Tag Archives: Chicken Salad

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

There are so many varieties to chicken salad, and I love a good chicken salad recipe! It seems like every time I make one it is gobbled up to the point people are fighting over the last of it. Maybe I don’t make it often enough.

If you ask me, “Do we need another chicken salad recipe?”, it is a resounding “yes!”. Variety is important, and this Chicken Salad is very colorful! After all, we eat with our eyes first! The wonderful thing about this chicken salad is it is Mediterranean! Mmmm! So much flavor, and one of the healthiest ways to eat in the world. It has sundried tomato bruschetta, fresh basil (my favorite fresh herb), delicious roasted red peppers, black olives and the tang of red wine vinegar. It also has the crunch from fresh celery, and two kinds of onion flavor…..green onions and chives! You will need a whole roasted chicken, and I am totally all for a good store bought rotisserie chicken if you are tight on time. There are so many good ones, and many of them are gluten free. If you are making the chicken at home, you can oven roast it or use an instant pot to cook it. Another good trick of mine is to roast two chickens at once. One is for dinner that night, and I make the other one into chicken salad. It’s a time saver and smart cooking!

Chicken salad is such a great lunch option in my opinion. You can heap it over a salad, one of my favorite ways to eat it, make a sandwich, or serve it alongside something else. For dinner, I like to pull it out of the refrigerator after having made it earlier in the day, and then make some sides to go with it. It makes an easy dinner night that everyone here really loves. Did I mention Make Your Own Wrap night? That’s another winner. Just put out the wraps, the chicken salad and some toppings and sauces. People can make it their own. Another great thing about this recipe is, it is just as delicious, if not better, the next day with all the flavors melding. I do hope you will try this recipe, Let me know what you think!

Mediterranean Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 Whole Cooked Chicken, deboned, skin off and chopped

3/4 Cup of Sliced Black Olives

1/2 Cup of Sundried Tomato Bruschetta

1/2 cup of Fresh Basil, torn

1/2 cup of Sliced Green Onion (aka scallions)

1/3 Cup of Mediterranean Organic Roasted Red Peppers, diced

2 Stalks of Fresh Celery, diced and you can include the leaves too

1/3 Cup of Chopped Pecans or you can use Pine Nuts

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Chives (fresh or dried)

1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano

1/3 Cup of Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar

Directions: Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, chives and oregano to make your dressing. Place all the other ingredients into a large bowl after chopping and prepping them as directed above, and then pour over the dressing and toss thoroughly. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! I’d love to hear from you.

Strawberry Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad

Strawberry Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad on Blue Tray

This chicken salad is my current Summer obsession! It has all the bright flavors of Summertime with it’s bright lemon and strawberry flavors with the bite of black pepper! Perfection!

Strawberry Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad 1

I do hope you give it a go, because I think you will really love it!

One of the keys to a really good chicken salad with white breast meat is roasting the chicken breasts to absolute perfection. It is handy to have a instant read thermometer for this. Another tip when roasting boneless, skinless breasts is to rub them with olive oil. It locks in the juices!

Ming loves Strawberry season! We got freshly picked ones from the Farmer’s Market!

Ming Smelling the Strawberries.jpg

I use a loose mayonnaise based dressing in this chicken salad that has plenty of fresh lemon juice for a lovely zing!

Also incorporated into this salad is crunchy toasted pecans, two kinds of onions (scallions and yellow) and fresh diced strawberries!

Strawberry Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad

Ingredients for the Chicken:

3 pounds of good quality boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 to 5)

1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil

Zest of one Large Lemon

1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

Preheat your oven to 400° degrees F. Lay out the chicken breasts on a rimmed baking sheet. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Brush all over both sides of the breasts evenly. Roast in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Keep a close eye on them and do not take the breasts over 165° to ensure your chicken is juicy and tender. Check it at 20 minutes, remove any smaller breasts that may cook faster, then keep roasting if necessary in three minute increments until the chicken is done at 165° F. I can’t stand a dry breast!

When the chicken is done, remove it from the baking sheet onto a plate, then cover it with another plate to cool.

Assembling the Salad:

Ingredients:

2 Cups of Fresh Ripe Strawberries, diced

1/2 Cup of Finely Diced Yellow Onion

1/2 Cup of Green Scallions, sliced

1/2 Cup of Toasted Pecans (Toast at 350° degrees F. for 8 minutes) cooled and chopped

1/4 Teaspoon of Black Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

1/4 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (from the lemon you zested for the chicken)

1/2 Cup plus 2 Tablespoons of Good Mayo (I use this kind)

1 Tablespoon of Really Good Honey (Local is Lovely)

Directions to finish the Chicken Salad:

Cube your cooled chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Place in a large bowl. Add the diced yellow onion, scallions, and toasted chopped pecans. In a blender, blend together the chicken salad dressing ingredients until creamy and smooth: (the mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, sea salt, black pepper). Pour the dressing over the chicken salad (saving the strawberries for last as they are tender) Toss the chicken salad until the ingredients are evenly disbursed and coated with the dressing. Now, fold in the diced strawberries. Chill and serve.

