Enjoy this chicken kale salad for your next summer lunch or to take to a picnic, potluck or holiday gathering! With a creamy dressing, leafy greens and a good crunch from apple, celery and seeds, it's a delicious dairy free chicken salad that's always a crowd-pleaser!
Looking for more fun ideas? Do have a peek at my beetroot kale salad and my no mayo chicken salad for another time!
Chicken salads are such a classic summer lunch or side don't you think? This dairy free version has traditional apple and celery, but adds in some leafy greens with tasty massaged kale!
I've kept this salad a little lighter and both dairy free and egg free by using a delicious tahini dressing - it adds so much creamy flavor and is so simple to make.
And of course a good chicken salad has to have some 'bite' to it! Making this kale crunch salad with chicken is super simple with the addition of pepitas and sesame seeds. It's so moreish!
Do check out my air fryer chicken and potatoes, air fryer pesto chicken thighs and my Italian herb chicken for more easy chicken recipes!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Packed with nutritious ingredients! Protein source? Check. Leafy greens? Check. Fruits and veggies? Check!
Dairy free, egg free and low histamine. As we use a tahini dressing rather than mayo, this chicken salad makes for a tasty lunch for all these dietary requirements. Have a look at my low histamine chicken recipes for more ideas!
Quick and easy. We simply cook and shred the chicken, make the dressing and mix it all together!
🥬 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Chicken - I suggest to use boneless skinless chicken breast that we cook and then shred for the chicken.
- Tahini - this is used for the dressing, and I suggest to use light tahini rather than dark as it has a 'softer' taste.
- Kale - you can use curly kale or Lacinato kale for this salad. Make sure to give it a massage!
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap the chicken for rotisserie chicken. If it works for you (I suggest not my low histamine readers), you can use shredded rotisserie chicken for the salad.
Add extra veggies, nuts or seeds! Some ideas include diced radish, carrot, unsalted pistachios and pomegranate seeds.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this chicken and kale salad is very easy, with just a few steps and no fancy kitchen equipment needed!
All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but these photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Massage the kale
Remove the tough stems from the kale and shred into small pieces. Add the shredded kale to a bowl and drizzle on olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage the kale between your fingers for 1-2 minutes until it softens and wilts (image 1).
Step 2: Make the dressing
Stir or whisk together tahini, water and mixed herbs. It will look a little gritty to begin with, but keep stirring for a smooth creamy dressing (image 2).
Step 3: Cook and shred chicken
Slice your chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces and season with salt and black pepper. Cook the chicken in a little olive oil in your skillet for 5-6 minutes, or until it reaches 165F at their deepest point using a meat thermometer. Once cooled, shred with two forks (image 3).
Step 4: Assemble the salad
Add the shredded chicken, apple, celery, kale, pepitas, sesame seeds, onion and tahini dressing to a large bowl. Toss to coat the salad in the dressing (image 4).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Slice the chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces for a quicker cook time.
- As an alternative cooking method, my air fryer shredded chicken breast recipe would work perfectly for this salad!
- For a thicker tahini dressing add more tahini, and to thin the dressing add more water and stir again!
- I suggest to add about half the dressing to begin with, then stir it through the salad. Add more to taste preference - we all like different amounts!
- Make sure the chicken is cooked safely to an internal temperature of 165F at its deepest point using a meat thermometer.
📋 Frequently asked questions
I like to cook chicken and then shred myself as it gives you fresh juicy chicken to mix with your fruits and veggies. As well as chicken breast, you could also use my air fryer boneless chicken thighs and then shred them. If it works for you, then you can also use rotisserie chicken, but this likely isn't suitable for my low histamine readers.
Both curly kale and Lacinato kale are good to eat raw in salads. It's best to massage them first to soften the greens.
Massaging kale isn't strictly necessary, but it will soften the leaves and make them a little less bitter in taste.
Yes, it's a gluten free chicken salad, as well as being dairy free and egg free.
🍽 How to serve chicken kale salad
- Take this creamy chicken salad to a BBQ, potluck or summer picnic! And of course you can enjoy it for lunch too. It would work so well with other light salads such as my raw carrot salad and apple and cucumber salad.
- For some fun side dishes, pair with my grated potato fritters, air fryer sweet potato wedges, roasted potato salad or my air fryer celery!
🥗 More fun salads
Choose from so many tasty salad recipes here, including my sweet potato beetroot salad and my beet and broccoli salad, and these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Chicken Kale Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 2 chicken breasts or equivalent rotisserie chicken*
- 6 cups kale shredded
- 1 apple diced
- ¼ red onion or white onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 celery stick diced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
For the tahini dressing
- 3 tablespoon tahini
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
Instructions
- Slice your chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces lengthways. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into your skillet and sear and cook the chicken pieces for 4-5 minutes each side, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165F using a meat thermometer. Once cool enough to handle, shred with two forks or using a stand-mixer.
- Remove the tough stems of the kale, finely shred and add to a large bowl. Drizzle on ½ tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Massage the kale between your fingers for a few minutes until it wilts and softens.
- Whisk together the tahini, apple cider vinegar, mixed herbs and a tablespoon of water until it becomes a creamy dressing. Add more water to thin, and more tahini to thicken to preference.
- Add the cooled shredded chicken to the bowl, along with the diced apple, red onion, celery, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and half the tahini dressing. Toss to coat all the ingredients in the dressing, and then add more dressing to preference. Transfer to your serving bowl and enjoy!
Notes
- I suggest to add half the tahini dressing, stir it through the salad, then add more to preference. We all like a different amount of dressing!
- Ensure the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165F at its deepest point using a meat thermometer.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- kale and red onion aren't rated. White onion can be used as a swap for red onion.
- sesame (and therefore tahini), which scores 1. Please also note that it is an identified allergen. Only use if you know you tolerate well.
- apple cider vinegar, which scores 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- use suitable low histamine herbs for the dressing.
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