local honey, and salt, to taste. Pour about half over your kale and, with your hands, massage into the leaves until they're a bit wilted (they will look a little less curly but will taste a lot better and will be easier to digest). Add a bit more dressing at a time, to taste, then toss cranberries and nuts, if using. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
OMG I’ve been eating the raw kale salad for years at Whole Foods and always bragging about it! As of late though, they’ve used Dino kale which totally changes it (and sometimes too much of one of the ingredients) so basically it has been inconsistent. BUT YOUR RECIPE IS SPOT ON! I’m so excited (if you can’t tell lol!). Thank you for sharing this! Now I’m ready to research what other recipes you have 😉
Yay, I’m so glad you loved it!
I am not a kale fan but always trying to find ways to include in my diet. This salad is amazing good! I pretty much polished it off myself at one sitting and will def make again this week for lunch at work. Love how it can be prepared in advance and sit in the fridge and still tastes like you just made it.
Hi Cheryl! I crave this salad constantly AND have a WF nearby, but I can’t keep spending $$$ on it when your recipe makes it look so easy. 🙂 Wondering how long this will keep if I want to make pre-portioned salads for the week? Thank you!
This salad will keep for up to a week without the dressing in the fridge and up to 48 hours with the dressing on it. If you’re looking to meal prep, make the salads and make the dressing and add on the day you plan to eat it!
I love simple kale salads! I will definitely be making this. Luckily, or unluckily for me, Whole Foods is kind of annoyingly far away.
We used to live about 45 minutes from the one we’re near now and we’d pack up each weekend and face the running-gear clad mothers (in full makeup, natch) all clambering for whatever superfood powder was on sale, and we’d leave vowing to never ever return. But then the next Saturday.. Where do you live Sam?! How do I not know this?
How did you know that we finally just got Kale in the grocery stores here?!? I’ve been waiting for it to come back in season since the summer and I finally spotted it Friday!! I’ve been pretty much all kaled up all weekend and loving it! And I am loving the simplicity of this salad – it would look so pretty as a Holiday side! Love love love it!! Happy Thanksgiving by the way 🙂 Hope you and your fam have an awesome one!!!
I LOVE that you only get kale in season..! I’m sure you probably don’t love it as much as I do, but all your produce must be so fresh and seasonal and beautiful! Have you given more thought to us being roommates over there yet?! Hahah 🙂
Pinned! This looks so pretty!! I have some kale from my CSA and this will be the perfect use for it!
Yum! I desperately need to get on a CSA.. what a fun way to integrate so many different veggies. I hope you try it and love it, Pam!
Kale and cranberries sounds like a wonderful combination! I love this salad and it will be perfect for the holidays! Beautiful photography as always Cheryl!
Thanks Mira!! 🙂
Oh man, I would give my left arm to live near a Whole Foods! I used to live super close to one when I lived in Vancouver, but have been in total WF withdrawal ever since moving to Sweden. But then I guess I’m saving a lot of money by not having one nearby, and if I can make a kale salad like this, I suppose I’ll be ok. I love the balance of kale and cranberries here, it seems like the perfect thing for a make-ahead meal. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh man, I couldn’t handle being very far from one! But then again.. I’d freaking love to live in Sweden so.. maybe we can work out a compromise here? Like a blogger live-in exchange? 🙂
This will definitely make the perfect festive dinner side salad. Thanks for sharing the delicious (and healthy) idea!
It worked beautifully for our family! Thanks Thalia!
Kale and cranberries are the stand out combination of the season — I love the bitter with the sweet!
Thanks Sue! They really work together – and the raw honey helps, too!
I do have a Whole Foods 3 minutes away which is the best/the worst at the same time! I feel lucky to have it so close – especially as a food blogger, but my wallet isn’t so lucky haha.
Everyone needs a good kale salad recipe and this one is perfect for the holidays. Love it!
x,
Shannon
Oh my gosh, yes, I feel like we should be invited to the Whole Foods board of directors because we literally keep them afloat singlehandedly. Well, maybe not quite so bad, but it’s just way too easy to just “hop over to Whole Foods for [X]”.. yet have you ever gotten out of there without spending at least $30!?
I don’t even have a whole foods in my city! It makes me sad, but I can still re-create this with your help! It looks fabulous.
Oh dear child! I feel for you! OK, not quite, since you’re living the dream and all, but we do love our Whole Foods prepared bar 🙂