This is the Kale Salad dreams are made of! Chopped kale, pesto chicken, Instant Pot Black Rice, loads of healthy toppings, and a Basil Vinaigrette so good you’ll be licking your plate. Best Kale Salad of all time right here!
Don’t even give me that face right now. The face that says, “Ugh, kale. Why all these food bloggers gotta be posting kale recipes? Who likes KALE?!”
Wipe that face away and give me the “I trust you, Marci… teach me how to enjoy kale” face because that’s exactly what I’m gonna do today!
I’m not messing around with this salad.
It’s loaded, it’s flavorful, and that there kale is gettin’ a massage.
How this salad goes down:
It all starts with marinated and air-fried or grilled Pesto Chicken. This chicken alone needs its own blog post! It is fabulous!
Then we zip up a fresh basil vinaigrette that smells so divine that even my kids put their noses in the jar (gross, but also cute). I love to use this Traditional 18-year Balsamic Vinegar to give this dressing extra sweetness.
Drizzle a bit of that basil vinaigrette on the kale and massage it until it’s tender and dark green — that’s what makes it taste good.
Pile the kale high on your plate, then top it with hot pesto chicken, warm rice, crisp apples, crunchy almonds, sweet blueberries, and creamy avocado and goat cheese. You’ve got a $30 fancy restaurant salad in your hands that you made for less than $5 a serving.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS KALE SALAD
- HEALTHY: Kale gets the trophy for healthiest green, and in this case, it tastes SO SO GOOD! Add the vinaigrette, chicken, and other toppings, and you’ve got a dinner that will have you high fiving your healthy self all evening.
- PRETTY: If healthy doesn’t do it for you, you’re eating a museum-worthy work of art.
- EASY: Will it take a minute to get each item ready? Yeah, but the jobs are quick and easy and will hopefully land you leftovers for another night or 2.
HOW TO MAKE KALE SALAD AND BASIL VINAIGRETTE
- Air fry or grill the chicken
- Blend the vinaigrette until smooth
- Prep the salad ingredients and assemble
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- KALE TIPS: Buy the big bags of kale that are already cleaned and chopped. It’s a bargain buy and will save you a bunch of time. Don’t skip the kale massage — this makes a huge difference in making it taste good.
- USE FRESH BASIL: Don’t use dried basil for the vinaigrette. Fresh basil gives the dressing an incredible, bright flavor!
- PESTO CHICKEN IDEAS: If you don’t want to grill chicken, toss some rotisserie chicken with pesto and call it good.
- FOR THE RICE: Any rice will do. I prefer Black Rice or Wild Rice. You can also omit it if you like.
- AIR-FRIED CHICKEN: I air-fry this chicken 90% of the time, but you can also grill it if you’re in the mood!
- SWEET BALSAMIC VINEGAR: I use a sweet, thick balsamic vinegar like this Mountain Town Olive Traditional 18-Year Balsamic. I highly suggest it!
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVERS
- VINAIGRETTE: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- SALAD COMPONENTS: Chicken, rice, and veggies can be stored separately in the fridge.
MAKE AHEAD TIPS
A DAY OR TWO BEFORE: Cook the chicken, blend the vinaigrette, and cook the rice.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH
VARIATIONS
- KALE SWAP: Use any green you like. Spinach is also delicious.
- FRUIT: The apples and blueberries can be swapped for pears and cranberries.
- NUTS: Don’t have almonds? Pecans and pistachios are also delicious.
- RICE: Whole-grain rice is yummy, but any grain is good here. Farro is one of my favorites.
Now, how are you feeling about all the kale you’re about to dive into in the very near future? Can’t wait, right?
This salad has my whole salad-lovin’ heart, and I’m excited for any of my iceberg-only friends to jump out of their comfort zone and try it soon! Let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
TRY MORE OF MY FAVORITE SALAD RECIPES!
- Summer Peach Spinach Salad with Peach Vinaigrette
- Tropical Chicken Salad with Coconut Rice and Mango Vinaigrette
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
- 4 Favorite Salad Dressing Recipes
TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED
- Blender (I use the smaller attachment blender)
- Air Fryer
- Traditional 18 Year Balsamic Vinegar
The BEST Kale Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
This is the Best Kale Salad ever! Toss it with the bright and flavorful Basil Vinaigrette and pesto chicken and dive in!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Pesto Chicken (see note about cooking method)
- 1 – 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
- ½ cup pesto
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
For the Basil Vinaigrette (double if you like a lot of dressing)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
For the Salad
- ½ cup cooked, warm rice (see note)
- 6-7 cups chopped kale (I buy the prewashed bagged kind. If you buy kale on the stem, remove the stem and coarsely chop)
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, diced
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 avocado, diced
Instructions
- Marinate Chicken: Place chicken breasts in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Add pesto, vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper. Seal the bag and move chicken around to coat with marinade. Place bag inside a container (in case the bag leaks) and allow it to marinate for at least 6 hours.
- Air Fry Chicken: Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Cook chicken in air fryer basket for about 12 minutes or until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F. Flip chicken halfway through. Let rest for 10 minutes then chop into bite-size pieces. Cover with foil and set aside.
- Mix Vinaigrette: Place the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If your blender is having a hard time blending the ingredients, double the vinaigrette recipe (you’ll be happy to have extra).
- Prep the Salad: Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle with about a tablespoon of vinaigrette. With both hands, massage the kale (squeeze and rub it in your palms) until it is dark green and tender.
- Divide the kale among the desired number of plates and top with chopped chicken, rice, diced apple, almonds, blueberries, goat cheese, and avocado. Alternatively, arrange all the kale and toppings on a large serving platter and serve it as one big salad.
- Serve immediately with the rest of the vinaigrette.
Notes
- I prefer black or wild rice for this salad, but any kind will work.
- I love the ease of air-fried chicken in this recipe, but it’s also delicious grilled or pressure cooked. To pressure cook the chicken, add 1 cup of water to a pressure cooker pot and place a trivet inside. Place chicken on top and pressure cook for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure.
- This salad is amazing without meat too if you prefer!
- I use a thick, sweet balsamic vinegar like Mountain Town Olive Traditional 18-Year Balsamic Vinegar. If yours is thin and sour, add a teaspoon or so of honey to the vinaigrette.
- Massaging the kale is an important step. It makes the kale easier to chew — don’t skip it!
- If you’re not a kale fan, use spinach instead. No need to massage the spinach 🙂
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I just had the salad for dinner. It’s delicious! The chicken and the vinaigrette are fantastic! I did the chicken in the air fryer and instead of straight kale bought a spring mix/kale combo.
The only thing I didn’t have was a honey crisp apple because my husband ate it. 🤯
Dana, I love hearing your feedback on these salads! I’ve been eating them all summer long, I just love them so much!
This marinade and dressing are amazing! I did not make the full on salad, but rather made some homemade pesto, then used that for my marinade. I grilled the chicken which had an insanely amount of flavor and served it over my pesto pasta. I whipped up the vinaigrette and served that on a side salad. I made a double batch as recommended and cannot wait to made the salad today with the leftover chicken. Even though I had a nice rich syrupy balsamic vinegar, it was still quite vinegary. I think I will add a tad maple syrup today to cut the vinegar. Overall, a wonderful marinade and vinaigrette!! Thank you for the inspiration!
Alison I’m so excited to read your review! Now you’ve GOT to try the salad all together. It really is so amazing!