• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Food Banjo

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Air Fryer
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Air Fryer
  • About
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Air Fryer
  • About
×

Home » Healthy

Tuscan Kale Salad with Apples and Cheddar Cheese

Published: Oct 22, 2019 · Last Updated: Feb 18, 2022 by Aimee - This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Share with others!

  • Share
  • Tweet
Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

This Tuscan Kale salad with apples and cheddar is delicious for an easy lunch, a side for dinner, or it can even be dinner all on its own! It's healthy, crunchy, and so flavorful! It's tossed with a homemade apple cider vinaigrette that provides the perfect acidity to the kale and apples.

kale salad with apples and cheddar

I've been really into this Tuscan kale salad lately. Luckily, so has Josh. I got this idea for the salad from a dish I had at Flower Child. They have a kale salad there that is one of my favorite salads I've ever eaten. It is SO good, and it has kale, apples, cheddar, almonds, and some other items. However, I kept mine simple (because I'm lazy) and just stuck with the kale, apples, cheddar, and a homemade apple cider vinaigrette.

Luckily, it's still so fantastic, even with the pared down ingredient list. This is my husband's favorite salad. He requests it on his birthday, and always says he would eat it several times a week.

And I can't blame him. The kale always is so hearty, the apples crisp and sweet, and the cheddar cheese just brings that little something extra. All that paired with the homemade apple cider vinaigrette just makes this salad so craveworthy.

For this kale salad with apples and cheddar, I chose to use Tuscan kale. It's one of my absolute favorite kinds of kale. Curly kale is okay, but Tuscan kale is MAGIC. I just love everything about it.

tuscan kale salad with apples and cheese with a fork.

What is Tuscan kale?

Tuscan kale is also called a bunch of other names. Dinosaur kale, lacinato kale, cavolo nero (black cabbage), and they all refer to the same thing. A dark, straight, bumpy kale.

tuscan kale up close

What's the difference between Tuscan kale and curly kale?

Not much, other than appearance. Tuscan, or dinosaur kale can be slightly more tender, but not a huge deal. And honestly, if you can't find Tuscan kale, as it can be harder to locate, just use curly kale. I've done that and the salad is still delicious! (However, both my husband and I agree it's slightly more delicious with Tuscan kale).

Why else should you make this salad (other than it's delicious?) Kale is SO healthy! I mean, obviously. You've probably heard all your foodie friends that are trying to eat healthy talk about kale. There's kale chips. Kale Caesar salads. Kale smoothies. Kale everything. But there's a good reason for that! It's diabetes-friendly and has high levels of vitamins A, K, B6, and C, calcium, potassium, and manganese.

Ingredients Needed:

Kale
To prepare the kale for the Tuscan kale salad, you'll want to cut out the center stem or rib. It can be really tough, and you don't want that in your salad. So slice along the rib/stem, and remove it. You'll be left with a nice size of kale on each side. Then take that kale and cut it into about 2 inch pieces.

tuscan kale in a colander

Apples
For the apples, I typically use gala or jazz apples. You can also use honeycrisp or pink lady. Any of those will work great in this salad. Just dice the apple into small cubes, leaving the core behind!

Cheese
For the cheddar cheese, I try to use a nice quality, sharp cheddar. Head to the fancy cheese section and get something nice. It doesn't have to be expensive! Sometimes getting a large block of nice cheese that is ungrated can wind up being cheaper or comparable to buying pre-shredded cheese. For this salad, I wind up using a block of English or Irish Cheddar cheese. Tillamok is also a great option.

Vinaigrette
To make the apple cider vinaigrette, just combine all the ingredients in a mason jar and shake! Could not be easier. This combines them all and then you can just pour over your salad. If you don't want to use all the dressing, just pour as much as you want over it. So easy.

apple cider vinaigrette
kale salad with apples and cheddar

Love this recipe? Try these too!

  • Air Fryer Kale Chips
  • Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
  • Sea Salt Kale Chips
  • Roasted Acorn Squash
kale salad with apples and cheese

Tuscan Kale Salad with Apples and Cheddar

Recipe by Aimee
This Tuscan Kale Salad is easy to make for a quick lunch or even dinner! It's filling and delicious.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Total Time 10 mins
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 2
Calories 393 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 5 oz Tuscan kale
  • 1 red apple, small
  • ¼ cup Cheddar cheese, grated
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ⅛ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions
 

  • Wash the kale and then remove the center rib/stem of each leaf. Cut the kale into 2 inch pieces and place in a large bowl.
  • Dice the apple into small chunks, leaving the core behind. Add to the bowl.
  • Shred ¼ cup cheddar cheese. Put most in the bowl, reserving a bit for adding to the top of the salads.
  • Into a mason jar or other jar/container with a lid, add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Shake until well combined. Pour over the salad and then toss the salad together with the dressing.
  • Plate the salad onto two plates or bowls and sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top.

Notes

  • Tuscan kale is also referred to as dinosaur kale and a few other names. It can be found at some grocery stores and farmer's markets. If you cannot find it, curly kale will work great in this salad too.
  • Use a high-quality cheddar cheese for this salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 393kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 7gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 145mgPotassium: 476mgFiber: 2gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 7273IUVitamin C: 89mgCalcium: 217mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.

Tried this recipe?Tag @foodbanjo on Instagram and share your photos!
« Broiled Grapefruit with Brown Sugar and Vanilla
Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup »

Share with others!

  • Share
  • Tweet

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hello!

foodbanjo-authors
Hi! I'm Aimee, and I'm so glad you stopped by! I love sharing easy recipes that are flavorful and delicious.
Read more about Food Banjo!

Join the Email List!

Sign up for recipes & learn about what's going on with us!

(Check your spam box... just in case!)

Healthy Eats

zucchini galette from the side

Zucchini Galette

Whole30 Tomato Chicken Pasta with Zucchini Noodles

Bolognese sauce served on top of spaghetti squash

Whole30 Bolognese with Spaghetti Squash

Red lentil dal topped with carrots, cilantro, and feta.

Weeknight Vegan Red Lentil Dahl

Ways to Elevate a Smoothie

sheet pan farro bowl

Vegan Sheet Pan Farro Bowl

kale salad with apples and cheese

Tuscan Kale Salad with Apples and Cheddar Cheese

Turmeric chicken and asparagus in a skillet.

Turmeric Black Pepper Chicken with Asparagus

Soup Favorites

tuscan chicken soup with a spoon

Tuscan Chicken Soup

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - Dairy-Free

chickpea and tomato stew with bread

One-Pot Chickpea and Tomato Stew

Lemon orzo soup topped with shrimp.

Lemon Orzo Soup with Shrimp

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Nutrition Disclaimer

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 Food Banjo