Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad

$6.19 recipe / $1.55 serving
by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.96 from 24 votes
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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. 🙌

Dressing being poured over a kale and chicken salad 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. Side view of dressing being poured onto kale and chicken salad

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Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad

4.96 from 24 votes
This Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad is full of flavor, texture, and a tangy-sweet homemade dressing. It's perfect for your weekly meal prep!
dressing being poured over kale and chicken salad
Servings 4
Prep 15 minutes
Total 15 minutes

Ingredients

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.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 23gFat: 28gSodium: 444mgFiber: 2g
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Love kale salads? Try these other awesome kale salads:
Tossed kale and chicken salad in a bowl next to the serving platter full of kale salad

How to Make Crunchy Kale and Chicken Salad – Step by Step Photos

Cooked chicken breast in the skillet

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.

Salad dressing ingredients in a bowl

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.

Washed kale in a colander

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.

Chopped celery on a cutting board

Next, dice two ribs of celery, or about 1 cup once chopped.

chopped chicken on a cutting board

Chop the cooked chicken to similar sized pieces (about 1.5 cups chopped).

Kale salad topped with chicken and celery

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…

raisins and almonds added to the salad

Then add ⅓ cup almonds (sliced or slivered) and ⅓ cup golden raisins.

dressing being poured over kale and chicken salad

Pour your dressing over top just before serving.

tossed kale salad in a bowl next to the serving platter

Toss to coat everything in dressing and enjoy! (I added a little extra cracked black pepper on top because I love pepper!)

Check out these other great summer salads

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  1. I love the suggestion above of adding apple — I added that when I made it the other night, and also threw in some sunflower seeds I had leftover from another recipe. This salad is delicious! And it needs so little dressing to give it a good flavor. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t take the time to chop the kale up more — would have made it easier to eat. Maybe next time I won’t be quite so lazy…

  2. Oh my gosh I could eat this salad everyday for the rest of my life! I made a few substitutions- I used a rotisserie chicken and used regular raisins rather than golden. I also subbed half of the mayo with greek yogurt. The creaminess of the dressing works perfectly with the crunchy toppings. Now it’s going to be really tough to decide between all of your amazing kale salads!

  3. I love pretty much all of your recipes but this one is especially delicious!! I’ve made it a few times already- last time I forgot to get celery so I diced up an apple instead and it was just awesome.

  4. I made this yesterday and am eating leftovers for lunch at work now, and want to say that this is the first time I’ve ever actually enjoyed eating kale. Thank you!

  5. I tried it today and it was also the first time in my life I tried kale (the kale craze has not quite hit my country yet and it’s quite difficult to buy it here). I liked it but I found kale a bit stringy, more difficult to chew than other kinds of lettuce. Is it how it is supposed to be? It was a newly opened bag, four days before its “sell-by” date, so freshness should not be an issue.

    1. Yep, that’s just how kale is. :) You might learn to enjoy the texture, you might not. It’s not for everyone. :)

  6. So good! My husband, who tolerates kale when I add it to recipes, actually liked this recipe! First time he’s eaten kale and LIKED it. He took the left-overs for lunch today. My sons also agreed this is the best kale recipe I’ve made. I followed the recipe exactly, so the credit goes to you!

  7. Just made this for dinner. Omg. So good! My favourite recipe of yours so far. I substituted the kale with green leaf lettuce since its what I had on hand. Served on a kaiser. I’m ready for seconds!

  8. This was excellent and I already had all the ingredients in the house. I used leftover baked chicken thighs and subbed green pepper for the celery. I also used half greek yogurt and half mayo to make the dressing a little healthier. We enjoyed it for dinner last night with onion rolls and a glass of white wine.

    1. Sounds like it would go really well with a glass of wine! ;) Can’t wait to try this one, perfect way to eat more kale.

  9. Thanks so much for this recipe. It looks and sounds just wonderful. Kale is growing pretty well in my garden this year. I don’t have golden raisins so I’m going to try it with Craisins. Thanks, again. Pinning it now.

  10. Yum!! Made this tonight but added a second chicken breast to the mix! It was so yummy!! Thank you!

  11. I am 100% on Team Kale, but my mom refuses to touch the stuff. She adores spinach but I know it wouldn’t give the same body or crunch…any ideas for green substitution? Romaine maybe?

    1. Yes, I think romaine would be my next choice, although it’s no kale. ;) Maybe even shredded cabbage? Ooh, yes, that would be good because the dressing is very similar to a cole slaw dressing.

    1. Hmmm, I’m really not sure if the beans would go well with the honey-Dijon type dressing. Maybe an egg if you’re not vegan?

      1. I’m going to try this with Beyond Meat “chicken” strips. They’re really good when part of a recipe.