A protein-packed salad that will actually leave you satisfied! Pretzel-crusted chicken, hardboiled eggs, and cheddar cheese come together to add plenty of protein to this dish.
And let’s not forget about the roasted potatoes, grape tomatoes, avocado, and honey mustard dressing. All on top of massaged kale. Kale is part of the dark leafy greens family, a Top 10 Foods for Runners! There’s so much to be learned about these magical greens in the dark leafy greens post of the Top 10 Foods for Runners series.
Feel free to add any sort of green as the base of this salad that you may like, it doesn’t have to be kale! My one request is that it’s not iceberg. We can do better than iceberg. I also didn’t really specify what dressing to use, since everyone typically has their own preference. I used Annie’s Naturals Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. It was quite tasty and earned my glowing recommendation.
Protein-packed salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups baby potatoes, quartered
- 2 tsp olive oil, plus more for frying
- 1/2 tsp rosemary, minced
- 8 raw chicken tenders
- 1.5 cups pretzels
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup flour
- salt and pepper
- 10-12 cups kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4-6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, and chopped
- honey mustard dressing (I used Annie's Naturals Lite Dressing Honey Mustard Vinaigrette)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
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Toss potatoes in 2 tsp olive oil and rosemary. Bake, stirring once, for 35 minutes or until golden. Season with salt and pepper
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Meanwhile, pulse pretzels in food processor until they have a fine crumb texture. Transfer to a wide, shallow dish.
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Coat each chicken tender with flour (shaking off excess), egg, and pretzel crumbs.
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Cover a heavy-bottom pan with olive oil. Once oil is hot (medium heat), add chicken. Cook on each side until golden and crisp. With a meat thermometer, check the doneness of the tenders before removing them from the heat. Repeat with all tenders.
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Add kale to a large bowl. Add a few sprinkles of salt and massage salt into kale leaves with your hands.
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Top with avocado, tomatoes, potatoes, sliced chicken, cheese, and eggs. Add dressing and mix together. Divide between four bowls and enjoy!
