Citrus Kale Salad with Baked Chicken Recipe

Name: Citrus Kale Salad with Baked Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 medium sized chicken breasts; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp adobo seasoning; 4 cups firmly packed shredded kale (finely chopped); 2 cups broccoli slaw; 2 cups finely shredded Brussels sprouts; ½ cup dried cranberries; ¼ cup sunflower seeds; ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil; ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice; 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice; 3 tbsp honey; ¼ tsp. kosher salt; 1 ½ tsp. poppy seeds

This salad is one of my favorites of all time – and if we’re being honest, I’m not even a big fan of kale! It is crunchy, sweet, tangy, and delicious – and it even tastes better if you make it about an hour or two ahead of serving – so it is a knockout recipe for picnics, cookouts, BBQs, and anytime you need a hearty and healthy salad that is perfectly portable!

picture of sliced chicken breast over kale salad in a bowl

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

how to Make Citrus Kale Salad with Baked Chicken

This citrus kale salad is fresh, bright, and bursting with flavor – full of crunchy sunflower seeds, sweet and tart dried cranberries, shaved brussels sprouts, broccoli slaw, baked chicken, and a knockout citrus poppyseed vinaigrette dressing.

Citrus Kale Salad with Baked Chicken Ingredients

First you will want to assemble the following ingredients:

Chicken breasts – you can use a different cut of chicken but I like using chicken breast since it cooks easily and quickly in the oven.
Olive oil – I use this to help the adobo seasoning stick to the chicken, you can use your oil of choice.
Adobo seasoning – abobo seasoning is a mixture of garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, oregano, citrus zest, and turmeric. It is available in any supermarket in the spice section.
Extra-virgin olive oil – I use high quality olive oil for the fat in the dressing. You can use whatever oil you prefer.
Orange juice, Lime juice, Lemon juice – these juices combine to create the wonderful bright citrus flavor you want in your dressing.
Honey – you need honey or a similar liquid sweetener to counterbalance the acid in the juices and the bitterness of the oil. Use locally sourced raw honey for the best flavor.
Salt – I use fine grain sea salt to season the salad dressing which then is spread over the whole salad and seasons the other ingredients.
Poppy seeds – poppy seeds will add a nice crunch as well as make the dressing coagulate so you get a thicker dressing.
Kale – young kale is best for this recipe since it doesn’t have the sharp edge. Kale holds up well to a strong dressing.
Broccoli slaw – broccoli slaw is a great way to get some bite in your salad and it holds up well to the citrus poppyseed dressing.
Brussels sprouts – shredded brussels are a great source of vitamin C and folate which is why I use them here.
Cranberries – tart cranberries are kale and poppy seed’s best friend and they help create the perfect balance of flavors in this salad.
Sunflower seeds – you can use any type of seeds you want; I prefer sunflower seeds since they are small but pack a big crunch.

Steps to make Citrus Kale Salad

Once you have the ingredients, use the following method.

Season and cook chicken. Generously coat the chicken in the olive oil and abobo seasoning. Wrap in a foil pouch and bake in the oven at 375 until internal temperature is 170 degrees, about 25 minutes.

Let rest and make dressing. Let the chicken rest after you remove it from the oven for about 10 minutes the chop into pieces for your salad. Meanwhile mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.

Combine and enjoy. In a bowl or on a plate, combine all the salad ingredients and chicken. Drizzle the citrus poppyseed dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Enjoy immediately after dressing!

Tips and Tricks to Perfect Citrus Kale Salad with Chicken

Make too much dressing. I personally love to make a big batch of dressing and put it in an easy-to-use container for later in the week – find my favorite in my amazon must-haves list here!

Use leftover dressing over fruit. The dressing for this recipe is very versatile and can be used to make my poppyseed spinach fruit salad.

Mix up your chicken. If you want to use chicken prepared differently, see the options in the section below.

Wait to dress the salad. If you are prepping this for meals or are not planning on enjoying all of it right then, wait to dress the salad to prevent it from getting soggy.

Other Delicious Chicken Recipes

If you’d prefer to go with another easy chicken recipe, I am rounding up some of my favorites for salads – especially my easy boiled chicken recipe.

This shredded boiled chicken is a total knockout for salads, enchiladas, tacos, and more – so you can make a big batch and get a ton of recipes out of one cooking session!