Chicken Kale & Wild Rice Salad! A healthy and delicious salad full of almonds, cranberries, apples and goat cheese. (Cubby's Copycat!)

This Chicken Kale and Wild Rice Salad is based on one of my very favorite restaurant salads. It is my absolute favorite because I love the contrast of textures and flavors from the rice, kale, chicken, almonds, cranberries, apples and goat cheese. Not to mention it is a totally healthy and satisfying meal.

[youtube id=”HNO5D4i9hd0″ align=”center” mode=”normal” maxwidth=”640″]

I’m always looking for make-ahead lunches as well as ways to use kale. Kale really does live up to it’s reputation for being the king of healthy vegetables. It is a cancer-fighting cruciferous leafy green full of potent antioxidants and beneficial phytochemicals. Plus it is totally delicious and holds up perfectly in this salad.

Once you make this salad it will hold up for 3 days in the fridge. I’ve talked about my love of kale salads in this Chopped Thai Kale Salad, summer kale salad as well as this No-Fail Kale Salad.

I like using this tri-color sprouted rice (they also sell a good sprouted rice at Trader Joe’s) in this salad, but any rice will work. I love sprouted rices because they cooked up faster than regular rice and have a better texture. Plus sprouted rice is more digestible for sensitive stomachs and its nutrients are more bio-available. This salad calls for cooked/cooled rice so be sure to plan ahead.

You can use this easy slow-cooker shredded chicken for this salad!

This is the salad I dream about for lunch all the time. I’m happy to have found a way to make it at home!

Chicken Kale & Wild Rice Salad! A healthy and delicious salad full of almonds, cranberries, apples and goat cheese. (Cubby's Copycat!)

Buffalo Chicken Salad from Everyday Maven

Kale Salad with Cranberries my favorite side kale salad!

5 from 3 votes

Chicken, Kale & Wild Rice Salad {Cubby’s Copycat}

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
This fresh salad is full of flavor!

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or cracked black pepper

For the Salad:

  • 1 bunch kale very thinly sliced (I prefer lacinato kale)
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1- 1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken about 1 chicken breast
  • 1 cup cooked sprouted rice
  • 1 apple diced
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup sliced almonds toasted
  • 2-3 oz goat cheese crumbled

Instructions 

  • Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a jar with a lid. Screw on the lid then shake well to thoroughly mix.
  • Place the sliced kale in a bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice. Massage the kale until it starts to darken and soften. Add the remaining salad ingredients (except the goat cheese) and toss with about 1/2 the dressing. Toss to combine then sprinkle over the goat cheese. Enjoy! Salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Notes

MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Omit the goat cheese
MAKE IT NUT-FREE: Omit the sliced almonds
Be sure to use gluten-free balsamic vinegar for this recipe with no added caramel color. Caramel color is usually gluten-free in the US, but not always in Europe and many balsamic vinegars are imported. For the chicken I like to use grilled chicken leftover from this recipe or rotisserie chicken, but any chicken will work. I like using tri-color sprouted rice(they also sell one at Trader Joe's) but any brown/wild rice will work!

Nutrition

Calories: 638kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 457mg | Potassium: 591mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 3990IU | Vitamin C: 54.9mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 2.7mg

This Healthy Broccoli Salad from Bless Her Heart Y’all also looks delicious!

Chicken Kale & Wild Rice Salad! A healthy and delicious salad full of almonds, cranberries, apples and goat cheese. (Cubby's Copycat!)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Categories: , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi, I’m Erin!

BS Food Science,

MS Nutrition

I believe you can make amazing, gluten-free food with everyday ingredients that everyone will enjoy. I’m here to share my tried-and-true recipes with you!

You may also like

image for website to buy cookies cookbook

Comments

  1. 5 stars
    So incredible! We moved away from Utah a couple years ago, and maybe the thing I mist most is this Cubby’s salad. And this is basically the same thing! Really hit the spot. Might make this once a week for the next…forever.

  2. 5 stars
    VERY yummy and very healthy and super close to the Cubby’s salad we love. #IHeartCubbysAt Home

  3. This recipe is amazing!! Cubby’s salad also has avocado in it which makes it all come together and need less dressing 🙂

  4. I had Cubby’s tonight and cn’t quite thinking about it. Does anyone know how many calories are in it? I can’t seem to find ti but it’s my new favorite salad!!

    1. I haven’t done a calorie calculation so sorry about that! This is my favorite Cubby’s salad too! 🙂

  5. Thank you for creating an easy lunch that is work-friendly and easy to prep in batches! This makes eating clean during the week attainable for us!

  6. The mixture of flavors and textures here is fantastic. Love the wild rice and kale combo especially. Lovely recipe!

  7. Hi, Erin. I must confess that I have never sent a comment to anyone’s blog before. However, I have been enjoying yours for a few years now and thought it was about time to thank you for the encouragement to those of us eating gluten-free as well as your constant experimenting and good recipes. Two of your recipes that are my all-time favorites are the Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies and the Overnight Creamy Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal. I can’t even count the number of batches of the oatmeal I have made during the past couple of years! I always look forward to seeing what you are cooking and thank you for sharing!
    Best regards,
    Sandy

    1. Thanks so much Sandy! I’m so glad you read my blog and enjoy the recipes. It’s great to hear it is helpful for you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating