This baby kale chicken cherry salad highlights the best of summer fruit with easy shredded leftover chicken for a light and healthy meal.

Considering all the convenience foods out there, I still seriously don’t understand how or why pre-shredded chicken breast isn’t on the market.

In a country full of lazy and/or time crunched consumers who are always looking for ways to get dinner on the table in as little time as possible, this seems like a hugely overlooked opportunity.

Maybe this is my million dollar idea in life and I should work on ways to get this to market rather than sit here complaining about how it doesn’t exist to the internet…

So while I can’t save you the 5 minutes it takes to shred that leftover chicken whether it’s from a store bought rotisserie bird you picked up on the way home from work the other day, the resulting meat from cooking a stewing hen or, some BBQ breast from the grill over the weekend, I’m back with my girls this month to give you six healthy recipe ideas of what to do with shredded chicken.

From salads to dips to casseroles and everything in between, we’ve got you covered on how to repurpose everyone’s most common leftover!

Hawaiian Chicken Noodle Bowls from Fit Foodie Finds

Get your meal prep on with these delicious Hawaiian Chicken Noodles Bowls made with shredded chicken, tons of veggies, and rice noodles!

Buffalo Chicken Dip from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen

This lightened up Buffalo Chicken Dip is packed with veggies and loaded with flavor. It is the perfect cleaned up version of your favorite hearty appetizer, that can also be devoured as a main dish, too!

Almond Butter Chicken Salad from Eating Bird Food

This almond butter chicken salad skips the mayo and instead uses an almond butter and apple cider vinegar dressing! Studded with raisins, fresh grapes and chopped almonds, this chicken salad is perfect for serving in lettuce wraps or on your favorite sandwich bread.

Cajun Cauliflower Casserole from Food Faith Fitness

This Cajun cauliflower casserole tastes like a bowl of Jambalaya but is secretly loaded with hidden veggies and protein! It’s a gluten free, paleo-friendly meal that the whole family will love!

Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls

No need for takeout with this Copycat Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl! Made just like your favorite restaurant’s burrito bowl, this recipe is filling, healthy and the perfect way to use your leftover shredded chicken!

If you’ve read any recent posts of mine lately (like the blackened shrimp tacos with grilled corn cherry salsa), it should come as no surprise that I just had to take advantage of the amazing summer fruit in this baby kale chicken cherry salad.

Besides the fresh cherries (which I just can’t get enough of right now), these gorgeous red currants popped up in my local grocery store and were just begging to be thrown into the mix.

From their tart brightness to the sweeter cherry halves, this baby kale salad is bursting with summer flavor and freshness.

Shredded grilled BBQ chicken breast from a few days prior gives the salad some staying power and the basil Dijon dressing just brings the whole thing together for a repurposed meal that feels anything but repurposed.

More salads like this try:

The Best Baby Kale Salad
Winter Chopped Kale Salad
Chopped Crispy Citrus Chicken Salad
Radicchio Endive Fennel Salad with Tangy Dijon Herb Dressing
Lemony Shaved Asparagus Tomato Salad