I hope you enjoy this delicious warm weather chicken salad full of the bright flavors of Summertime!

Strawberry Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad for Summer..jpg

*This post has affiliate links in it. I receive a very small commission if you purchase through my links. The small commission helps cover the cost of maintaining this blog. Thanks! 🙂

Farm Market Local Strawberries

Best Cranberry Chicken Salad – My All Time Favorite Chicken Salad

Best Chicken Salad Paleo Gluten Free

This is my family’s favorite chicken salad recipe. It has two kinds of onions in it, dried cranberries, crunchy celery, high quality mayonnaise and a little white pepper! It is requested, especially in the Summer, when I have guests coming to stay.

Best Chicken Salad So Yummy

The Wild Sweet Peas are profuse this year Up North! I couldn’t resist including some in this post! They are carpeting the fields and roadsides this time of year and are extra gorgeous this Summer!!!

Sweet Peas

Cranberry Chicken Salad

6 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 Cup of Finely Diced Celery

1/2 Cup of Dried Cranberries (I use apple juice sweetened like these)

1/2 Cup of Diced Red Onion

1/2 Cup of Sliced Scallions

Sea Salt to Taste

1/4 Teaspoon of White Pepper

1 1/2 Cups of High Quality Mayonnaise (I used Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo here)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400° degrees F. Lay the chicken breasts on a rimmed baking sheet, and brush them with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake the breasts in your oven for 30 minutes or until they just reach 165° degrees F. You don’t want dry breasts! Set aside to cool.

Chop and prep the celery, onions and scallions. When the chicken is cool, chop it into nice bite sized pieces on the smaller side.

Best Chicken Salad Recipe

This is a large recipe perfect for a potluck or picnic! It also keeps well in the refrigerator for three days.

12 Servings.

Best Cranberry Chicken Salad Healthy and Delish

Mango Cashew Chicken Salad

Mango Cashew Chicken Dinner Salad

This salad is inspired by one of my favorite salads from Red Mesa Grill in Northern Michigan. I order it every year from their gluten free menu and it is so good, I decided to recreate it at home adding my own spin on it.

Mango Cashew Chicken Summer Salad

The salad has a delicious combination of sweet juicy mango, crunchy cashews, tart cranberries, onion and roasted chicken. The mango dressing is bursting with vitamin C. It is a perfect Summer main dish salad!

Mango Cashew Chicken Salad

Mango Cashew Chicken Salad

Begin with making a marinade for the chicken breasts:

Marinade:

1/4 Cup of Olive Oil

Zest and Juice of 1 Lime

2 Cloves of Smashed Garlic

2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

Whisk the marinade together well. Add 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a gallon zip bag, and pour the marinade over the chicken. Seal the bag, and place it flat in the refrigerator for 3 hours, flipping once halfway through to ensure the chicken is evenly seasoned. You can refrigerate the chicken for up to 24 hours in the marinade.

Now prepare your salad dressing.

Mango Salad Dressing

Mango Salad Dressing:

Ingredients;

1 1/4 Cup of Ripe Mango, diced

1/4 Cup of Good Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Cilantro

2 Tablespoons of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (I use this kind)

1 Green Onion, sliced

1 Teaspoon of fine Sea Salt (I like this brand)

Blend the mango and olive oil in a blender until completely smooth and creamy. Add the lime juice, salt and cider vinegar and blend to incorporate. Now, add the fresh scallion and cilantro, and pulse the blender just until you can see tiny bits of scallion and cilantro. You want to be able to see it and not completely incorporate it into the dressing.

Refrigerate the dressing. This will keep 3 days in the refrigerator.

Now to make the salad! 🙂

Mango Cashew Chicken Salad Prep

Mango Cashew Chicken Salad Ingredients:

4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 – 5 oz. Container of Organic Baby Romaine, washed and spun dry

1/2 Head of Organic Iceberg Lettuce, washed, spun dry and torn into bite-sized pieces

1 Ripe Mango, Diced in to 1 inch pieces

1/2 Cup of Salted or Raw Cashews

1/4 Cup of Apple Juice Sweetened Dried Cranberries (I use this brand)

1/4 Cup of Green Onion, Sliced

1/4 Cup of Red Onion, Finely Diced

Additional Sea Salt for Sprinkling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° degrees. In a cast iron skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium-high. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, and sprinkle them with additional sea salt, and add them to the pan. Brown the breasts two minutes per side, until golden brown, but not cooked through. Place the chicken on a baking sheet, and place them in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes or just until the chicken reaches 165° at the center. Remove the chicken from the oven, and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Mound the salad greens in a large bowl. Drizzle with a generous amount of Mango Salad Dressing. Sprinkle the mango, cashews, cranberries, green onion and red onion on top. Slice your cooked chicken breasts on a diagonal (they can still be warm) and arrange the breasts on the top of the salad. Sprinkle with some additional sea salt to taste.

Serve!

4 Large Dinner Sized Servings (1 Chicken Breast per person)