Fall Kale Salad with Sweet Potato

Fall Kale Salad with Sweet Potato is a colorful salad that's full of fall flavors. You are going to love all the different textures in this one!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

If you're looking for a delicious seasonal recipe for fall, this salad is for you! Crisp, fresh kale is tossed with quinoa, roasted sweet potato, sliced apple, goat cheese and pumpkin seeds. It's finished with a drizzle of homemade apple cider vinaigrette.

Make it as an everyday fall salad, side dish, or serve it with your holiday meal. This is one of my favorite fall recipes, so I hope you love it as much as I do! It's crunchy, tangy, sweet, and tastes just like fall. It's versatile and can easily be customized to your liking.

Fall Kale Salad Ingredients

• Sweet Potato and Olive Oil: Peel and cube (into ½" chunks) a sweet potato, then toss with olive oil to roast.
• Kale: Fresh kale leaves, chopped with large stems removed. You can substitute for your favorite greens if you prefer.
• Quinoa: Cooked quinoa. This is a great way to use leftover quinoa.
• Pepitas: Pumpkin seeds add a nice crunch! Feel free to leave them out or use your favorite nuts or seeds as toppings.
• Goat Cheese: Crumbled goat cheese has the perfect mild and creamy flavor to compliment all the fall flavors.
• Apple: I love to use a honey crisp apple in this salad, however you can use whatever type of apple you have on hand. Check out this guide to the most popular apple varieties and their uses.
• Apple Cider Vinaigrette: Extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread the sweet potatoes evenly on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway, until tender and starting to brown.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together (or shake in a jar) the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  Set aside.
3. In a large serving bowl, add 1 teaspoon of the dressing to the chopped kale. Using your hands, massage the kale until it starts to soften, about 30 seconds or so. Add the roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, pepitas, goat cheese, and apple slices. Toss to combine.
4. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss one more time until coated. Serve and enjoy!

Expert Tip: For the best texture, be sure to massage the kale with olive oil or salad dressing. This softens it, which makes it enjoyable to eat and easier to digest.

Variations

This salad is super customizable! Here are some suggestions for mix-ins and substitutions so you can make it your own.

• Use different greens. Not a fan of kale? You can swap it out for a mixed leaf blend or spinach. You can even toss in some shredded brussels sprouts for even more crunch.
• Add a protein. Bacon, pancetta, or chickpeas would all be great additions. To make it into a meal, you can top with chicken or tofu.
• Toss in some nuts, seeds, or dried fruit. You can use whatever you like, including walnuts, almonds, pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
• Swap out the cheese. If you don't have goat cheese, crumbled feta cheese or white cheddar would both work well in this salad. To make it vegan, simply leave out the cheese.
• Want even more flavor? Stir in some caramelized onions or shallots.
• Have a pears instead of apples? That's no problem! They would taste great too.
• Roast butternut squash. Instead of roasted sweet potato you can use roasted butternut squash.

Serving Suggestions

Fall Kale Salad with Sweet Potato is the perfect fall dinner side dish. Serve it with grilled chicken and garlic toast for a complete meal.

This would also be a delicious holiday salad. Make it for Thanksgiving to impress everyone at the table!

It's best served immediately. If you want to prep it ahead of time, store all the ingredients separately and toss just before serving. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

More Kale Recipes

If you like this recipe, then you'll love these other kale recipes.

• Kale Crunch Salad
• Cruciferous Crunch Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
• Sweet Potato and Kale Quinoa Bowls
• Kale and Mushroom Frittata
• Lemon Kale Pasta with Salmon

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