I’m a big fan of the Costco salad kits . You know what I’m talking about — the ones made by Taylor Farm (Plus Costco has some good ones in the deli section, too)
The Sweet Kale Salad and the Asian Crunchy Salad are my favorites.
What’s in Sweet Kale Salad from Costco?
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 dressed Romaine or another lightweight lettuce.
It uses kale and broccoli slaw, which is one of my favorite pre-prepped store bought ingredients. (I use it in my Paleo Pad Thai, too.)
It’s an easy way to hide more veg into salads and slaws. It’s basically broccoli stems, which is hilarious to me because that’s the part we typically throw away when we prep broccoli. (Another great business model there…)
Shredded cabbage is easy to find and you can also buy pre-shredded Brussels sprouts in most grocery stores now! (Hallelujah!).
If you’re old school, you can totally shred the Brussels and cabbage with a food processor. Also, if you have a food processor with a shredding/slicing blade you can whip this up so fast. (I have this one.)
Dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds are easy to find, too.
It’s super easy to put together, too! Watch!
That Costco kale salad is 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 poppyseed dressing in the Costco cranberry kale salad kits is soybean oil-based (along with all the other salad dressings in the other kits), and it makes me cringe on the inside when I eat them. Vegetable oil and canola oils are 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.)
This poppy seed dressing has a little citrus (orange juice and lemon juice) and honey for sweetness. I used avocado oil for a neutral flavor. EVOO tends to be kind of strong in dressings sometimes.
Can anyone tell me the purpose of poppy seeds? Asthetics? They have a sweet-ish smell, but zero taste. And if you start talking about opiates I’m going to roll my eyes at you.
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 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
Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Mexican Mango Dressing
Avocado Bacon and Parmesan Salad with Tangy Avocado Dressing
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 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
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 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.
- 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.
Valerie
Tuesday 27th of July 2021
Are you saying that the dressings in the Cos o salads are bad for you.
Natalie Perry
Saturday 31st of July 2021
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!
Eli
Tuesday 23rd of June 2020
In what aisle do I find the poppyseeds?
Natalie Perry
Wednesday 1st of July 2020
Hi! You can find them with the spices in the grocery store.
Ophelia Goring
Wednesday 20th of May 2020
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
Laura
Monday 25th of March 2019
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
Monday 25th of March 2019
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.
Lindsey
Sunday 3rd of February 2019
Do you happen to know the nutritional values of this salad?
Natalie Perry
Friday 8th of February 2019
Hi! Sorry, I don't. You could definitely plug the ingredients into an online calculator, though.