With its bright colours, fresh aromas and zingy flavours, this superfood loaded chicken kale salad is a nutritional powerhouse. If you didn’t know how to eat kale in a salad before, this will be a great master recipe that you can mix and adapt using different ingredients. It’s also one of those meals that can be eaten for lunch or dinner and is great to take to a BBQ or serve at a dinner party.
What’s good about it: Turmeric, used to flavour the chicken, contains active ingredient curcumin, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. Together with quercetin in parsley, these guys are great for gut healing, which in turn improves nutrient absorption from other foods. Kale and broccoli contain powerful skin loving and immunity-boosting vitamin C, and avocado and pumpkin seeds are full of vitamin E, which together form a powerful antioxidant team. And don’t forget about the healing and regenerative zinc in pumpkin seeds (we need this for proper digestion and new cell growth) and liver loving D-glucarate, sulphur and B vitamins found in the foods of this salad.
Related: Learn About Different Types Of Kale & Why Kale Is So Good For You
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Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 teaspoon ghee or 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ medium brown onion diced
- 250-300 g chicken mince or diced up chicken thighs (9 oz.)
- 1 large clove garlic finely diced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ teaspoon salt + pepper
For the salad
- 6 broccolini stalks or 2 cups of broccoli florets
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds pepitas
- 3 large leaves kale stems removed and chopped
- ½ avocado sliced
- Handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped
- Handful of fresh parsley leaves chopped
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 small clove garlic finely diced or grated
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil I used 1 tablespoons avocado oil and 2 tablespoons EVO
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- ½ teaspoon wholegrain mustard or Dijon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the ghee or coconut oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until golden. Add the chicken mince and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat, breaking it apart.
- Add the turmeric, lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for a further 3-4 minutes. Set the cooked mince aside.
- While the chicken is cooking, bring a small saucepan of water to boil. Add the broccolini and cook for 2 minutes. Rinse under cold water and cut into 3-4 pieces each.
- Add the pumpkin seeds to the frying pan from the chicken and toast over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Season with a little salt. Set aside. Raw pumpkin seeds are also fine to use.
- Place chopped kale in a salad bowl and pour over the dressing. Using your hands, toss and massage the kale with the dressing. This will soften the kale, kind of like what citrus juice does to fish or beef carpaccio – it ‘cooks’ it slightly.
- Finally toss through the cooked chicken, broccolini, fresh herbs, pumpkin seeds and avocado slices.
Nutrition
Hope you enjoy this gorgeous salad! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Don’t forget to share with friends and family, or bookmark it for later on Pinterest from here.
Oh this looks divine! I love turmeric and this looks like such a great way to use it! xx
Thank you, it’s really tasty too.
I have made this numerous times, and love it, kids love it, so it’s a win! Combination of turmeric and lime is heavenly. So much flavor. Thank you!
Thanks, Paulina. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!