Kale Chicken Salad
This Kale Chicken Salad features a tasty medley of kale, quinoa, chicken, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, mini peppers and onion sprinkled with pepitas, sunflower seeds, and feta. A speedy homemade lemon dressing ties these fantastic flavors together!
Servings 2 servings
Calories 505kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- ½ cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed from can)
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup sliced mini peppers (pickled or plain)
- ¼ cup finely sliced red onion (pickled or plain)
- 2 TBSP crumbled feta cheese
- 2 TBSP roasted pepitas and/or sunflower seeds
LEMON DRESSING
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 1-2 TBSP avocado oil or light olive oil
- ½ tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 small clove garlic
- ¼ tsp sea salt or extra to taste
- ⅛-¼ tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mince fresh garlic and add to remaining dressing ingredients. Set aside. To make quick marinated onion, toss red onion into the dressing to soak while you prep the remaining ingredients.
- Wash and dry kale and remove kale leaves from the stem. (I use my trusty salad spinner) Chop kale into small pieces and add to a large salad bowl. Drizzle with a spoonful of dressing. Massage into leaves for extra flavor.
- Add cooked quinoa and chicken, along with tomatoes, peppers, onion (if not marinating in dressing) and feta.
- Top with pepitas and/or sunflower seeds and mix well. Enjoy! The recipe makes two lunch-sized salads and can easily be doubled if needed. I enjoyed one bowl right away and had the remainder the next day for lunch. Yum!
Notes
I included detailed measurements above to get you started, but feel free to play around with this one and add extra protein (chickpeas/chicken) if desired.
You can also add any extras your heart desires. Bell peppers, broccoli, and carrots are all delicious options with lots of crunch! Sliced almonds are great here too. You can use the lemon dressing in the recipe card above or even try it with a zesty Italian or Greek dressing.
Just be sure to add some extra dressing to compensate if you add lots of extras to your bowl and let your taste buds be your guide!
Nutrition
Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 684mg | Potassium: 1092mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 8732IU | Vitamin C: 175mg | Calcium: 348mg | Iron: 6mg
