Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp and Goat Cheese
Healthy kale salad featuring shaved fennel, chopped honeycrisp apple, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries and goat cheese, tossed in a lemony dressing.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
I know, I know. I’m always jabbering on about my new favorite kale salad and waxing poetic about kale salads in general. This salad, though! It’s crisp, sweet (but not too sweet) and features seasonal fennel and apple, which is a new-to-me pairing that you will definitely see again. I’ll admit that licorice-flavored fennel was a bit of an acquired taste for me, but now I can’t get enough of it.
I’m not-so-secretly plotting to convert all visitors into kale salad enthusiasts, so I’m crossing my fingers you’ll give this salad a shot. It definitely went over well at girls’ night last week. I served it with a cheese plate, crackers, grapes and wine, of course.
One final selling point before I go. Kale salads keep well in the refrigerator for a couple of days, which means this salad is a great candidate for your lunchbox!
Benriner mandoline, for slicing feathery strips of fennel. (Be careful!)
Microplane zester, for removing zest from lemon.
Autumn Kale Salad with Fennel, Honeycrisp and Goat Cheese
Healthy kale salad featuring shaved fennel, chopped honeycrisp apple, toasted pepitas, dried cranberries and goat cheese, tossed in a lemony dressing. This recipe yields 2 large, full-meal salads or 4 side salads.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 very large bunch of kale
- 1 medium Honeycrisp apple
- 1 medium bulb of fennel
- 3 ounces chilled goat cheese, crumbled (to yield about ⅓ cup crumbled goat cheese)
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or chopped pecans
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Several twists of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- To prepare the kale: Use a chef’s knife to remove the tough ribs from the kale, then discard the ribs. Chop the kale leaves into small, bite-sized pieces. Transfer the chopped kale to a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small pinch of sea salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands by lightly scrunching big handfuls at a time, until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant.
- To prepare the remaining salad ingredients: Chop the apple into small, bite-sized pieces. Use a chef’s knife or mandoline to slice the fennel as thin as possible. Transfer the prepared apple and fennel to the salad bowl. Use a fork to crumble the goat cheese over the salad. Roughly chop the cranberries and add them to the bowl.
- To toast the pepitas: In a skillet over medium-low heat, toast the nuts, tossing frequently, until fragrant and starting to make little popping noises, about 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pepitas to a bowl to cool.
- To make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until emulsified.
- To prepare the salad: Add the cooled pepitas to the salad bowl. Drizzle dressing over the salad, just enough to lightly coat the kale once tossed (you might have some leftover dressing). Toss the salad well. For best flavor, let the salad rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Skip the goat cheese. Diced avocado is nice with this salad if you want to make up for lost creaminess.
Storage suggestions: This salad keeps well in the fridge, covered, for a couple of days. It’s a great pack-for-lunch option.
Change it up: Trade other fall/winter produce for the fennel and apple. I think cubed and roasted butternut squash would be delicious.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Your kale salads are absolutely delicious. I’ve made 2 so far and love them both, can’t wait to make them all.
Thank you, Beth!
Beautiful, fast, easy recipe! I’m writing a post about cooking with whole foods on my own blog, and I’d like to share this with full credit. Please let me know if that’s alright with you! Thanks!
Hi Erika, thanks for asking! I’m sorry, I don’t allow other websites to publish my full recipes. If you’d like to share one of my photos and link over to my post for the recipe, that would be fine!
I agree with you, the sides are where it’s at! All of these look so good. I actually just made your apple, fennel and kale salad (with smoked gouda in place of goat cheese) and it was phenomenal. My first time eating raw fennel and I loved it! Thanks for the recipe! I’m thinking about making it again for the holiday. :)
For some reason I thought this comment was on your Thanksgiving sides post, lol. While I’m here, I’ll give it a proper rating. ;)
Well, I’ll take it! Thanks, Sarah. Glad you enjoyed this one.
I just found this recipe and have never tried fennel and no one I asked could remember having it either. It is delicious. This is now my go to salad for potlucks and family gatherings. Everyone loves this salad!
