the perfect fall chicken and kale salad

a 20-minute AND 45-minute version

I hope by now I’ve convinced you and everyone in your family that a salad can absolutely count as dinner. It took George a while, but he is firmly in the salad-for-dinner camp at this point, and tbh it’s one of my proudest accomplishments.

I love dinner salads for many reasons. First, they can be SO EASY. If using a pre-cooked protein (like we’re doing in the 20-minute version of today’s recipe), you just whisk, chop, and mix. That’s it! They’re honestly the ultimate what-to-cook-when-you-don’t-feel-like-cooking dinner.

Dinner salads are also great when you are cooking for little kids (or big people) who don’t like foods to *touch.* When I served this meal to my boys, I put chopped up chicken in one pile (with ketchup), cheese in another pile, apples in another, almonds in another, and plain kale in another (they inexplicably will eat plain greens). They crushed it.

Dinner salads are also endlessly customizable (see the riffs section below!) and are of course filled with the vitamins and nutrients our bodies crave and need anytime — but most especially when we’re busy, low on energy, and are looking for an easy dinner.

We’re making a truly perfect kale, chicken, apple, and cheddar salad with the simplest balsamic vinaigrette. How you get there, you will decide!

I’m offering you two recipes today:

1. RECIPE 1: A 20-minute kale, chicken, apple, and cheddar salad. This version uses a store-bought rotisserie chicken and doesn’t include squash (so that you don’t have to turn on the oven!).

2. RECIPE 2: A 45-minute version in which you’ll roast your own chicken AND delicata squash, adding both to the mix.

So you’ve got one salad two ways! The delicata squash is a delicious addition, but the salad is still amazing without it. Fix the first version on nights when you have absolutely no time to fiddle with the oven. Fix the second on days when you have a smidge more time!

Rotisserie chicken is a busy person’s perfect protein. It’s seasoned and slow roasted by the grocer, providing tender, juicy chicken that you can incorporate into almost any meal. You can do many things with a rotisserie chicken, including:

• Simply slice up and serve it with a grain, veggie, and a sauce such as sour cream or yogurt with a hot sauce mixed in, pesto, or teriyaki sauce.

• Add chopped or shredded rotisserie chicken to a chili, soup, or stew. Add it toward the end of cooking instead of at the beginning since it’s already fully cooked.

• Meal prep a chicken salad for lunches for the week — here’s the one I grew up eating!

• Shred it and make enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, tacos, or taco salad.

• If you have What to Cook the book, you’ll find seven recipes using a rotisserie chicken on page 33 — including Mango Chicken Tacos, Chicken Curry Noodle Soup, Chicken Parm Sliders, Poules Frites, and more! — and on page 31, we use a rotisserie chicken in Cheater Chicken Tinga Tostadas.

If you’re planning to shred a rotisserie chicken, do that right when you get home from the store while it’s still warm. It’s SO much easier than to try to shred it after it’s been refrigerated. If that’s not doable, just chop it instead.

For this salad, we’re only going to use one breast from a rotisserie chicken (or, many stores sell roast chicken breast in the deli section), so go ahead and shred or chop up the rest of it to use in any of the above ways! Store the leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container and use them within the next 4 days.

Let’s talk about balsamic vinegar!

Making a homemade salad dressing is SO EASY. I’ve said this before, but when a recipe calls for only a few ingredients — like in the case of a dressing — the quality of those ingredients really matters! You can actually taste the difference.

Here, you’re going to want a high-quality EVOO and a high-quality balsamic vinegar (which FYI is a sweeter vinegar made from grapes). I’ve talked a ton about how much I love Kosterina’s olive oils, but they also make a balsamic vinegar that’s so, so good — it’s a league above any others.

