Bacon Kale Slaw
This recipe happened kind of by accident. We knew we were having barbecue, but the plan was to have regular cole slaw (green cabbage, carrots, dill pickle relish, and creamy dressing). Well, our green cabbage was missing from our grocery store pick up and I had the purple cabbage leftover from the week before. Everything else was already on hand so I kind of threw this together based on recipes I’ve made in the past; a quinoa bowl, a chopped kale salad, and a broccoli slaw.
I prefer the lacinato (or dinosaur) kale, but curly kale would work here too. You could also swap the kale for blanched, chopped broccoli.
Note: In the recipe below I cut the bacon before I cooked it, but in this version I cooked the bacon in the microwave, then chopped it. Both methods work equally well, however I do prefer the work of pre-chopping the bacon (kitchen scissors are the best!) and the frying pan is much easier to clean than the microwave!
Bacon Kale Slaw
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup warm bacon grease
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the slaw
- 4 strips bacon diced
- 1 bunch kale, lacinato (dino) finely chopped
- 1/2 head cabbage, red finely chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and shredded
- 1/4 cup cranberries, dried
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted
Instructions
- In a skillet on medium low heat render the bacon pieces until browned and cooked through.
- Move to small plate lined with a paper towel.
- Put about 1/4 of a cup of the bacon fat into a small bowl, whisk in the honey, then remaining dressing ingredients, set aside.
- For the slaw, mix the veggies, berries, and seeds in a medium bowl, drizzle with half of the dressing and mix to coat.
- Refrigerate until time to serve, then mix in bacon bits, serve with remaining dressing on the side, drizzle on top, or mix it all in, if preferred.