That’s great to hear, Colleen!
Believe or not I’ve been avoiding Kale for the last 5 years thinking it was a ‘fad’ but this recipe changed my mind. I love fennel & cranberries so decided to try it. Yum does not describe how good it is. Thanks Kate (& Cookie) – another great recipe.
I tried this salad when I visited my son (and family) in San Diego. It was amazing. So, now here in Ohio I have grown Kale in my raised beds so I can make it myself. Today.
Hi Nancy! I’m so glad you enjoyed this salad with your family. I bet it will be extra tasty with your home-grown kale. Thanks for saying hi!
This has to be the best salad I’ve ever had. I used slivered almonds instead of pepitas (laziness – I had almonds in the cupboard, but not pepitas). There were some leftovers, so the next day I added a chopped avocado to bulk them up. Simply divine. I think some roasted and cooled asparagus would be good, too. A definite keeper.
Thank you so much, Liz! Happy to hear it!
Made this salad tonight and absolutely loved it! So many interesting flavors and it couldn’t have been easier to prepare. Thanks!
This was deeeelish! I made it and added a little cold quinoa for a bit more protein as this was my post-run meal. Just fabulously filling and palate-pleasing! Thank you!
Thank you, Nicole! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Bet it was tasty with quinoa.
I made this and it is a great salad! I had never had fennel before today and it tastes great!
I ate it as a solo large salad for lunch. Very satisfied.
If eating as a dinner salad or small lunch salad, I would pair with great toasted garlic bread or bruschetta. Or chicken on this (if you eat meat) would be great too.
I also wanted to add the idea to list your comments from most recent to least recent. It is nice to see suggestions of people who just made the salad last week, rather than 2 years ago. Or even including an upvote downvoting system for us home chef’s to see the top comments with extra suggestions of toppings, adding quinoa or other bases, etc.
Love the layout of your site though, and photos, and the name… Your site is a winner amongst many plant based recipe blogs. Thank you for your hard work I make one of your recipes at least once a week!
Hi Joanna, I’m so glad you enjoyed your first fennel experience! Thanks for the note. That is a good suggestion for the commenting order. I will look into it!
I don’t want to sound dramatic, but this salad could possibly be life changing. No, ya know what, I’m going to say it….. this is the best salad I have ever had in my entire life, and I have had A LOT of salad. Thank you so much!
Victory!! Thanks, Lindsay! Your comment made me smile.
Made this for a dinner party.
Everyone loved it!
This salad is SOOOOOO good! I made it as a test run the Saturday before Thanksgiving and my father-in-law ended up having seconds and said he doesn’t even think he has had kale before! ha! I made it again on Sunday and plan on doubling the recipe for Thanksgiving. So tasty!
This salad is delicious and to my surprise it was devoured by my 2 and 4 year olds, who rarely eat salads. Thank you
Hi, Bridget – I’m happy those picky eaters enjoyed it!
This salad is so so delicious! I made it recently to bring to a family get together. My family cooked a bunch of meats in a smoker and, being a vegetarian, I wanted to bring something healthy and tasty. Everyone raved about it! I also made and brought along your corn bread and it was a hit too! I love following your blog and making your recipes! Thanks :)
So happy it pleased a bunch of meat eaters! Thanks for reading, Stephanie. This stuff makes me smile.
This salad is fantastic and my new favorite. I usually add more syrup and less mustard to the dressing because I like it sweeter and it’s perfect.
Thanks again for another wonderful, healthy recipe!
Best thing about making your own dressing, is adjusting it to your taste. Thanks for your comment and review, Emily!
I know this comment chain is an echo chamber, but I want to throw in my own, “I LOVE THIS FANTASTIC SALAD!!” comment. (Also, it takes a really special salad for my husband to go in for seconds.)
Thank you for knocking this out of the ballpark.
I love hearing it. So, thank you Erin!
