Make your favorite Sweet Green salad at home with this Fall Harvest Salad recipe. This fall kale salad is loaded with lots of fall fruits and veggies, cubes of chicken breast and a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to balance sweet, tangy, and savory elements in every bite
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: How to store if making ahead
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- Perfect fall flavors – Fill your salad with seasonal toppings like roasted veggies, crisp apples, pumpkin seeds, and goat cheese. Finally, finish it all off with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
- Easy to make ahead – During the fall I make sure to make a big sheet pan of roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts every Sunday. Then, I use those roasted veggies throughout the week to make big chopped fall salads.
- Great for a group – Make this big fall salad for a group! It’s a hearty salad that could be made as an appetizer or entree.
Serving Suggestions
I usually make a big batch of my Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette to go along with it. You could also do a mason jar apple cider vinaigrette!
If you are making this as a side dish for Thanksgiving, you could skip the chicken. Instead serve it alongside some holiday favorites, like creamy mashed potatoes and stuffing. For the main course, you could make this turkey breast if you have a smaller group. Then, try this sweet potato cheesecake for dessert!
What apples should you use?
I’m going to throw my hat into the ring of the yearly apple debate and say that I think honeycrisp apples are hands down the best apples. They are crisp and sweet, yet slightly tart.
In my opinion, they are the perfect apple to use on this fall harvest salad. I especially love the way they taste with the creamy, tart goat cheese.
Why is it called a harvest salad?
It is called a harvest salad because it combines all of the fruits and vegetables harvested during the fall. This harvest salad has kale, brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, apples and pumpkin seeds.
I also add some chopped cooked chicken and goat cheese to balance out all the fruits and veggies of the bountiful harvest.
Ingredients
- Sweet potato – I love using sweet potato as the base of the salad
- Brussels sprouts – roasted brussels sprouts are the perfect fall vegetable to add to your salad
- Avocado oil – I used avocado oil, but you can use any neutral oil
- Chicken breast – boneless skinless chicken breasts are easiest to use for this recipe
- Salt and pepper – all you need is a bit of salt and pepper to season your chicken
- Chopped kale – kale is the perfect lettuce to use for this time of year
- Roasted pumpkin seeds – I love the little crunch and texture of pumpkin seeds in my salad
- Apple – I use honeycrisp, but you can use any kind you enjoy
- Goat cheese – the tanginess and creaminess of goat cheese is the perfect addition to this salad. Feta cheese would also work
- Balsamic vinegar – balsamic is the base of the simple and delicious dressing for your salad
- Olive oil – I recommend extra virgin olive oil for a bit of added flavor in your dressing
- Dijon mustard – the dijon provides the perfect texture and flavor to bring the dressing together
Ingredient substitutions
These are the specific ingredients that I use to make my fall salads, but you can customize this any way you see fit!
If you prefer to use a different lettuce, spring mix or romaine would be great for this salad. Finally, you can replace the roasted veggies with other fall vegetables like roasted butternut squash and broccoli. A bit of red onion would be delicious too.
If you like a sweeter salad you can add some sweet fresh or dried fruit on top. I like to add dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds. For some added crunch, top the salad with candied pecans or your favorite nuts.
For more of a cobb salad, add some diced or grated hard-boiled eggs.
Mix up the dressing however you would like! I love this simple balsamic vinaigrette, but you could swap some apple cider vinegar instead. If you like it sweeter, add some honey or maple syrup. Or you could make a maple tahini dressing. Add spices like kosher salt or a teaspoon of garlic powder to taste.
This recipe is already gluten-free, and you can make it dairy-free by omitting the cheese. You can completely omit the chicken to make this salad vegetarian. If you want to add some extra protein you can add shrimp, a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas or crispy air fryer tofu.
How to Make
Step 1: Roast the veggies
To begin, preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, cube sweet potato and quarter the brussels sprouts and toss in two tablespoons of avocado oil.
Next, lay the veggies on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Then, bake in the oven at 425F for 25 minutes.
Step 2: Saute the chicken
While the veggies bake, cube the chicken breast into bite size pieces and season with salt and pepper. Then, heat 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
When the oil is warm add the chicken to the pan. Then, cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes tossing frequently.
Ensure that the chicken is cooked by checking for an internal temperature of at least 165F. Remove the chicken from the pan to cool.
Step 3: Prepare other fall salad ingredients
Then, prepare the balsamic vinaigrette by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard. You can also shake it in a mason jar.
Chop the apple into bite sized pieces (If you are serving this salad later you can squeeze some lemon juice onto the apple to prevent it from browning.)
When the veggies are done roasting and are fork tender, remove them from the oven to cool.
Step 4: Assemble the fall kale salad
Assemble the salad starting with the chopped kale on the bottom of a large bowl. Then, top the kale salad with the roasted veggies, chopped apple, sautéed chicken, goat cheese and roasted pumpkin seeds.
When you are ready to serve the kale salad, drizzle the balsamic dressing on top!
Storage and make ahead
If you are not going to eat this fall salad recipe immediately, store the leftovers and the balsamic dressing in separate containers. Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can make this simple harvest fall salad ahead of time. Store each component of this salad in containers in the fridge and assemble it just before serving.
Check out these other salad recipes!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Fall Harvest Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 8 oz brussels sprouts
- 4 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp salt for chicken
- 1/4 tsp black pepper for chicken
- 6 cups chopped kale
- 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds I used the pumpkin spice roasted ones from Trader Joes
- 1 med-large apple
- 2 oz goat cheese
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Cube sweet potato and quarter the brussels sprouts and toss in 2 tbsp avocado oil
- Lay the veggies on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper
- Bake in the oven at 425F for 25 minutes
- While the veggies bake, cube the chicken breast into bite size pieces and season with salt and pepper
- Heat 2 tbsp of avocado oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat
- When the oil is warm add the chicken to the pan
- Cook the chicken over medium-high heat for 6-7 minutes tossing frequently – ensure that the chicken is cooked by checking for an internal temperature of at least 165F
- Remove the chicken from the pan to cool
- Prepare the balsamic vinaigrette by whisking together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard
- Chop the apple into bite sized pieces (If you are serving this salad later you can squeeze some lemon juice onto the apple to prevent it from browning.)
- When the veggies are done roasting, remove them from the oven to cool
- Assemble the salad starting with the chopped kale on the bottom and top with the roasted veggies, chopped apple, sauteed chicken, goat cheese and roasted pumpkin seeds
- When you are ready to serve the kale salad, drizzle the balsamic dressing on top!
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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