Chicken & Cherry Chopped Kale Salad
Since we’ve been so busy lately moving between houses, a self-imposed easiest dinners ever diet of hot dogs, burgers and brats seemed like a good idea for a few weeks.
But because our old house just hit the market finally, the amount of stuff that we can move has started to dwindle, as we need to leave the old house “staged” for prospective buyers.
So instead of spending every evening packing boxes and moving until we fall into bed exhausted, we’re starting to get some free time back again. And with that, comes the ability to make a dinner that isn’t served on a paper plate and devoured as quickly as possible between trips between houses.
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After weeks of grilled meats sandwiched between buns, I was craving a big fresh salad. I started with a base of kale blend mixed greens and tossed it with the best homemade pesto ranch dressing. One taste of this dressing and you’ll be hooked, I guarantee it, but you could use citrus salad dressing instead, if you prefer.
But not only is pesto ranch perfect for salads like this, but it’s awesome spread on a sandwich or used as a dip, too! I loaded up my salad bowl with lots of fresh, vibrant toppings like avocado, small balls of mozzarella cheese, fresh cherries, sliced red onion, cooked farro, grilled chicken and pine nuts.
This Chicken & Cherry Chopped Kale Salad was everything I was looking for in a summer dinner, and then some!
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Chicken & Cherry Chopped Kale Salad
Ingredients
For the Pesto Ranch Dressing:
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon prepared basil pesto
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
For the Chicken & Cherry Chopped Kale Salad:
- 5 ounces kale salad blend
- 2 small grilled chicken breasts chopped
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted and chopped
- 6 ounces pearl mozzarella cheese or 1 ball of fresh mozzarella, diced
- 1 cup cooked farro
- 1 cup pitted and halved cherries
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
Instructions
- In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, yogurt, mayonnaise, pesto, parsley, dill, garlic, Worcestershire and paprika.
Make the Pesto Ranch Dressing:
- Toss Kale with half of dressing. Divide greens between 4 plates or bowls; top with chicken, avocado, cheese, farro, cherries, pine nuts and onion. Serve with remaining dressing.
Notes
- Not only is pesto ranch perfect for salads like this, but it’s awesome spread on a sandwich or used as a dip, too!
I’m finally catching up on email after traveling, and am delighted to find this recipe. It sounds like everything I would want in a whole-meal salad. Looking forward to trying it.
Thanks Susan! This was actually one of my favorite meals I’ve eaten all summer. Put fresh cherries in just about anything, and I’m a happy camper.
So much awesome flavor going on in this salad bowl. The blend of greens in the kale Italia is my favorite. Beats having to buy all those different ones separately!
For sure! Thanks Gina!
Chicken, cherry, kale, pine nutes and the list goes on…Thanks for putting all the wonderfully healthy stuff in that salad. Most of them are our personal favourites!!!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Thanks so much, J & A!
Salad has been my go-to meal lately and this is a must-try. That Pesto- Ranch Dressing has my name all over it! Gorgeous!!
Oh my gosh Milisa, once you try pesto ranch, you’ll be hooked. I apologize in advance!
Ugh, moving is such a drag. BUT exciting also. Salad detox FTW. Love this. Also? Jeff’s comment…awesome.
Right? My own husband, calling me out on my blog! LOL.
I fall in love with this salad. All pictures are feeling taste to me.
Pesto ranch dressing? I’m all over that and eating while moving basically sucks. I think it’s worse than moving itself because everything is out of order and you still need to feed yourself. This salad absolutely makes up for all the grilled meats.
Yep! One of my favorite restaurants has a salad with pesto ranch, and it was pretty much love at first bite. But I kinda prefer my homemade version now, because I make it more pesto-y than theirs 🙂
What a pretty salad! I’ve never thought of using cherries with kale before but the combo sounds delicious!
Thanks Mary! I’m a big fan of the sweet cherries with the slightly bitter kale.
I absolutely loved this salad. As a huge ranch fan the pesto ranch was delicious. But, if I recall correctly, we did eat this on paper plates (maybe because we had dinner outside in the back yard?).