Kale salad that people who swear they hate kale go back for seconds of! Finely chopped kale gets tossed in a fruity balsamic, then piled with roasted butternut squash, grilled chicken, crisp apple, dried cranberries, toasted almonds and goat cheese. It’s hearty. But still light! One big salad is 415 calories with 36 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber, and it takes about 15 minutes to throw together when your squash and chicken are already prepped.
This salad popped up at least half a dozen times in my house one fall. I brought it to two holiday parties because it’s a total crowd pleaser and holds up SO well all night. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “I didn’t even think I liked kale!” right before someone asked for the recipe.
The trick is chopping the kale super small and dressing it with a fruit-infused white balsamic instead of oil. You get a big, sweet, tangy salad and save your fats for the goat cheese and Marcona almonds. Priorities. Ha.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Harvest Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Chicken
- Ready In: 40 minutes
- Serves: 1 salad
- Calories: 415 cal
- Protein: 36g
- Fat: 13.4g
- Carbs: 42g
- Why You'll Love It: I love this Harvest Chopped Kale Salad for lunches. It's loaded up with roasted butternut squash, grilled chicken, apples, almonds and more!
Before You Start Cooking
- Roast a whole tray of squash. About 500 grams of cubed butternut squash makes way more than one salad needs. Keep the leftovers in the fridge and add them to salads all week.
- Buy more kale than you think. Once you pull out the tough stems, a bunch of big kale leaves shrinks fast. We like big salads over here.
- Have your chicken ready. Any grilled chicken works, but this is exactly what a batch of weekly bulk apple cider Dijon grilled chicken is for.
- Feeding a group? Use the slicing attachment on your food processor to chop the kale. It saves SO much knife time.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fruit-infused white balsamic vinegar: this is the dressing. Straight vinegar, no oil. The ones I buy have no added sugar and are only about 3 carbs per tablespoon, but they taste so sweet and fresh. I used cranberry pear here, and I am OBSESSED with lemon, peach, pineapple and apricot too. I get mine from Baker and Olive (code LILLIE saves you a little). Regular balsamic works too, you just might want a little olive oil with it.
- Roasted butternut squash: my favorite swap will always be roasted sweet potatoes, like these roasted sweet potato rounds. They add about 8 carbs to the salad. Maple cumin roasted carrots land at about the same macros as the squash.
- Toasted Marcona almonds: buttery and crunchy, but any favorite nut works.
- Dried cranberries: golden raisins or dried cherries are just as good.
How to Make Harvest Kale Salad
- Roast the squash. Cut about 500 grams of peeled, seeded butternut squash into small cubes and spread them on a large sheet pan. Spray with about 1 tablespoon of olive or avocado oil spray, then sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and a little garlic (we love rosemary too). Roast at 425°F for about 25 minutes, until tender.
- Chop the kale. Run a sharp knife down each side of the tough center stem to remove it in one long piece. Bundle the leaves on a big cutting board and chop them super small, running your knife through the pile from a few different directions. This is KEY.
- Dress the kale. Add the kale to a large bowl, drizzle with the vinegar and add a pinch of coarse salt. Toss, then give it a squeeze or two with your hands to relax the leaves.
- Build the salad. Top the kale with the squash, chicken, apple, red onion, cranberries, almonds and goat cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss when you are ready to eat. Add more vinegar to taste, and drizzle in some olive oil if you have room for the fats.
Harvest Kale Salad FAQs
Will kale salad get soggy if I make it ahead?
Not like baby greens do! Chopped kale is sturdy, which is exactly why this salad survives a whole party. If you’re prepping ahead, keep the apple and almonds separate and add them right before you eat so they stay crisp.
How do I make it for a crowd?
Triple or quadruple it (or WHATEVER-ple), skip the chicken and call it a side. If you’re logging macros, weigh your portion in grams and do your best to spread the toppings evenly through the bowl.
Can I use an oil-based dressing instead?
Of course. A glug of olive oil makes it even BETTER, I just like saving my fats for the goat cheese and almonds. My chopped kale salad with roasted delicata squash and crispy shallots is another fall kale salad if you want a different combo.
How to Serve Harvest Kale Salad
With the chicken it’s a full lunch or dinner on its own. Without it, it’s a pretty side for the holiday table next to the rest of my macro-friendly Thanksgiving sides.
This salad is a perfect example of how I eat all week: one bulk protein, one tray of roasted veggies, and a bunch of different meals out of them. If you want a plan that does that for you, with family-friendly dinners already mapped out, check out my macro-focused meal plan.
More Salad Recipes
- Greek Chopped Kale and Lentil Salad
- BLT Chopped Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
- Chopped Peach Caprese Salad
Find all of my macro-friendly salad recipes in one place.
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Harvest Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 cups kale chopped small (100 g)
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar I used a specialty cranberry pear from Baker and Olive
- Pinch of coarse salt
- ⅓ cup roasted butternut squash 50 g
- ¾ cup chopped grilled chicken 100 g
- ¼ of an apple chopped small (50 g)
- 2 Tbsp red onion diced (20 g)
- 1 Tbsp dried cranberries golden raisins, or dried cherries (10 g)
- 1 Tbsp toasted Marcona almonds chopped (or other favorite nut) (10 g)
- 2 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese 14 g
Instructions
- Pick any tough stems out of your kale and chop very small by bundling the kale together on a large cutting board and using a large knife! Pile the kale on top of itself to run your knife through it a few times from different directions. If I’m doing a huge salad for a group, I like to use the slicing attachment in my food processor.
- Add your kale to a large bowl and drizzle with vinegar and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss well and using your hands, give it a squeeze or two. Set aside.
- To roast butternut squash, chop about 500 grams of peeled and seeded squash into small squares and lay on a large cookie sheet. Spray with 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil spray and sprinkle liberally with kosher salt, pepper, and a little garlic. We also love rosemary. Roast for about 25 minutes at 425 until tender. Keep leftovers in the fridge to add to salads all week.
- Build your salad: Top your tossed kale with roasted squash, chicken (my weekly bulk apple cider Dijon grilled chicken is perfect here), apple, onion, cranberries, almonds, and goat cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss when you’re ready to eat! Add more vinegar to taste, and if you’ve got room for some fats, drizzle some olive oil on there!
Notes
Nutrition
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This is such a versatile and delicious salad. My husband loves it and my kids beg for it every week. Definitely a winner!!!
I have every single one of lillies recipe books. I have liked everyone ive tried. Dont be intimiDated by how Many ingredIents there is. Her instructions are easy to follow Plus she uses similar ingredients in a lot of her recipes whIch makes it easier as well. The time shes taken on these recipes is noticed.