Homemade copycat version of the popular Eat Smart Sweet Kale Salad kit sold at grocery stores! It’s made with kale, crunchy vegetables, dried cranberries, pepitas, and yogurt based creamy poppy seed dressing.
Table of contents
My version of the sweet kale salad kit with kale, crunchy vegetables, toasted pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and homemade poppyseed dressing.
After hearing rave reviews about this bagged kale salad from my family, friends, and neighbors, I found the Eat Smart kale salad kit at Costco.
After reading the nutrition label, I was short of being impressed.
While the hearty kale and vegetables were great, the dressing was full of sugar, unhealthy oils, and more. The same was true of the Taylor Farms packaged salad at my local grocery store!
I decided to see how simple it was to make a better for you version of this Costco salad.
Well, it took all about 10 minutes, from scratch, with clean ingredients, and it is truly a healthy salad! This homemade version of Costco sweet kale salad mix is budget friendly, so simple to make, and the perfect side dish.
Ingredients Needed
It’s so easy to DIY this sweet kale salad kit at home! Hearty greens and shredded vegetables are tossed together with a creamy homemade dressing for an out of this world combination. The whole family will love it!
Kale Salad
- Chopped kale: You will need 4 cups of curly kale, which is one bunch. Lacinato kale, also known as Tuscan kale or dinosaur kale, works too. Just chop your pieces small.
- Brussels sprouts: Your Brussels sprouts will need to be thinly sliced or shaved. You can do this by hand, easily in the food processor with your slicing blade, or using a mandoline (be careful not to cut yourself). You could use shredded green cabbage in a pinch.
- Broccoli slaw: You can find ready-to-use broccoli slaw near the other packaged greens in your supermarket. It’s great as you will also get some carrots and red cabbage for color. In a pinch, you can make it yourself by cutting your broccoli stalk into matchstick pieces.
- Dried cranberries: Unsweetened dried cranberries add the perfect touch of sweetness.
- Pumpkin seeds: Toasted and salted, you could also use pepitas which are the green hulled pumpkin seeds.
Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
- Plain Greek yogurt: Plain full fat Greek yogurt will add the best flavor, although freel free to use dairy free if needed.
- Water: To thin the dressing, adjust as needed.
- Sweetener: Either liquid sweetener such as maple syrup or honey, or granulated sugar like cane sugar or coconut sugar.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adds just the right amount of tang.
- Dijon mustard: Acts as an emulsifier to help bind the vinegar and yogurt.
- Poppy seeds: It wouldn’t be poppyseed dressing otherwise.
- Onion powder, salt and ground black pepper: For seasoning and taste. In a pinch, dehydrated onion may work but will not be as powerful.
How to Make Sweet Kale Salad
Whisk the sweet poppy seed dressing together, chop the salad ingredients, toss it together in a large bowl, and wait for the rave reviews to pour in for this delicious copycat kale salad in a bag.
- Make the sweet kale salad dressing by combining in a small bowl, the yogurt, water, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, poppy seeds, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Whisk dressing well to combine.
- In a large salad bowl, add kale, shredded brussels sprouts and broccoli slaw. Pour half of the dressing over salad mixture, and gently stir to incorporate dressing.
- Sprinkle with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds right before serving. Add more dressing, if needed.
This delicious salad with sweet poppyseed dressing is better than the original kale salad kits at the store!
Delicious Topping Add-Ins
This sweet kale salad recipe is so good as is, but if you want to add some variety, here are a few ideas!
- Sliced red onion: Adds just the right amount of sharp tang.
- Grated or soft cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, asiago cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, feta cheese, or goat cheese adds a nice savory flavor combination.
- Chicken: Leftover rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken.
- Fruit: Apples would be great!
- Baked bacon: Pairs so well with anything that has brussels sprouts!
- Avocado: Diced avocado would add some additional creaminess.
FAQs
To shred kale for this salad, all you have to do is wash, dry, remove stems and finely chop it with a sharp knife. Here is a detailed tutorial on how to shred kale.
This simple green salad pairs so well with a variety of dishes! Serve it at as a side salad during the holidays or even for a weeknight dinner with healthy chicken alfredo. Serve on game days with this cauliflower pizza crust recipe, your guests will love it!
An amazing benefit of kale salad is that it tastes great day of and the next day! Refrigerate assembled greens for up to 2 days, it’s a great option for a main meal at lunch.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftovers of the already dressed and topped salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Your seeds may soften, but they will still taste great.
To make ahead, toppings can be stored in separate containers in a cool dry place for a few days. The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and added to salad as needed.
More Kale Salad Recipes
Sweet Kale Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
For Kale Salad
- 4 cups curly kale (1 small bunch) ribs removed and finely chopped
- 2 cups brussels sprouts shredded
- 2 cups broccoli slaw
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds roasted and salted
For Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey or sugar
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add yogurt, water, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, poppy seeds, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir well with a fork or whisk, and set aside.
- In a large salad bowl, add kale, brussels sprouts and broccoli slaw. Pour half of the dressing over salad, gently stir and add more as needed.
- Sprinkle with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds right before serving.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times. I like the dressing with the onion powder option.
Glad to hear, Keri!
Hi Olena, I just found your blog & tried this dressing. It was easy to throw together and very tasty. I have a sweet tooth so I added a bit more maple syrup but hopefully I’ll wean myself off one day. I’ve never made my own dressings as I’ve gone with convenience but your post really got me thinking so I’ll be making more in the future. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this recipe. My husband loves this salad, I always shuddered at the dressing, I would toss the salad with EVOO and then use the smallest amount of pre made dressing imaginable. Now I will make my own and feel really good about it.
Some people don’t understand clean eating, they are all about calories….so much more to be aware of when eating well.
I buy the bag from Costco occasionaly, but agree I have the same concerns you expressed. I always make my own dressings accept sometimes I but Renees Ceasar Dressing as I have not been able to duplicate that to being better than the bought one. I do have a question how long and how do you store in the fridge the salad. I was guessing a mason jar to store it in and thought maybe 5 days tops at it keeping fresh. Can’t wait to make it this weekend and thank you so much.
Yes, you got it right, Sharon. I store salad in a bowl covered with plastic and dressing in a glass jar separately. 5 days sounds reasonable. I should try to recreate a head;thy Caesar salad dressing. I usually use a mix of olive oil, garlic and anchovies but I know it is not real.
I tried the recipe and the dressing. Much, much better than the bagged variety. Thank you!
You are very welcome, Nan.:)
Im going to try this 🙂
This sweet kale salad was so good!
I love this salad but refuse to buy it for all the reasons you mentioned. I have been wanting to try and make it myself, but now I am so happy to have found your recipe! I never could have reproduced the dressing like you did. Thank you!!!
Thanks. I usually just throw away the dressing that comes with the kit. All those bagged salads have bad dressing.
Looks delicious! Yum!