Have you caught on to the fact that it is mid-December and I haven’t baked one single batch of cookies yet this year? Don’t get me wrong we are all big fans of Christmas cookies, but we’ve been on more of a savory kick this holiday season. (Don’t worry cookie fanatics, I have you covered here!)  The first time I tried this Holiday Kale Salad I knew that it was going to be on repeat at our house all season – it is just the right blend of savory and sweet for the holidays and it’s pretty beautiful too! 

This recipe is a heavy hitter, it showcases 2 of my favorite vegetables on the planet; kale and cauliflower. Plus it’s loaded with a ridiculously delicious assortment of textures and flavors! 

Plus, it is perfect for my dinner table’s ever-changing mealtime needs! On busy weeknights, I can crank this meal out in under 45 minutes with minimal effort and have enough leftovers for lunch the next day. While this salad is hearty enough for Todd’s vegetarian main dish the kids and I have also been adding a bit of chopped rotisserie chicken to our plates for a little extra protein. 

When entertaining friends and family for the holiday’s I plan to take this salad to a whole different level of delicious by topping it with beautiful golden rounds of my friend Amanda’s crispy potato chip crusted goat cheese. It just feels so fancy to serve warm goat cheese rounds atop this festive salad, and the contrast of the warm cheese and cool crisp greens is just heavenly! 

While this salad looks like it may be time-consuming to make it actually comes together pretty darn quickly and is super easy thanks to the help of some of our favorite Taylor Farms products! I shave off a lot of the prep time by using Taylor Farms Organic Power Greens. They are prewashed so I can just pile them on my serving platter straight out of the fridge instead of having to wash and dry them. It’s such a huge time saver!! 

I also cut corners in my prep time by using Taylor Farms ready to enjoy cauliflower florets. I love not having to break down a head of cauliflower! It’s literally no mess, no fuss – I cut the florets in half if they’re too large, toss them onto the baking sheet, season them with cinnamon and ancho chile then roast them to perfection. 

This salad is a total winner for both holiday entertaining and easy weeknight dinners! 

Easy Holiday Kale Salad with Cinnamon Roasted Cauliflower

• Author: This Mess Is Ours
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

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Description

Don’t feel like breading and baking the goat cheese? You can simply crumble 4 ounces of goat cheese across the top of the salad instead. You can also substitute the pickled cranberries that we call for in this salad with dried cranberries.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 (12-ounce bag) Taylor Farms cauliflower florets, florets halved if large
• 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pomegranate Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Easy Kale Salad

• 1(5-ounce) package Taylor Farms Organic Power Greens, baby spinach & baby kale blend
• 1 batch cinnamon roasted cauliflower
• 1 small fennel bulb, sliced paper thin
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/2 cup rosemary Marcona almonds or regular toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup pickled cranberries
• 1/4 cup fennel fronds
• 1 batch Crispy Potato Chip Crusted Goat Cheese Rounds, optional

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Instructions

Roast the cauliflower

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the florets onto the baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and spices, toss to combine. Arrange in a single layer and roast for 20 minutes , flipping once until golden brown and caramelized. Remove from the oven to cool.

Prep the dressing

1. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a mason jar, secure the lid on tightly and shake until emulsified and thickened. Set aside.

Assemble the salad

1. Arrange the Taylor Farms Organic Power Greens on a large platter. Top with the shaved fennel, cinnamon roasted cauliflower, pomegranate arils, almonds, pickled cranberries, and fennel fronds. Serve immediately with crispy potato chip goat cheese rounds if desired.

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Notes

Crispy Potato Chip Crusted Goat Cheese Rounds from Heartbeet Kitchen : http://heartbeetkitchen.com/2016/recipes/type/salad-recipes/crispy-chip-crusted-goat-cheese/

Pickled Cranberries: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/food/6-crazy-good-cranberry-recipes

This post is sponsored by Taylor Farms, and we received compensation and product in exchange for it. Opinions are our own, but you can trust that if we don’t love it, you won’t see it here. Thanks for your continued support!