If you think a salad can’t fill you up, think again. This awesomely crunchy and flavorful Kale and Chicken Salad is chock full of juicy chicken breast, almonds, celery, and lots of fiberlicious kale to keep your belly full. And flavor? Oh don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the flavor. A tangy, sweet, and creamy honey Dijon dressing drenches the salad in tons of flavor. Throw a few sweet golden raisins on top for a pop of sweetness and you’ve got salad magic. And the best part? All of these ingredients hold up well to refrigeration, so this salad is perfect for your weekly meal prep. 🙌
If you love regular chicken salad, I think you’ll love this kale and chicken salad as well. It has all the same flavors as traditional chicken salad, but the ingredients are piled onto a bed of greens and the dressing is made slightly thinner so that it’s pourable instead of acting like a thick binder. And just as with regular chicken salad, there is a lot of room for customization here, so keep reading for some ideas.
Can I Use Different Greens?
Sure! If you’re not into kale, you can swap it out with your favorite greens. I think a crunchy green like Romaine or finely shredded cabbage would probably be best, but you could use any green that you like to use for fresh salads.
What Kind of Chicken to Use
I used plain chicken breast that I cooked quickly in a skillet and then diced, but you can take a shortcut and use store-bought rotisserie chicken instead. You’ll need about 1.5 cups of chopped cooked chicken for this recipe.
Raisin Substitutes
I love the mildly sweet golden raisins in this recipe, but you could swap them out with dried cranberries, chopped apples for more crunch, or even fresh grapes (sliced).
Dressing Options
If you don’t want to make your own homemade dressing for this salad, a store-bought honey mustard or poppyseed dressing would be awesome with the flavors in this salad.
How to Meal Prep Kale and Chicken Salad
The sturdy, crunchy nature of the ingredients in this salad means that it holds up extremely well to refrigeration without much effort. I would store the dressing on the side just to maintain maximum crunch-factor, but other than that, all of the ingredients can be stored together in single-serving containers. The prepped salads will stay good in the fridge for about 3-4 days. 
Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad
Servings 4Ingredients
Salad
- 1.5 cups chopped cooked chicken ($4.33)
- 6 cups chopped kale ($1.25)
- 1 cup chopped celery ($0.37)
- 1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds ($0.79)
- 1/3 cup golden raisins ($0.47)
Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise ($0.50)
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.18)
- 1.5 Tbsp honey ($0.27)
- 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.09)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
Instructions
- Chop the cooked chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Clean the celery and chop into similar small bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the kale from the stems, tear it into 1-2 inch pieces, rinse well in a colander, and drain well.
- To make the dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, Dijon, salt, and pepper.
- To build the salad, start with a base of kale, top with the chopped chicken and celery, almonds, and raisins. Drizzle the dressing over top, toss until everything is coated, then enjoy.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
Nutrition
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How to Make Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad – Step by Step Photos
You can us any pre-cooked chicken for this recipe and you’ll need about 1.5 cups once chopped. I used one chicken breast (⅔ lb. total) that I filleted into two thinner pieces so that it would cook quickly in a skillet. Once browned on the outside and cooked through, I simply let it cool for 5-10 minutes and then chopped it into small pieces.
While my chicken was cooling, I made the dressing. This dressing is very similar to a dressing you’d use for chicken salad, but it’s a little bit thinner so it’s pourable and will easily coat all of the kale. In a bowl, whisk together ½ cup mayonnaise, 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1.5 Tbsp honey, ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked pepper. Set the dressing aside.
Next, prep the kale. I used bagged kale that comes pre-chopped because it’s super convenient and just about the same price as bunched kale. If your kale is still on the stem, simply pull it off the stem and tear it into 1-2 inch pieces. Rinse it in a colander and then let it drain well. Watery salad is never good. I used ½ of a one-pound bag, or about 6 cups of chopped leaves.
Next, dice two ribs of celery, or about 1 cup once chopped.
Chop the cooked chicken to similar sized pieces (about 1.5 cups chopped).
Then just build your salad(s)! You can either build one large salad or build it as four smaller single-serving portions. Start with your bed of chopped kale, then add the chopped chicken and celery…
Then add ⅓ cup almonds (sliced or slivered) and ⅓ cup golden raisins.
Pour your dressing over top just before serving.
Toss to coat everything in dressing and enjoy! (I added a little extra cracked black pepper on top because I love pepper!)
We come back to this salad every fall. We swap the kale for romaine lettuce, the raisins for diced Fuji apple, and add fresh green onions. It is flavorful and filling and always delicious.
This salad is so tasty and healthy. I brined two chicken breasts in 4 cups water with 1/4 cup salt for 30 min, then marinated the chicken in Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, and olive oil and roasted it in the oven. I also added fresh grapes to the salad in addition to the raisins. The grapes add a freshness that is super delicious. The dressing was a tiny bit too tangy for my taste the first time I made it, so the second time I added more oil and mayo.
As usual, flavorful and versatile! I love the dressing. Just perfect! Thank you!
Very delicious recipe! I used romaine lettuce instead of kale because it was what I had on hand. It turned out great. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
This recipe is crowd pleaser
This is one of my favorites! I’ve made it three or four times now. With this recipe, I’m actually *excited* to eat a big bowl of kale. Perfect mix of tangy and sweet flavors, with some satisfying crunch.
I made this salad yesterday and loved it! I don’t usually eat kale much but I realized I needed to branch out (heh) with more leafy greens, so I took a chance and BudgetBytes came through. I made both salad & dressing according to the recipe and felt it was delicious as is, though today I added some leftover shredded Parmesan that I think rounded it out with some salty/savory flavor. I’m definitely adding this one to the meal prep rotation.
Really tasty salad and very easy to make! The dressing oddly kind of reminded me of a deviled egg, and that’s not a bad thing haha.
I made this exactly as outlined for my family and it was so good that I scrapped my plans for a dinner party the next night and made it again. Everyone loved it! The dressing is unlike others I have had. The second night I just dressed the greens, apples, and raisins and then added the chicken and almonds on top which I think made their flavors stand out a bit more. I will definitely keep this one in the summer salad rotation!
Of course! I was trying to think of a substitute for celery — and apples fits the bill! Thank you! We’ve been working more kale into our diets and I love the versatility of this recipe. Perfect!
I’ve made this several times and it is always a big hit. This is a remarkably satisfying salad; I’m commenting again because I added a can of drained cannellini beans and it was a very nice addition.