Sweet Kale Slaw, Trail Version
Costco's bagged kale salad, rebuilt from dried vegetables and a shaker-jar dressing.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 9 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 180 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- No cook
- Cold soak
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated shredded cabbage | 1/2 cup | green or red, both work |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated kale | 1/2 cup | crumbled, stems removed before drying |
| Dehydrated shredded brussels sprouts | 1/3 cup | |
| Dehydrated shredded broccoli stems | 1/3 cup | peel the woody outside first |
| Dried cranberries | 1/4 cup | |
| Sunflower seeds | 1/4 cup | roasted and salted |
| Greek yogurt powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Apple cider vinegar | 1 tbsp | small leakproof bottle |
| Citric acid | 1/4 tsp | stands in for lemon juice |
| Maple sugar or brown sugar | 2 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Pour 180 ml of cold water over the dried vegetables in a jar or wide-mouth bottle. Stir once so nothing floats dry.
- Let it sit 30 to 45 minutes. Cabbage and broccoli stem take the longest; kale is ready in ten.
- Pour off any standing water. There should not be much.
- In a cup or a second jar, shake the yogurt powder with 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. Add the oil, vinegar, citric acid, sugar, salt, and pepper. Shake again.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables, add the cranberries and seeds, and shake the whole jar.
- Wait another ten minutes before eating. The greens soften and the dressing thins out.
A raw kale salad is the last thing you would expect to survive a pack, and the fresh version does not. Dehydrated shredded vegetables do, and they come back close enough: cabbage and broccoli stem rehydrate with real snap, which is what this salad is actually built on. Kale mostly contributes color and body. Slice everything thin before drying or it never fully rehydrates.
The dressing is the other change. Greek yogurt is out, yogurt powder is in, reconstituted separately so it goes smooth instead of pebbly. Citric acid replaces lemon juice at a fraction of the weight and does the same job of cutting the sweetness. Give the finished salad a rest before eating; the vegetables keep drinking, and a bowl that looks watery at first will not be by the time you get to it.
Packing
Dry vegetables, cranberries, and seeds go in one bag. Yogurt powder and the sugar-salt-citric acid mix go in a small separate bag, because they clump if they meet moisture from the greens. Oil and vinegar ride in bottles.
Variations
- Skip the yogurt powder and use a vinaigrette of oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt for a dairy-free version.
- A foil packet of chicken turns it into a full dinner.
- Ramen-cracker style: crush a plain instant noodle block over the top for crunch instead of seeds.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/sweet-kale-salad-recipe-costco-copycat