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  • October 16, 2019

    Apple Kale Salad Recipe

    Lunch

    Ever have a salad so good, you can’t help but fall head over heels and make every day for weeks? I mean, salads aren’t exactly a favorited lunch option. I prefer making a meal using my lunchbox formula or a good ol’ sandwich combo. But if I find a salad that I actually enjoy eating, I obsess over it for a while. This apple kale salad is certainly one of them!

    Apple kale salad on a plate

    It’s one of those salads you can easily store in a mason jar, making an even easier lunch to transport to work.

    Avoid browning apples

    While I could meal prep a few of these salads in mason jars for the week, I want to avoid the apple bits from browning, so I just make it the day before. It still tastes just as fresh the next day, especially when you layer it in this particular way (pictured below.)


    However, I will prep the chicken on Sunday night so I can easily chop it up and add it to the salad, without having to cook chicken every single night.

    The trick with kale salads

    If you’re new to eating kale, you may notice that kale can be harder to chew on—and, in return, not pleasurable to eat. I have a few tricks to make this better.

    Take out all of the tough stems: Getting a large bag of curly kale is easiest for me, but that does mean some of the pieces still have the hard stem that kale grows on. I simply pluck out or break off those tougher stems and compost them.

    Stir the salad dressing in real good: Kale is much easier to eat when it is softened with a dressing. I find oil-based dressings to be ideal for kale salad in terms of taste.  I like a balsamic vinaigrette, which you can grab my recipe in my cookbook.

    Use different nuts


    I actually enjoy this salad with almonds as well as walnuts. Sometimes even candied walnuts! You can choose either of these for your salad, whatever you prefer (or have on hand.)

    Alright, here’s my apple kale salad recipe!

    Apple Kale salad in a mason jar
    Print Recipe

    Apple Kale Salad

    This salad can easily be packed up in a mason jar for your lunch meal prep.
    Prep Time5 mins
    Cook Time0 mins
    0 mins
    Total Time5 mins
    Course: Salad
    Keyword: easy meals, lunch, salad
    Servings: 1 salad

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup curly kale stems removed
    • 2 oz. chicken breast cooked
    • 1 oz. goat cheese
    • 1 oz. nuts walnuts or almonds
    • 1/2 apple diced
    • 1 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

    Instructions

    • To layer in a mason jar, place the balsamic first followed by the diced apple, nuts, goat cheese, chicken breast, and kale.
    • If you would rather a larger container, place all of the ingredients into a container and separate the dressing into a smaller container. For ultimate freshness, wait to dice up the apple until you are ready to eat.

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    I’m a food writer & photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. This blog is a place where I share a bit of my life behind the scenes. And all the things I love to cook. More on me >>

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