It’s Monday and this is a fall kale salad. Cliché?
Maybe a little, but trust me — this kale salad is worth it. I rarely steer you wrong when it comes to kale salads.
Here’s the thing: every year I try to create a fall kale salad that’s worth obsessing over. Last year it was the Honeycrisp Harvest Salad. This year I’m back with another hearty kale creation, because kale holds up better than the usual greens and feels perfectly fall to me.
I love the texture: the sturdy bite, the crunch, and the fact that it doesn’t wilt the moment it’s dressed.
Making salads at home can be challenging — they rarely excite me the way a restaurant salad does — but there are exceptions. A few homemade favorites I do get excited about include my house salad, the Honeycrisp Harvest Salad, and the poppyseed chicken salad. Still, it’s hard to get truly pumped for a simple lunch salad unless it has personality.
Side note: I’m rekindling my love for Panera’s Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. I used to get it all the time, burned out on it for a while, and now I’m obsessed again — definitely planning to recreate a version at home.
What makes this fall kale salad different and irresistible:
- Honeycrisp apples and fresh figs for sweet, seasonal brightness.
- Toasted pecans for deep, nutty crunch.
- Crispy pancetta for salty, savory crunch.
- Quick pickled onions for tangy balance.
- Creamy goat cheese to tie the flavors together.
Now the dressing — the maple cider vinaigrette. I didn’t love dressings as a kid, which is one reason I avoided salads. Once I started making my own, everything changed. Vinaigrettes are easy and so much brighter than most store-bought options. This one blends apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and a pinch of nutmeg for a subtle hint of fall that’s all kinds of amazing.
I’m calling this my September salad — it pairs nicely with a seasonal sangria and feels like the right way to ease into fall.
Apple Pancetta Fall Kale Salad
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup quick pickled onions
- 2 ounces pancetta
- 1 bunch lacinato kale leaves removed from stems (you want 4 to 6 cups)
- 2 small or 1 large honeycrisp apples chopped
- 1 cup fresh figs chopped
- 1/3 cup pecans chopped, toasted
- 2 ounces goat cheese crumbled
maple cider vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 garlic clove finely minced or pressed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
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If you don’t have quick pickled onions on hand, make them first following your favorite quick-pickle method.
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Heat a skillet over medium and cook the pancetta, stirring often, until crisp and the fat has rendered. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
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Shred the kale with a large knife and place it in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and massage the kale for 3 to 4 minutes. Let it rest while you chop the apples, figs and pecans.
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Assemble the salad: season the kale lightly with salt and pepper, then add pancetta, apples, figs, pecans and pickled onions. Top with crumbled goat cheese, season again if needed, drizzle with the dressing and serve.
maple cider vinaigrette
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Whisk together apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and red pepper flakes. Whisk while streaming in the olive oil until emulsified. Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week; you can double the batch if you like.
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Honestly, I could drink a pitcher of this dressing. It’s that good.