This chicken tahini kale Caesar salad with roasted sweet potatoes is bursting with flavour and makes a complete meal. Make this as part of your weekend meal prep to enjoy for lunch this week, or prepare it for a nice, healthy dinner. I like to serve it with crusty bread and butter to make it that much more satisfying!
I am slowly but surely making my way through the backlog of recipes that I developed over the summer. Thankfully, the ones that I have waited to post until now are also appropriate for the autumn! This chicken tahini kale Caesar salad is one of them. Chicken is baked in a flavourful, Greek-inspired lemon yogurt mustard sauce. Kale is tossed with my favourite garlicky lemon tahini caper Caesar dressing. Sweet potatoes are roasted with smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The kale gets topped with the chicken, sweet potato, radishes, celery, avocado, and fresh herbs for a super delicious, healthy, and most importantly, SATISFYING salad that definitely passes as a light meal unto itself. However, let’s not kid ourselves. You know that I personally can’t just eat salad for lunch or dinner, so I always recommend pairing this with a nice grounding grain. Anything from crusty sourdough bread and butter to warm quinoa or brown rice will do.
Oh, and if you want to make it vegan, simply swap out the chicken for this simple five-ingredient baked tofu. Replace the pecorino in the dressing with nutritional yeast to taste.
here are the ingredients you’ll need
For the chicken, you’ll need organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and zest, Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
For the roasted sweet potato, you’ll need sweet potato, extra-virgin olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
For the tahini Caesar dressing, you’ll need tahini, water, lemon juice and zest, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, pecorino, capers, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
For the salad, you’ll need kale, radishes, cucumber, and avocado.
how to make this salad
Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, lemon juice and zest, Greek yogurt, mustard, basil, garlic. salt, and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
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Prepare the sweet potato: Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the sweet potato in the middle. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 20 minutes, or until fork tender and browned around the edges.
Cook the chicken: Spread the chicken out in an even layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Broil for one minute. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a blender, combine the tahini, water, oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, pecorino, capers, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour into a jar.
Assemble the salad: Place the kale in a large bowl. Add the dressing and use your hands to “massage” the dressing into the kale. Add the roasted sweet potato, chicken, celery, radishes, and avocado. Dig in and enjoy!
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
more autumnal salad recipes to try
- Tahini Kale Caesar Salad with Butternut Squash + Cranberries
- Chickpea Brown Rice Broccoli Salad with Balsamic Tahini Dressing
- Masala Chickpea Kale Salad with Mango Turmeric Tahini Dressing
- Black Bean, Quinoa + Sweet Potato Salad with Kale and Corn
I hope that you love this chicken tahini kale Caesar salad! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Enjoy! 🙂
Chicken Tahini Kale Caesar salad With Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dijon or whole grain mustard
- ¼ cup basil, finely chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 500 grams boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (organic if possible)
Roasted Sweet Potato
- 1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (4 cups diced)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Tahini Caesar Dressing
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons tahini
- ¼ cup water
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup shredded pecorino cheese
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
- 8 cups chopped kale (1 large bunch)
- 4 radishes, sliced
- 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, lemon juice and zest, Greek yogurt, mustard, basil, garlic. salt, and pepper. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
- Prepare the sweet potato: Preheat the oven to 425 F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the sweet potato in the middle. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 20 minutes, or until fork tender and browned around the edges.
- Cook the chicken: Spread the chicken out in an even layer on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Broil for one minute. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing: In a blender, combine the tahini, water, oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, pecorino, capers, Worcestershire sauce, dijon, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour into a jar.
- Assemble the salad: Place the kale in a large bowl. Add the dressing and use your hands to “massage” the dressing into the kale. Add the roasted sweet potato, chicken, celery, radishes, and avocado. Dig in and enjoy!
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Make it vegan: Swap out the chicken for this baked tofu or 2-3 cups of cooked chickpeas. Use nutritional yeast in the dressing instead of pecorino.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
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