Yummy! Loved this salad! All the flavors complimented each other perfectly, great texture and crunch from the fennel and pumpkin seeds. The creamy goat cheese added a nice element of decadence :)
I do think the goat cheese adds a lot too! Thank you, Samantha for sharing. I appreciate the review.
This salad is wonderful and such a good keeper. I’m not a big fennel fan, but the shaved fennel has a mild fennel flavour that is perfect in this salad. I served it to friends who also choose not to eat fennel and they were pleasantly surprised to discover how good this salad is with the fennel in it.
I like to add some of the lemon juice and olive oil to the kale when massaging it.
Also, the salad is nice served on individual plates with the goat cheese sprinkled over the top.
I’m glad you tried it anyway, Catherine! Thanks for the review.
THIS SALAD OS EVERYTHING. My picky father and sister ate this salad like it was the best thing ever. I eat this weekly now. I always sub the goat cheese for feta, however, and it is amazing!!! This recipe has also revealed the beauty of the honeycrisp appleton me. Perfectly sweet and juicy!
Wonderful, Diari! Thanks so much for the review.
Made this salad for a dinner with my parents. It was a big hit.
Wonderful, Janice! Thanks for your review.
I made this salad exactly as written. Absolutely delicious. Ate it three days in a row.
I’m really happy to hear that, Jacklyn. Thanks for commenting!
My husband and I really enjoyed this salad! I replaced the dried cranberries with sliced fresh strawberries for a lower sugar alternative and it tasted great! I’m making this for my in-laws tonight :)
Great to hear, Elieen! Thanks so much for your review.
I made it, great salad!
Thank you, Freddy!
I’m glad you loved it, Freddy!
This salad is a show stopper when entertaining, but is also super easy to pack for lunch. This recipe is the whole reason I bought myself a zester : )
Great to hear, Margaret! Thank you for your review.
Loved this recipe! Easy to make and super delicious.
Thank you, Taylor! I appreciate your review.
This was fantastic, and was a great make ahead. I made this for two of us and we delighted on eating it for three days. Next time I might sub out walkouts for the pepitas for a bit more crunch, but this was great exactly as written. Thank you!
Question’ does the kale need to be washed before rubbing with the salt?
Hi Shirley! I always pre-wash my produce. I hope this helps!
Wow, this was so good! Even my kale-averse partner had two helpings. It reminded me a little of Waldorf salad (which I love) with the apples and sweet dressing. My fennel was pretty chunky, but the goat cheese and apples were the dominant flavors anyway. I used a Pink Lady, btw, and it worked fine. As for keeping overnight, it was possibly even better. If you know you’re going to eat it the following day, though, I’d hold off on adding the pepitas, lest they lose their crunch.
This was yummy! Loved the lemon dressing. Our first time trying fennel and it worked so well in this salad. Thank you, Kate!
This was delicious! I used sultanas as I couldn’t get a hold of dried cranberries and added avocado as well. I’ll definitely be making this again. I was hoping to have some leftovers for the next day but the whole lot got gobbled up!
This turned out delish! Definitely considering adding this to my thanksgiving sides lineup!
I’m excited you loved it, Melissa! I appreciate your review.
this was a delicious and healthy and refreshing fall salad! my 4 year old helped me make it and gobbled it up!
This looks delicious and perfect in the winter too! Any way you might suggest adding more protein to this salad?
Hi! You could add beans or tofu if you like.
I made this for dinner tonight and doubled it for the two of us. It was delicious. I excluded the cheese because we are dairy-free. Such a nice change of pace. I used green apples because it’s all we had. Very tart and lovely.
So good. I made this for dinner tonight and we loved it. I can’t have dairy, so I will use avocado instead. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Elise! I appreciate your review.
I doubled the recipe, but did not have enough kale, so I used romaine as well. Turned out really well.
