Chopped Chicken, Kale and Date Salad
Serves 4-6
Equipment
- 1 small mason jar optional
Ingredients
Topping
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¼ cup chopped smoked almonds
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
Dressing
- ⅓ cup champagne vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 5 tsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp dijon
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt diamond crystal*
- ½ tsp black pepper
Salad
- 1 small bunch curly kale chopped
- ½ lemon zested and juiced for kale
- 1 romaine heart chopped
- 1 large celery stalk diced small
- 3 small cucumbers diced small
- 3 oz snap peas thinly sliced
- 4 medjool dates chopped
- ¼ cup sliced chives
- ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 ½ – 2 cups chopped chicken I used 2 breasts from a rotisserie chicken
- Avocado to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix pepitas, smoked almonds, sesame, maple, olive oil, paprika, cayenne and salt.
- Spread mix out in an even layer on the prepared sheet tray. Bake for 8-12 minutes, until golden. Let cool completely (mixture will not be crunchy when still hot, but will get nice and crisp after cooling.)
- Add vinegar, oil, maple, dijon, salt and black pepper to a small jar and shake until combined (alternately whisk in a small bowl.) Set aside.
- To a large bowl add kale and massage with a touch of salt, lemon juice and zest to tenderize slightly.
- Add in romaine, celery, cucumbers, peas, dates, chives, dill and chicken. Toss with desired amount of dressing. Season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Served topped with avocado and the maple almond topping.
Video
Notes
*if not using diamond crystal salt specifically, add salt to taste as the amount listed will not be the same for other salts
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
So delicious! I used lacinato kale because I’m not a huge fan of curly kale, but other than that I followed the recipe pretty closely. The nut topping is incredible and I loveee the addition of dates. I’ll definitely be adding this into my lunch rotation!
Im so happy you enjoyed Kayla!