This kale quinoa salad is the perfect healthy salad to bring to your next picnic, potluck or camping trip. It can be made a couple of days ahead of time and stores well in the fridge.

I love fresh vegetables, but I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely go through the hassle of bringing them and prepping them while camping. I’ve found that premade salads are the perfect way to add those veggies to your camping menu.

easy make ahead salad perfect for camping or picnics - kale quinoa salad with chicken

This kale quinoa chicken salad can be made before your trip and will hold well in the cooler or fridge for a couple of days before serving.

In this kale salad you’ll find tons of veggies, fluffy quinoa and a homemade lemon vinaigrette with dijon.

It’s the perfect side salad recipe, but it can also act as a main dish for lunch or dinner thanks to the healthy protein from the chicken and whole grains (and protein) from the quinoa.

Ingredients in Kale Qunioa Salad

Kale: Tuscan kale (also known as dinosaur kale) is the most tender kale naturally, but curly kale is the best type of kale for this recipe because the leaves will sit in the dressing and become tender over time. Be sure to remove the stems that can be quite bitter.
Quinoa: Quinoa adds healthy protein to this recipe. You can sub the quinoa for cooked rice or lentils as well. Or, you can substitute crispy quinoa for cooked quinoa for added crunch.
Chicken Breast: Shredded or diced chicken breast work well in this salad, but it’s delicious without the chicken as well.
Feta Cheese: You can substitute other cheeses, but feta gives a nice tangy flavor. Goat cheese is also delicious in this salad recipe.
Red Onion: Substitute 3 sprigs of green onions for a much milder onion flavor.
Red Bell Pepper: This recipe calls for red bell pepper because of the color it adds. However, you can use any color of sweet bell pepper in this salad.
Cucumber: This gives a nice crunch and some freshness.
Lemon: Freshly squeezed lemon adds a delicious flavor to the dressing that bottle lemon juice just can’t match. Of course, if all you have is bottled, you can still use it. It won’t ruin the salad!

a note from Jenny

This kale quinoa salad recipe holds a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first recipes I had my middle school students make in our “Young Chefs” after school club that I created. We taught them about emulsions and this was one of the four salads the groups made.

Now, I often make it for events or at the beginning of the week for a grab and go salad throughout the week. Every time I eat it, I think of that first group of kids that started a decade-long cooking club!

Looking for more camping salad ideas? I have a post rounding up my favorite salads for camping here.

For now, you can find another one of my favorite salads to make ahead and pack for camping: Cauliflower “Potato” Salad or Greek Bean Salad.

How to make QUinoa Kale Camping Salad

In this section you’ll find a step by step tutorial of how to make this recipe with photos. The full recipe with exact measurements, steps and a printable card can be found at the bottom of the post.

1. Cook the quinoa

Rinse the quinoa under cold water. Add quinoa and chicken broth (or water) to a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Once it has reached a boil, cover with a lid and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

2. Massage the kale

Remove any stems from the kale and rip into bite-sized pieces with your hands. Place the chopped kale in a large mixing bowl and add about two tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of half of a lemon.

I see many recipes call for using salt in this step. I don’t find it necessary because the dressing has enough flavor, but you can definitely add it in this step if you’d like.

Use your fingers to massage the oil and lemon juice into the leaves. This will tenderize the leaves and make them far more palatable than the raw kale. The dressing also helps with this, especially as the salad sits for a day or two.

3. Dice all the other salad ingredients

Chop the cucumbers, red bell peppers and red onion into bite size pieces. Do not dice the avocados in this step. They should be diced and added when serving.

Mince the garlic for the dressing.

3. Make the salad dressing

Mix together extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork to emulsify the liquid.

4. Toss salad with dressing

Toss together all the salad ingredients and then add the dressing to coat. Place the salad in the refrigerator until ready to pack into the cooler or until ready to serve.

I like to pack my pre-made camping salads in ziplock bags so they lay flat in the cooler.

5. Serve and enjoy!

Right before serving this quinoa kale salad, dice up both avocados and toss them with the salad.

I’m guilty of eating my camping salads right out of the bag. No sense in dirtying up a dish that I’m going to have to hand wash later!