This salad has the beets and kale, of course, but also some crisp sweet apples, and the best creamy, tangy dressing on top. Who knew you could make something so sophisticated at home?
Have you seen a Beet and Kale Salad on a menu lately? I see them everywhere I go. McDonald’s might even have one (just kidding!).
The first one I had, several years ago, had roasted beets and goat cheese. I fell in love with it. I considered making it at home but unconsidered it when I remembered that roasting beets can take some time (around 40 minutes). The Instant Pot can speed up cooking the beets quite a bit though, so that’s worth trying. I ended up opting for a different solution though…
Using Canned Beets
One day I was making beet borscht and remembered my mom saying that she used canned beets in hers. She said it was delicious and you couldn’t tell. I made that borscht (get the recipe here) and agreed. Using canned beets on a kale salad was an obvious next step.
This salad is so easy to make and you’d never know that anything came from a can. Buy the beets already sliced to save even more time. And get packaged baby kale leaves or a mix of baby greens that contains kale so that you know for sure the leaves will be tender.
The salad also has slices of RubyFrost apples because tart apple goes well with beets. You could also try Honey Crisp or Gala varieties.
Creamy Tangy Salad Dressing
And this dressing? It’s going to dazzle you! It’s a quick creamy dressing made on the stovetop. You drizzle it onto the salad still warm. It’s made with melted butter, mayonnaise, cider vinegar, sugar, and a touch of horseradish. The horseradish sounds strange but trust me, you won’t know it’s there. It’s just a subtle flavor that works well with both beets and apples.
As for the cheese, you can go with creamy goat cheese, which I really like on beet salads, or do something a bit different and try big shreds of Parmesan like I’ve done here.
To make the shreds, get a wedge of hard cheese that is easy to hold in your hand (a 6 ounce wedge is big enough). Then use a potato peeler to scrape big shreds off the block. I find it easiest to do this directly onto the salad since the shreds are delicate and can break easily if you’re trying to transfer them.
More Great Salad Recipes
If you love this beet and kale salad, try one of my other salads too. There’s so much great variety and some of them also have easy homemade dressings.
Podcast Episode: Making Beet and Kale Salad
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this salad, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintBeet and Kale Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This salad has the beets and kale, of course, but also some crisp sweet apples, and the best creamy, tangy dressing on top. Who knew you could make something so sophisticated at home?
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. prepared horseradish
- a pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 8 cups baby kale or dark salad green mix
- 1 apple, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can sliced beets, drained and cut in half (or 3 fresh beets, peeled and simmered until tender and then sliced 1/4 inch)
- 1 oz. Parmesan cheese (or 2 oz. creamy goat cheese)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Stir in the water, vinegar, sugar, horseradish, and salt.
- Add the mayonnaise and stir until the sugar has dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Divide the kale or salad greens among 4 plates. Top with the apple slices and beets.
- Use a potato peeler to shave curls of Parmesan cheese over each salad or dollop each with some goat cheese.
- Drizzle each salad with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.
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This post originally appeared in January 2015 and was revised and republished in February 2024.