This meal-worthy salad comes together super fast with just a little bit of prep! Veggies and chicken get roasted in the oven while you whip up your creamy tahini caesar-style dressing and give your kale a little massage. Then it all gets put together on the sheet pan for minimal clean up. Warm roasted veggies, massaged kale, and sliced chicken get slathered in the creamy tahini caesar dressing and topped with lots of toasty spiced seeds for a filling, nourishing salad dinner!
Ingredient Highlight
Tahini! Is a Middle Eastern condiment made from ground sesame seeds, so it has all of the same benefits as sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are high in lignans, which are powerful antioxidants. They are also rich in fiber, monounsaturated fats, B vitamins, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, and calcium.
If your tahini is very bitter, it’s likely gone bad or isn’t good quality. Soom is my favorite brand and totally worth the purchase!
Servings 4 People
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 25 minutes Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, chopped or sliced (about 2-3 cups)
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 2 ½ cups)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 lb chicken tenders*
- 6 cups thinly sliced loosely packed kale **
- ½ cup toasted seeds or nuts, chopped ***
For the dressing:
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp fish sauce or worcester sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed (or ½ tsp garlic powder)
- ¼-½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- *Or use chicken breast. I find the tenders cook faster and don’t dry out as easily. If using breasts, they will take longer to cook.
- **You can use any salad green here (radicchio would be yummy)!
- ***Highly recommend using the spiced seeds from the Creamy Green Rice recipe
- Tip: ~ Massage your kale with a touch of olive oil before adding it to the sheet pan. This softens the kale and brightens it up.
- Note: ~ Don't want to turn on your oven? Grill your fav summer veggies and some chicken to add to the salad!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F or 425F convection. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On one baking sheet, add fennel, carrots, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt and toss to coat. On the other baking sheet, add the chicken, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes and the veggies for 20-25 minutes, or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Scatter the kale over the veggie sheet pan (recommend massaging the kale with a drizzle of oil to soften it before adding). Place the chicken on top (you can keep it whole or slice it up).
- Add all dressing ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. It should be thick, but drizzle-able. If too thick, add a splash of water to thin it out (this will depend on how thick your tahini is).
- Drizzle ⅔ of the dressing all over the sheet pan. Top with toasted nuts or seeds. Keep extra dressing on the table to drizzle over plated salad! This salad is delicious on it’s own or with a slice of crusty buttered toast.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make tahini caesar dressing
- Slice or chop 1-2 fennel bulbs (2-3 cups)
- Peel and chop 1 lb carrots (2 ½ cups)
- Thinly slice 1 bunch kale (about 6 cups)
- Toast your seeds or nuts
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, substitute the chicken with these crispy chickpeas (or roasted tofu, marinated beans, etc…). Substitute the fish sauce with soy sauce or tamari.
- You could use chicken breast. I find the tenders cook faster and don’t dry out as easily. If using breasts, they will take longer to cook. You could also use chicken thighs, which are a lot more forgiving!
- Use any combination of roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, etc…) for the salad (about 5-6 cups worth).
- You could use classic romain in place of kale, but maybe let the veggies cool a bit so that they’re just warm or room temperature before adding the lettuce.
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge:
- Dressing: up to 4 days
- Salad/veggies: up to 6 days
- Chicken: up to 4 days
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- This salad tastes best if it’s at room temperature or with veggies still warm. If eating out of the fridge, pop the salad and chicken in the microwave just to take the chill off of the veggies and warm up the chicken. Drizzle with dressing and all the toppings.
Servings 4 People Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 25 minutes Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, chopped or sliced (about 2-3 cups)
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 2 ½ cups)
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1 lb chicken tenders*
- 6 cups thinly sliced loosely packed kale **
- ½ cup toasted seeds or nuts, chopped ***
For the dressing:
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp fish sauce or worcester sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed (or ½ tsp garlic powder)
- ¼-½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- *Or use chicken breast. I find the tenders cook faster and don’t dry out as easily. If using breasts, they will take longer to cook.
- **You can use any salad green here (radicchio would be yummy)!
- ***Highly recommend using the spiced seeds from the Creamy Green Rice recipe
- Tip: ~ Massage your kale with a touch of olive oil before adding it to the sheet pan. This softens the kale and brightens it up.
- Note: ~ Don't want to turn on your oven? Grill your fav summer veggies and some chicken to add to the salad!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F or 425F convection. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On one baking sheet, add fennel, carrots, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and ½ teaspoon salt and toss to coat. On the other baking sheet, add the chicken, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes and the veggies for 20-25 minutes, or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Scatter the kale over the veggie sheet pan (recommend massaging the kale with a drizzle of oil to soften it before adding). Place the chicken on top (you can keep it whole or slice it up).
- Add all dressing ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. It should be thick, but drizzle-able. If too thick, add a splash of water to thin it out (this will depend on how thick your tahini is).
- Drizzle ⅔ of the dressing all over the sheet pan. Top with toasted nuts or seeds. Keep extra dressing on the table to drizzle over plated salad! This salad is delicious on it’s own or with a slice of crusty buttered toast.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make tahini caesar dressing
- Slice or chop 1-2 fennel bulbs (2-3 cups)
- Peel and chop 1 lb carrots (2 ½ cups)
- Thinly slice 1 bunch kale (about 6 cups)
- Toast your seeds or nuts
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian, substitute the chicken with these crispy chickpeas (or roasted tofu, marinated beans, etc…). Substitute the fish sauce with soy sauce or tamari.
- You could use chicken breast. I find the tenders cook faster and don’t dry out as easily. If using breasts, they will take longer to cook. You could also use chicken thighs, which are a lot more forgiving!
- Use any combination of roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, etc…) for the salad (about 5-6 cups worth).
- You could use classic romain in place of kale, but maybe let the veggies cool a bit so that they’re just warm or room temperature before adding the lettuce.
Storage:
-
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge:
- Dressing: up to 4 days
- Salad/veggies: up to 6 days
- Chicken: up to 4 days
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- This salad tastes best if it’s at room temperature or with veggies still warm. If eating out of the fridge, pop the salad and chicken in the microwave just to take the chill off of the veggies and warm up the chicken. Drizzle with dressing and all the toppings.
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This dish is yummy but the chicken needs some spice or marinate, very bland otherwise
Yes you could totally spice up the chicken if you wanted to (toss with some smoked paprika and garlic powder), I just wanted to keep it super simple. Would be so good with grilled chicken!