Sweet Kale Salad (Costco Copycat)

I’m a big fan of the salad kits at Costco. You know what I’m talking about — the Sweet Kale one and the Asian Crunchy one? They’re great when you need a side dish or a potluck offering in a pinch. And everyone loves them. BUT.

I’m a stinker when it comes to oils. The dressings in those salad kits are soybean oil-based, and it makes me cringe on the inside when I eat them. Vegetable/canola oil is no better. If I was going to start a new business I’d make salad kits with healthy dressings — ones with extra-virgin-olive oil or avocado oil as the base. If you’d like to steal that idea and run with it, let me know how it goes. I’d just like free salad for life, please. One of my favorite things about this salad is the use of hearty greens and shredded vegetables. You can dress the salad, stick it in the fridge and eat it the whole week and it won’t go limp and slimy like regular dressed lettuce. Also, if you have a food processor with a shredding/slicing blade you can whip this up so fast. I big puffy heart love my food processor. (I have this one.) This poppy seed dressing has a little citrus and honey for sweetness. I used avocado oil for a neutral flavor. EVOO tends to be kind of strong sometimes. Can anyone tell me the purpose of poppy seeds? Asthetics? Because they have zero taste. And if you start talking about opiates I’m going to roll my eyes at you. We’re still in BBQ/Potluck season so here are a few of my favorite potluck salads! Some of them are paleo, some are dairy-free, but all of them are gluten-free.

Grilled Vegetable Potluck Salad with Creamy Avocado Ranch

Roasted Potato Salad with Dill-Scallion Vinaigrette

Chimichurri Steak and Potato Salad with Grilled Kale

Spring Vegetable Salad with Dill Pesto and Prosciutto Grilled Summer Squash Salad

Sweet Lemon-Herb Quinoa Salad

Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Mexican Mango Dressing

Mango-Cucumber Rice Salad

Avocado Bacon and Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing

Sweet Kale Salad (Costco Copycat)

Yield: Serves 6-8

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This is a from-scratch version of the beloved Sweet Kale Salad sold at Costco — with a much cleaner dressing!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• 4 ounces of kale, leaves removed from stems and thinly sliced (about 1/2 bunch)
• 1/4 of a small head of cabbage, cored and shredded
• 8 ounces of Brussels sprouts, trimmed and shredded
• 8 ounces of broccoli slaw
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup raw or toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup neutral-tasting oil, like avocado or light olive
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

 

Directions:

1. Combine the kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli slaw in a large salad bowl.
2. Add all of the dressing ingredients into a pint-sized mason jar or other lidded container. Shake the dressing vigorously to combine well. Pour 3/4 of the dressing over the salad greens. Toss the greens around to coat it well in the dressing, and then add the remaining dressing if you feel that it needs more.
3. Sprinkle the cranberries and pepitas over the salad. Lightly toss to combine.
4. Serve.

Nat’s Notes:

1. I realize these are awkward measurements, but if you buy one bunch of kale, a small head of cabbage, 1 pound of Brussels sprouts, and a 1-pound bag of broccoli slaw, you have enough for two salads. (And some cabbage leftover for some tacos!) Just divide the greens in half, double the dressing, and store half of each in separate containers in the fridge until you’re ready to make your second salad.
2. This salad lasts 3-4 days, dressed and stored in the fridge.

from Perry’s Plate, inspired by a salad sold at Costco

Disclosure: This post is not affiliated with Costco. This post does contain an Amazon affiliate link. Purchases made by using these links or the search bar on the sidebar don’t cost you any extra and provide Perry’s Plate with a few pennies.