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Kale & Cranberry Salad with Tahini Cider Dressing

kale & cranberry salad tossed in tahini cider dressing in large white bowl topped with pecans and shallot

5 from 3 reviews

This simple vegan Kale Salad is studded with dried cranberries, crunchy pecans, and shallot. The simple Tahini Cider Dressing takes it to the top!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Tahini Cider Dressing: 

  • 1/3 cup (85 g) runny tahini (I like this one)
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider*
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 24 tablespoons of filtered water
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

For the Salad:

  • 2 bunches of lacinato kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped (or another kale)
  • 1/2 cup (62 g) roughly chopped pecans
  • 1/3 cup (40 g) cranberries
  • 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
  • Tahini Cider Dressing, above

Instructions

  1. Make the Dressing: Whisk the tahini, cider, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water, salt, and black pepper together in a medium sized bowl, until the tahini emulsifies completely. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, whisk in water in 1 tablespoon increments, until it reaches your desired consistency.
  2. Massage the Kale: Add the chopped kale to a large bowl. Pour the dressing (or as much of it as you’d like) over the kale, then massage until the kale becomes tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Toss: once the kale is tender, add in the cranberries, pecans, and sliced shallot. Mix until well-combined, then season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.
  4. Serve: Divide the salad onto serving plates and serve as desired; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Substitutions: apple cider can be replaced with 1-2 tablespoons of grade A maple syrup, depending on how sweet you like the dressing. Pecans can be swapped with any other nut or seed of choice, such as walnuts or pine nuts. Cranberries can be replaced with fresh pomegranate arils.

Keywords: vegan kale salad, thanksgiving kale salad, kale cranberry salad, cranberry kale salad, healthy vegan kale salad, tahini cider dressing