If you’re buying a bottle from the grocery store: Balsamico Tradizionale or “traditional” balsamic vinegars are the best you can buy (they’ve been aged for at least 12 years and held to other high quality standards). But they’re also very expensive. You don’t need to go that high quality (unless you want to!). Ideally you can find one that’s labeled aceto balsamico di Modena IGP. The “IGP” stands for “protected geographical indication” and means that it was produced and bottled in Modena, Italy. But really, any aceto balsamico di Modena (“balsamic vinegar of Modena”) will be good!

One of my favorite uses of balsamic vinegar — aside from making this dressing — is to serve it drizzled into olive oil along with some good crusty bread as a side to any meal. It gives fine dining in the 90s vibes in the best way.

There are so many other delicious dinner salad combos you can make using kale as a base and the balsamic vinaigrette from today’s recipe as your dressing. Here are a few other ideas:

• Steak + pear + blue cheese + candied pecans

• Chicken + persimmons + goat cheese + pistachios

• Chicken + cooked beets (from the refrigerator section of the store) + chopped dried apricots + goat cheese + hazelnuts

• Grilled shrimp + orange segments + feta + toasted walnuts

You could also omit the chicken and use this recipe as a side salad. It’s an excellent Thanksgiving side! Or swap the chicken out for roasted chickpeas for a vegetarian dinner!

How to cut apple “matchsticks” or “batons”:

And here’s a link to this fleece cuz I know you’ll ask! I’m in a medium.

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Serves 2 very hungry people; add another chicken breast to feed 3 to 4 people

Tools:

• Large serving bowl

• Whisk

• Cutting board

• Chef’s knife

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 very small garlic clove, grated with a microplane

• 1 bunch curly or flat leaf (lacinato) kale, tough stems removed, finely chopped (4 heaping cups — feel free to buy store-bought chopped kale, just pick through it to remove any tough stems)

• 1 large cooked chicken breast (from a rotisserie chicken, or see recipe below for how to cook it at home), finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken)

• 1 medium honey crisp apple, cut into thin batons (or chopped if that’s easier)

• 1/3 cup salted, roasted almonds, roughly chopped

• 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, roughly chopped

• 3 dates, pits removed and finely chopped (or 1/4 cup yellow raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries)

In a large serving bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, several grinds of black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or one grated garlic clove). Taste and add 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup if your dressing is too tangy (the balsamic I use is sweet enough that I don’t need any).

Add 1 bunch finely chopped kale to the bowl of dressing, sprinkle with a big pinch of kosher salt, and use clean hands to massage the salt and dressing into the kale until it feels soft — about 7 squeezes between your palms. If it feels too heavily dressed, don’t worry, the chicken is going to soak up the dressing.

Add 1 1/2 cups chopped chicken, 1 apple cut into thin batons, 1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds, 4 ounces roughly chopped cheddar cheese, and 3 chopped dates. Toss to coat. DIG IN!

Note: if you have the time, give the salad 10 minutes to marinate.

Serves 4

Cook time: 45 minutes

Tools:

• Sheet pan

• Parchment paper

• Large serving bowl

• Whisk

• Cutting board

• Chef’s knife

Ingredients:

For the chicken and squash:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1 delicata squash, thinly sliced (watch this video for how to slice it!)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or EVOO)

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or Italian seasoning

• Several grinds of black pepper

For the salad:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

• Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 very small garlic clove, grated

• 1 bunch curly or flat leaf kale, tough stems removed, finely chopped (4 heaping cups — feel free to buy store-bought chopped kale, just pick through it to remove any tough stems)

• 1 medium honey crisp apple, cut into thin batons (or chopped if that’s easier for you)

• 1/3 cup salted, roasted almonds, roughly chopped

• 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, roughly chopped

• 3 dates, pits removed and finely chopped

Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Toss 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and 1 sliced delicata squash with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons honey, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano or Italian seasoning, and several grinds pepper. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (to 165°F internally), then transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest.

Return the squash to the oven to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until very tender and browned. After letting the chicken rest for 5 minutes, chop one chicken breast up. Save 1 chicken breast for later.

