If you’re a fan of that Sweet Kale Salad kit found at Costco, you’ll love this DIY version. I’ll show you some shortcuts to make this copycat Costco salad and poppyseed dressing a breeze to make.
This is The Best Kale Salad Recipe
Do you love a good salad kit but don’t love the additives and “stuff” in the dressing? The Sweet Kale Salad kit at Costco was a favorite for years and I wanted to make a homemade version so I could control the amount of sugar and type of oil in the dressing.
Here it is! It’s cool and crunchy and sweet – just like the salad kit and YOU get to make the dressing how you prefer. I’ll give you some options to make this salad healthier without being a lot of extra work.
Ingredients For The Best Kale Salad Recipe
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
Sweet Kale Salad Ingredient 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
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!
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 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.
Best Kale Salad Storage
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.
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
Best Kale Salad Recipe 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.
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, be sure to 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
Costco Kale Salad Copycat Recipe
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.
Jayme Silvestri
Friday 29th of October 2021
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!
Darcy Bilevich
Monday 4th of October 2021
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
Wednesday 13th of October 2021
So glad you liked it!
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