You know that sweet kale salad kit from Costco? The one with crunchy veggies, cranberries, pepitas—and a poppy-seed dressing that’s super addicting? I reverse-engineered it (and then made it even better). Now you can control the type and amount of sweetener as well as the type of oil used in the dressing. You’re welcome.
What's in the Costco Sweet Kale Salad Kit?
The kit at the store contains a blend of shredded hearty greens (kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and radicchio), salted pepitas, dried cranberries, and a sweet poppy seed dressing.
Making the Sweet Kale Costco Salad Kit at Home!
Here’s why it works so dang well: using pre-shredded veg makes this come together so quickly. Then I toss in sweet-dried cranberries and pepitas for that crunchy-chewy power combo. The poppy seed dressing? Creamy, sweet-tart, and bright with citrus—so you feel indulgent without going off the health rails.
Make extra. Trust me. It’s the kind of salad that’s perfect for meal prep, potlucks, or just pretending you're a super-organized adult—the one who actually likes their greens.
Costco Salad Kit vs. Homemade
Making this salad using my recipe is roughly the same cost as buying a kit at the store (within .10-.20 per serving).
BUT, the quality of ingredients in the homemade version is much higher. Using avocado oil, honey, and fresh citrus makes this a healthier version!
Sweet Kale Salad Ingredients
For the salad:
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli slaw
- Dried cranberries
- Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
For the dressing:
- Oil - avocado or light olive
- Apple cider vinegar
- Orange juice
- Honey
- Lemon juice
- Poppy seeds
- Sea salt
- Onion powder
Costco Salad Dressing Ingredients
I tried to mimic the dressing in the salad kit as best I could with this homemade dressing. This poppy seed dressing has a little citrus (orange juice and fresh lemon juice) and honey for sweetness. You could use pure maple syrup if you like.
I used avocado oil for a neutral flavor. Extra-virgin olive oil tends to be kind of strong in dressings sometimes.
Apple cider vinegar boosts the fruity flavors from the citrus and adds a nice, tart flavor!
Typically vinaigrette recipes have a little dijon mustard. This one doesn't, but it would help create a more creamy dressing if that's what you're going for.
Don't forget the poppy seeds! Shake it all up in a mason jar, and pour it over your greens.
And there you have it -- one of the best kale salad recipes out there with lots of ways you can customize it!
Costco Kale Salad Variations
- really thin slices of red onion
- sliced bell pepper
- sunflower seeds
- pine nuts
- parmesan cheese
- sharp cheddar cheese
- feta cheese
- shredded rotisserie chicken
- bacon crumbles
How to Make Costco Sweet Kale Salad
- Combine the kale, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli slaw in a large salad bowl.
- Add all of the dressing ingredients into a pint-sized mason jar or other lidded container. Shake the dressing vigorously to combine well.
- Pour ¾ 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.
- Sprinkle the cranberries and pepitas over the salad. Lightly toss to combine.
What to Serve with Costco Kale Salad
This is a perfect side dish to any of these main dishes:
- Grilled Chicken with Herby Lime Marinade
- Everything Bagel Chicken Tenders (Air Fryer or Oven)
- The Best Instant Pot Ribs
- Best Lamb Loin Recipe
- Mini Skillet Meatloaves
- Easy Grilled Eggplant Stacks with Macadamia Ricotta
- Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
How to Store Sweet Kale Salad
You can store this salad it in the fridge in an airtight container and eat it the next day (or even the next 4 days!) and it won’t go limp and slimy like dressed Romaine or another lightweight lettuce.
Sweet Kale Salad FAQs
Since kale has a hardier leaf structure than thin lettuce leaves, this recipe can be stored in the fridge for a few days without getting soggy and gross.
Of course! Kale is a nutritious powerhouse, and this recipe only includes natural sugars making this a perfect healthy and sweet salad!
Yes, this will ensure the ingredients stay fresh for about 4 days.
That depends on what you’re measuring. It has all of the fiber and nutrients from the shredded vegetables which is good. Some may consider the dressing high in sugar, and if you’re avoiding seed oils, the canola oil in the dressing isn’t ideal.
The ingredients for the store-bought version are soybean or canola oil, water, sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt, orange juice concentrate, egg yolks, and poppy seeds.