While the chicken and squash are cooking: In large serving bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, several grinds of black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or one grated clove). Taste and add 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup if your dressing is too tangy (the balsamic I use is sweet enough that I don’t need any).

Add 1 bunch finely chopped kale to the bowl of dressing, sprinkle with a big pinch of kosher salt, and use clean hands to massage the salt and dressing into the kale until it feels soft — about 7 squeezes between your palms.

Add the finely chopped chicken, roasted squash, 1 apple cut into thin batons, 1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds, 4 ounces roughly chopped cheddar cheese, and 3 chopped dates. Toss to coat. DIG IN!

kale, chicken, apple, and cheddar salads

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• Riffs, feeding kids, what to do with your leftover rotisserie chicken, and what balsamic do I buy? If you skipped over the intro, go back up and read it! We go over all these things there!

• Double the dressing: When I have delicious homemade dressing in the fridge, I’m far more likely to make salads throughout my week. You can easily double this dressing — if you’re doing so, make it in a jar or glass storage container (rather than in the serving bowl) and pour half of it into the bowl for this meal. Store the leftover dressing in that tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. It’ll separate while it sits. Let it warm up slightly and shake or stir to recombine it.

• Skip the dressing: Yes, you can use a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette… but it really is so easy and delicious to DIY it!

• Prep ahead: The chicken and squash will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container, so feel free to prep those ahead of time as much as you’d like!

• Love your leftovers: Since kale’s a hearty green, this salad will actually hold up pretty well in the fridge if you have leftovers.

• Vegetarian: Roast a can of drained and dried chickpeas. You may as well add the squash to the mix since you’ll be turning the oven on, so follow the second version of this recipe’s instructions, just using chickpeas instead of chicken. You can also add raw chickpeas, but definitely let them marinate in the dressing for at least 15 minutes.

• Dairy-free/gluten-free/nut-free: Omit the cheese or use your fave DF option. It’s already gluten free! And instead of almonds, you can use seeds (roasted, salted pepitas or sunflower seeds). If you can’t eat seeds either, croutons or garlicky crunchies would be a great crunchy element!

• Chicken breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They take longer to reach 165°F than breasts — more like 35 to 40 minutes — so keep them on the sheet pan with the squash (and beyond if needed). Chicken sausage (or turkey) would also be great. Heat it however’s easiest for you (in a skillet, in the oven, in an air fryer, or in the microwave) then slice. Chopped up sliced deli ham or turkey would also be great!

• Delicata squash: Trader Joe’s is selling delicata sliced, FYI! Or use 3 to 4 cups cubed butternut squash (a lot of stores sell it pre-chopped this time of year!) or 1 large, cubed sweet potato.

• Balsamic: Apple cider vinegar (ideal sub!) or any other vinegar. If you’re not using balsamic (which is sweeter than these subs), add about a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup to your dressing. If your balsamic isn’t as sweet as mine, you may need to do that anyways.

• Olive oil/EVOO: It’s really important to use extra-virgin olive oil here! It’s so incredibly good for you! And delicious! But if you need to use something else, plain olive oil or a neutral oil like avocado is it.

• Honey: Maple syrup

• Dried oregano: Italian seasoning, dried basil, dried thyme, fresh oregano (but use a tablespoon of it instead)

• Garlic powder: 1 very small garlic clove grated (I use a microplane for that) or onion powder

• Kale: Mixed greens, mesclun greens, arugula, spinach, or another green leaf lettuce

• Honey crisp apple: Any apple, pear, persimmons

• Almonds: Salted, roasted pistachios, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pepitas. Omit if you’re allergic to both nuts and seeds! Maybe add croutons instead for crunch!

• White cheddar cheese: Blue cheese, goat cheese, Parm, Gruyère… basically any cheese you love would be good in here.

• Dates: Yellow raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or omit

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Editor: Molly Ramsey