Chicken and Kale Salad
with goat cheese / roasted beets / sweet potatoes
Packed with protein, hearty greens, and roasted beets and sweet potatoes, this salad is both filling and beautiful! The balsamic-apple cider vinaigrette gives the salad the perfect taste of fall.
Smarts: If you'd like softer kale for this salad, be sure to "massage" the leaves with vinaigrette as directed below.
Ingredients
- Vinegar, balsamic - 2 Tbsp
- Vinegar, apple cider - 1 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 2 tsp
- Maple syrup - 1 Tbsp
- Oil, cooking - 1/4 cup
- Sweet potatoes - 1 lb, peeled and cubed
- Beets - 4
- Foil - for cooking
- Oil, olive - 1 Tbsp
- Kale, any type - 8 oz, stems removed; chopped (sub baby kale)
- Chicken breast tenders - 1 1/4 lbs (sub boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips)
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Cheese, goat - 4 oz (sub feta)
- Almonds, sliced - 2 oz
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Sweet potatoes - Peel and cube. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make vinaigrette - Whisk together balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, and cooking oil (portion for vinaigrette). Season to taste with some salt and pepper. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Roast beets and sweet potatoes - Heat oven to 400F / 204C. Scrub and trim ends off beets. Place beets into a baking dish and fill with about 1/2” / 1.3 cm of water. Cover with foil and roast for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on size of beets. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and some salt. Spread out onto a sheet pan and roast until tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Store beets and sweet potatoes separately. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Kale - Remove stems and chop leaves. (Skip this step if using baby kale.) (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Chicken - Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Peel beets - Peel skin off the side of beets with a spoon and chop into bite-sized pieces.
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Make
- Toss kale with 1 Tbsp / 15 mL of vinaigrette (for 4 servings; adjust if customizing). Rub the leaves between your hands if you’d like the kale more tender (this is often referred to as “massaging” the kale). Set aside while cooking chicken.
- Heat a skillet with cooking oil (portion for salad) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook on all sides until golden brown and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes total.
- Toss kale with beets and sweet potatoes. Divide between serving bowls.
- Crumble goat cheese over top and finish with chicken and almonds. Add remaining dressing to salads until dressed to your liking. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
24 reviews
Really good! I did Brussels sprouts instead of beets - the roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts together, plus the goat cheese and kale was SO good. My chicken just turned out a little blah. I'm definitely going to try this again and see if I can get the chicken up to par with the rest of it.
0 HelpfulI made the salad (without chicken) as a side because we received some beets in our CSA. I'd never cooked beets before--it was really easy! Enjoyed trying something new.
0 HelpfulI’ve never made a frittata before, but now I have! It’s so tasty! The pan I had made it too thin, so I made a quick decision and transferred it to a non-stick bread pan that I had. It turned out the perfect thickness! I love how Cooksmarts has taught me to think and improvise! The beets and potatoes took me a long time to make, so next time I’ll probably just skip them. They’re delicious but good to make on a weekend instead.
0 HelpfulMy husband commented that it was his new favorite salad. It was just as good or even better than what you can get in a restaurant! It's a new favorite recipe!
0 Helpful