More of Our Favorite Potluck Salads
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 and Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Roasted Potato Salad with Dill-Scallion Vinaigrette
Avocado Bacon and Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing
For more of our favorite recipes with Brussels sprouts, click here: Best Brussels Sprouts Recipes.
If you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see! Post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
More Recipes on Perry's Plate
If you like this recipe, try another one of my copycat recipes! My Barbacoa Meat rivals the famous shredded meat at Chipotle!
Sweet Kale Salad (Costco Copycat)
This is a from-scratch version of the beloved Sweet Kale Salad sold at Costco -- with a much cleaner dressing!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 ounces of kale, leaves removed from stems and thinly sliced (about ½ bunch)
- ¼ 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
- ¼ cup raw or toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup neutral-tasting oil, like avocado or light olive
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 ½ Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Combine the kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli slaw in a large salad bowl.
- Add all of the dressing ingredients into a pint-sized mason jar or other lidded container. Shake the dressing vigorously to combine well. Pour ¾ 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.
- Sprinkle the cranberries and pepitas over the salad. Lightly toss to combine.
- Serve.
Notes
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.
P.S. Here's another salad that uses pre-shredded vegetables -- this time with a maple-mustard dressing that's to die for! It's a salad I created for The Pioneer Woman's site. You can find the recipe here: Ultimate Winter Salad.
Kayla says
Bless you for this, I LOVE those salads. I'd love to make them at home!
J @ Bless Her Heart Y'all says
I love the inclusion of the poppyseed dressing. I agree that they have no taste but for some reason poppy seeds are great in dressing. I love your idea of salad kits with healthy oils in it. That's a million-dollar idea for ya!
Yar | OfRecipes says
This actually turned out better than the Costco version! Thank you!
Natalie Perry says
SO good to hear! Love it!
Dinah says
Glad to find this because I love the Costco version but am not a Costco member. And, I'm trying to get my kids to learn to eat salad and kale. Question: what is broccoli slaw? Is that something I can make myself? Thanks.
Natalie Perry says
It's a good one to start them on! Broccoli slaw is shredded broccoli stems. It looks like regular slaw and you can find it in the refrigerated section by the pre-shredded cabbage and carrots.
Barb says
1/4 onion powder. Is thatv1/4 tsp?
Natalie Perry says
Oops! Yes, thanks for catching that.
Lucy says
Dressing is fab! Was short on time, so I bought the usual packed kale salad and then tossed with your dressing!! So much better.
Natalie Perry says
I've done that, too! I'm so glad you like it.
Lori Riddle says
Call me crazy, I use them in a few of my salad dressing recipes and I think the poppy seeds add a little sweetness to them. Maybe all in my head.... lol!
Natalie Perry says
Ha! Might be! It sure makes it pretty, too.
Tiya says
Where did youfind dried cranberries with less sugar? The last ones I saw were very high in added sugar. :(
Natalie Perry says
Honestly? I just get whatever ones are at the store with the least amount. I figure there's only a handful in the entire salad and maybe 4-5 cranberries in a serving of salad. That's not that bad. But if it still bothers you, you can always substitute with blueberries or halved grapes.
Sharon Martindale says
Has anyone tried quickly frying up this salad and at the last minute putting a drained can of salmon or tuna? I have even used left over chicken. We use a very good balsamic vinegar for the dressing.
Being on diets we have both enjoyed this for our lunch and we both as you probably can attest to get tired of cold salads. Enjoy!
Rene’e Guyton says
Just made this for dinner tonight. I used the Trader Joe crunch collection with kale Brussels Sprouts, green and red cabbage. It was so easy! I added hemp seeds and sprinkled nutritional yeast in it. I could eat the whole bowl of this!! Delicious!
Natalie Perry says
Delicious! Adding hemp & nutritional yeast is a great idea!