This is perhaps the BEST kale salad recipe I’ve ever had. I cannot stress enough how good this recipe is. I’ve made it several times now and I’m always floored by just how good it is. The recipe does keep well overnight (never saved for longer than 24 hours… it’s so good that the leftovers don’t last long). I’ve been tempted to sub out ingredients for others, but the recipe is just perfect as-is so I haven’t done so. One note: if you slice the fennel really thin, it softens quite a bit and doesn’t have as much crunch as if you leave it a little thicker. If you want a little crunch and like the anise flavor, leave the fennel a little on the chunkier side. If you don’t, go thin. Also, I’ve used honey crisp and pink lady apples. I’ve been impressed at how well both hold up over night. The dressing must have enough lemon in it to keep the apples from browning. DELISH!
Thank you for sharing, LB! I’m delighted you loved it.
I really liked this salad. It was a nice change from our “usuall” salads.
I used Feta instead of goat cheese and used pecans.
We were very sad when the bowl was empty. I added a little fig balsamic to make it a bit richer. I think that the kale massage is life changing. It takes kale salad to a new level. I only had apples oranges blue berries and dried cranberries in the house so that’s what went in it. I cant wait to add fennel and goat cheese. Who knew kale salad could he this decadent?!
I’m glad you loved it, Victoria!
I made the Autumn Kale salad for Thanksgiving to take to my in-laws. It was a big hit! Everyone loved it (17 people)! Not only is it healthy and delicious, it’s also beautiful! All of the flavors go together really well! I will be making this again very soon! I’ve already shared the recipe with others whom I knew would enjoy it! Thank you!
Hooray! That’s great, Keri.
My girlfriend made this for me this summer but didn’t use kale. It was delicious, but being a big fan Of kale myself I made it this evening … wow … I used laccitano or black kale and the flavours were amazing. It will definitely be the salad I take to a dinner party. Thanks!
You’re welcome, Barbara!
Making this salad tonight even though it is the heat of summer here in Texas. Do you think there is much of a difference using baby kale instead of the mature stem kale?
Thanks,
Patti
It should still be delicious! Let me know what you think, Patti.
I never remember to take the time to comment on recipes but I’m finally remembering- I have been making this salad for years now and it will always be a favorite of mine. I love it with some roasted butternut squash on top and toasted pecans in place of the pepitas. Thank you so much for bringing this joy into my life!!
I’m glad you did, Bailey! Thank you for taking the time to review.
Made this pretty much exactly like the recipe, amazingly delicious and the fennel amount was just the right balance
That’s great to hear, Hannah! I appreciate your review.
Holy. Moly. I saw this recipe and ran to Whole Foods. This is one amazing salad. I’ve been trying to incorporate more greens and fruits into my diet. This simple and hearty recipe made it so easy. I did not include fennel (didn’t have any in stock) and subbed the pepitas for toasted pecans. IT WAS AMAZING. I cannot wait to eat it for lunch again tomorrow.
I’m glad you loved it, Nancy! I appreciate your review.
Such a great tasting and versatile salad with a bright and tasty dressing! The real key to the dressing is the lemon rind- don’t skip that step! It takes the whole thing from good to great. We have made this salad twice in the past two weeks and got baby kale for next week already. I’m excited to try it with roasted delica squash to add some autumn/winter roasted veggies. It’s easily made vegan by skipping the cheese or using an almond cheese, for example.
I’ve made this salad about 10+ times in the last couple of months and I LOVE it so much! I’ve made it just for myself or for a crowd, and it’s always a hit. Maybe my favorite salad of all time.
That’s great to hear, Morgan! Thank you for your review.
If I made just the dressing, how long would that last in the fridge? I’ve made this and several of your other salads and I love them all. I ADORE the Kale Quinoa Salad with Tropical Pesto-absolutely wonderful!!!
I’m glad you loved it, Stephanie!
Excellent recipe! Made it according to recipe except only used 1/2 amount of maple syrup!
Fabulous salad! I don’t like fennel, but somehow it works in this recipe. I did substitute Feta for the goat cheese. The dressing is delicious. The hint of maple syrup is wonderful. Thanks for a terrific salad idea. Perfect for autumn.