Delicious, easy and healthy, this Chicken, Kale, Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad is the perfect way to use up leftover chicken and makes an excellent lunch – you will be the envy of all your colleagues when you turn up at the office with this. No pumpkin? Don’t worry – this can easily be made with butternut squash too!
Hoorah it’s autumn…and that means squashes and pumpkins aplenty. I love gourds of all complexions – they are so delicious…especially when roasted! This recipe is such a lovely way to eat them…and a great way to use up leftovers.
I first made this Chicken, Kale, Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad about a year ago – my kids had a gymnastics competition that ran over lunch time and I wanted something healthy to eat while I watched them, but I only had about 30 mins to prepare something…I scrabbled around in my fridge and cupboards and came up with some leftover chicken, half a bag of kale, a sad leftover bit of butternut squash and one of those bags of pre-prepared quinoa.
I roasted off the squash, shredded the chicken, massaged some of my honey mustard salad dressing into the kale (fab tip to make raw kale edible!) and mixed the lot together with that bag of quinoa and headed off to watch my kids armed with a fork and my little tupperware pot of goodness.
When lunchtime came I positively wolfed down my healthy little salad (with not a few jealous glances my way) and vowed to put it on the blog as soon as possible…except along came Christmas and my yummy little salad kinda got forgotten and then it didn’t feel like a spring dish, so I saved it for this autumn, when I knew it would fit perfectly!
Up to you whether you make this with butternut squash or pumpkin – both are yummy, and if you’re making this salad outside of autumn, you may be hard pushed to find a pumpkin in the shops, but at this time of year when pumpkins abound, it would seem a shame not to use pumpkin in this recipe. It’s also a fab way to use up leftovers from any pumpkin carving activities you have planned…alternatively it’s a great way to use up that half a butternut squash that there always seems to be lurking at the back of the fridge (or is that just me?).
I like to use pre-cooked quinoa as it is so quick and easy, but if you prefer to cook your own quinoa, that’s absolutely fine – you’ll need to use about 90g dried quinoa to get your 250g cooked quinoa. Rinse the quinoa and cook in 180ml water with the lid on for about 15 mins, then leave to stand for a further 5 minutes before using.
No leftover chicken? No worries – simply pan fry two chicken breasts for about 6-7 minutes on each side on a medium heat, leave to rest for 5 minutes, shred using a couple of forks and then continue with the recipe below.
This salad is naturally gluten free and dairy free. If you want to make a vegetarian version you could use cubes of feta cheese, quorn chicken pieces or walnuts in place of the leftover roast chicken. If you want a real wow factor, you could try sprinkling this salad with some pomegranate seeds.
If you are eating this in the office at lunchtime, then you probably DON’T want a wine match!! But if you are having this for a quick and easy dinner instead, it would go perfectly with an oaked chardonnay – go for one from California, Australia or Chile…it is such a good match! If white wine is really not your thing, try a dry rosé or red from the South of France.
Leftover Chicken, Kale, Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad
Ingredients
Leftover Chicken, Kale, Quinoa and Pumpkin Salad
- 400 g pumpkin or butternut squash cut into 1 cm cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 100 g kale hard stalks removed
- 300-500 g cooked chicken shredded or cut into 1 cm cubes
- 250 g cooked quinoa
Honey, Mustard and Cider Vinegar Dressing
- 4 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar (or lemon juice, or white wine vinegar)
- 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Place the pumpkin/squash in a roasting tray and drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil, ½ a teaspoon of salt and a few twists of black pepper. Toss the pumpkin/squash in the oil and seasoning and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before adding to the salad.
- Meanwhile, mix together the dressing ingredients. Simply place all the dressing ingredients into a clean jam jar, screw on the lid and shake until everything is combined.
- Put the kale in a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Massage the dressing into the kale for about a minute, or until it feels like the kale has ‘softened’ and is more like the texture of lightly cooked kale.
- Add the quinoa, chicken and cooled butternut squash to the kale and stir to combine.
- Serve straight away or place in boxes in the fridge for lunches.
Notes
Love chicken? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Chicken Recipes…
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Corina Blum says
It sounds delicious and just the kind of thing I’d love to eat for lunch. Unfortunately Mr SearchingforSpice is not a big fan of pumpkin or squashes so I make things like this for me and Master Spice who would definitely appreciate the squash. Yesterday he ate his butternut squash pieces so quickly and then took all mine off my plate so I only had cauliflower with my lunch! Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Haha – this made me laugh…you can’t complain too much when the kids are nicking your veggies!! For my little boy it’s sweet potato he can’t get enough of…especially those little Mexican spiced sweet potato cubes I make – he wolfs them down like they are sweeties… Shame Mr Spice is not a fan of pumpkin or squash, though…really don’t get that one – how can anyone not like them??? Eb x
Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook says
That dressing sounds delicious. I love all the flavours in this recipe. Perfect for autumn.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Elinor…I love autumnal food! The dressing is soooo good…there’s just something about that honey mustard combo!! Eb x
Jennifer @ Because Food Is Love says
This salad is so perfect for fall! Looks delicious. I’m not sure why, but I’ve actually never had pumpkin in a savory dish. I think it’s about time! 🙂
Eb Gargano says
Oh yes – definitely time!! It works so well in this salad…and I’ve got a few other savoury ideas coming up!! Eb x
Annabel says
Sounds good, I have an allotment full of kale and squash!
Eb Gargano says
Oh well then this salad is perfect for you! Let me know how it goes if you try it 😀 Eb x
jacqui says
Oh yes still time to enjoy a salad or two before the cold weather set in. This salad looks so colourful and delicious. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jacqui – I like to think this is a kind of ‘bridge the gap’ salad…salad, yes, but an autumnal one…perfect for packed lunches and quick suppers before the cold weather proper sets in 🙂
Chloe says
Hi, I am always looking for new ideas of what to do with my leftover chicken and this is just perfect for the autumn. I shall be saving this to try it soon #BrilliantBlogPosts
Eb Gargano says
Oooh – I’ve got quite a few on my site…just search ‘leftover chicken’ and you will find them! Thanks for your kind comments and do let me know how it goes if you try it. Eb x
Mel says
I would definitely make it with butternut squash and Kalettes (I find them a lot less bitter than kale). Beautiful shots, as always! x Thanks for joining in with #FreeFromFridays.
Eb Gargano says
Ooh I have not tried kalettes! But I’m OK with the bitterness of kale…but then I am one of those people who just loves bitter things…like olives and black coffee 😀 Eb x
Bronwyn Bell says
Just made this salad this week – FYI its the first week of spring but the weather is a bit hit and miss in NZ..! I had this lovely kale pumpkin and quinoa salad a few months back when i was judging hospitality championships and loved it (not a kale fan myself just always thought eww from a bad expereince with it many years ago when i won some kale in a giveaway and it was full of holes and i made it into chips which were horrible!). Lets just say this made a lovely chance, and I guess the kale I brought was good too! As I had cooked my quinoa and chicken at the same times as my pumpkin it was semi warm which was nice too, so anyone thinking this is for summer only, its just as nice if yours thrown in freshly cooked quinoa and cooked chicken (I didnt have left overs). I did nuke my left overs for 30secs to take the chill off from being in the fridge and it was lovely..
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for this lovely comment Bronwyn. So pleased you liked it! Eb 🙂