MaryAnn Coy says
If your Poppy Seeds are tasteless they are old. Get rid of them & buy fresh. Don't get them from Costco. Clubs are very good for many things but really fresh spices are not one of them. Too much bulk buying, by train carloads, warehouses all over the country. Shuffled back & forth where ever needed. I use Amazon with good results. McCormick is Cornering and hogging shelf space at grocery chains, with low quality spices that contain fillers GMO cornstarch to control moisture, & salt & sugar. They are irradiated to kill bugs, but the dead bugs are there. They are way over priced for low quality & aged spices & variety is limited. Amazon carries numerous brands, in all price ranges, they have a high turnover rate, organic brands are available. Just look for the least number of middle men. Fresh poppy seeds should have a sweet quality. That is why they are used in baked goods & other items. Oh & I respectfully suggest you add more to your dressing. Broccoslaw is made from broccoli stems left after fancy packaged broccoli florets are stripped from them. Very nutritious even better than cabbage. Just add lemon juice or vinegar to the dressing on them to make the iron they are filled with bioavailable. ❤️?❤️
Natalie Perry says
Thanks for the info, Maryann! I definitely don't buy bulk spices at Costco for that very reason. I actually have some poppy seeds from Morton & Bassett and they still don't taste like anything to me, so maybe you're a super sensitive taster.
The dressing already has citrus juice (lemon & orange) as well as ACV. Thanks for that tip.
Saleta says
Maryann - What brands of spices do you recommend? I usually use McCormick or Trader Joe's. Thanks!
Shirley Tucker says
Glad to have this recipe for kale salad. I always throw the salad dressing and the cranberry/pumpkin seed mix away since I dislike sweet salads (weird, I know).
This way I can make my own without the sweetness, but I do add salted pumpkin seeds and cherry tomatoes.
Thanks.
Jenny S. says
Thank you for this and the generous sharing of all your recipes. I love that salad but don't buy it because the nutrition in cut or shredded vegetables starts to degrade once the veggies have been cut. Therefore, best to prepare them just before consuming (or at least prepped at home when they haven't been sitting in a bag for a week). So I am going to make this right now as I happen to have all ingredients in my fridge...yahoo!
May I ask about your Cuisinart food processor. I like my old vintage one but it's too small for big batches. I like to make pie pastry with six cups of flour and 1 pound of butter, etc., and then have it handy in the freezer.
Would this 9 cup Cuisinart be able to handle all that ?
Natalie Perry says
You're so welcome! I don't think the 9-cup could handle your big batches of pie crust. I make a double crust recipe in it and that's it. I'd spring for the 13-cup. :)
Lindsey says
Do you happen to know the nutritional values of this salad?
Natalie Perry says
Hi! Sorry, I don't. You could definitely plug the ingredients into an online calculator, though.
Laura says
Hello!
What kind of kale do you use? The kale in your pictures almost looks purple - very pretty!
I am only familiar with the large, plain giant leaves from kale bunches... either flat or curly. Did yours just happen to be a bit darker?
Also, do you most often use bagged kale salad or buy a "bunch" or kale?
Thank you!!! ❤️
Natalie Perry says
I like to use lucinato kale, which is darker green. Sometimes kale can be a little purple-ish, too. I always buy the bunches and chop it myself because the pre-chopped, bagged kale usually has a lot of rough, thick stems still. Some people might not be bothered by that, but I don't like chewing on them.
Ophelia Goring says
Thank you Perry, love love love this dressing. I could now make my own thanks to you. I thought there's a little mayo in it to make it look milky. Guess not.
Ophelia
Eli says
In what aisle do I find the poppyseeds?
Natalie Perry says
Hi! You can find them with the spices in the grocery store.
Valerie says
Are you saying that the dressings in the Cos o salads are bad for you.
Natalie Perry says
The salad dressings in the vast majority of salad kits (not just the ones sold at Costco) are made with soybean/vegetable/canola oils which are highly inflammatory and can cause issues in the body. A lot of them also have quite a bit of sweeteners. For those reasons I like the option of making the dressing myself so I can control which oils and sweeteners are in the dressings.
That being said -- I'm not above buying salad kits from Costco or anywhere else if I'm in a busy phase of life and don't have the time or headspace to make salads completely from scratch. (Like now haha.) Salad kits are still a step up from a frozen pizza and if my kids will eat them, then the benefit of extra vegetables outweighs the problematic ingredients in the dressings. My goal is to reduce the amount of inflammatory oils my family eats in general so there's give and take. I hope that answers your question!
Darcy Bilevich says
Delicious! I liked the dressing just as it was. For the guys I, i has to add more honey. Win, win here. Thank you so much. They never give enough dressing in the salad mix. Now I can just make the dressing and salad myself.
Natalie Perry says
So glad you liked it!
Jayme Silvestri says
I love the flavour of caprese so this stuffed chicken recipe is just perfect for me. Definitely perfect for a delicious weeknight dinner.. thanks for sharing the great recipe!