Kale Chicken Salad with Apples and Maple Cider Vinaigrette
This kale chicken salad with maple cider vinaigrette is an easy, fast, and deeply nutritious weeknight gluten free dinner. It's made with super crispy freshly picked apples, farm fresh kale, grilled apple cider chicken, and warm potatoes, then dressed with an addictive sweet and tart vinaigrette.
See Notes for a link to my recipe for Apple Cider Brined Chicken.
Heat a grill to high heat. Dice the potatoes and toss with the oil, salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes onto a grill tray in a single layer and place the tray onto the grill. Grill the chicken (per linked instructions) alongside the potatoes. Stir the potatoes occasionally and grill until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, about 15 minutes - they're finished when you can easily pierce the flesh with the tip of a knife. Remove the potatoes and chicken from heat and set aside. (Note - the chicken will finish faster than the potatoes, about 10 minutes.)
While the chicken is resting, prepare the salad base and maple vinaigrette. For the salad base, chop the kale and toss with the cooked quinoa. Julienne the apple, chop the pecans, and crumble the blue cheese, then add to the kale-quinoa base along with the grilled potatoes.
In a small lidded jar, combine the maple syrup, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously to combine. Pour half the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to combine.
Dive the kale salad between four plates. Slice the chicken against the grain, and top each salad with ¼ of the chicken breast. Dress with additional vinaigrette if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
You'll want to start with this recipe for apple cider brined chicken. The marinade is easy and fast, and can be prepared the evening prior. Omit the cooked quinoa and blue cheese for a paleo version. Noted calories exclude the grilled chicken. Calories for the grilled chicken are an additional 187 per serving.