This Chicken Apple Salad holds its own as a main course, and is full of sweet, savory and spicy flavors that will keep you coming back for more. The Jalapeño Vinaigrette puts it over-the-top!
Don’t think that just because this recipe doesn’t include sautéed onions, that they didn’t go in something else I made for dinner last night. (A steak and mushroom dish, if you must know — recipe coming soon.)
Since my mom died on July 29th, not a day has gone by that I haven’t sautéed onions. I can’t seem to help it. My bowl of onions on my kitchen counter is more full than ever before. If you missed it, here’s why.
While this salad doesn’t contain sautéed onions, it’s absolutely packed with other wonderful flavors and textures.
You’ll see that it’s not completely onion-less either. 😉
I made the Creamy Roasted Jalapeno Lime Vinaigrette before I’d decided what ingredients would go in the salad I’d toss it with.
Funny how my cooking mind works sometimes. Seems almost backwards, but I decided what each element of the salad would be based on how it would taste with the vinaigrette.
That method worked out perfectly because as it turns out, it’s a fantastic blend of ingredients that I simply couldn’t get enough of.
The sweet apples and dried cranberries with the creamy avocado, sautéed chicken and Manchego cheese will make you want this for lunch and dinner, and perhaps brunch, too.
This chopped chicken-apple salad is lovely enough to serve to guests and casual and easy enough for a quick week-night meal.
Enjoy!
This Chicken Apple Salad holds its own as a main course, and is full of sweet, savory and spicy flavors that will keep you coming back for more. The Jalapeño Vinaigrette puts it over-the-top!
- olive oil for the pan
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1-pound), lightly pounded so they’re an even width
- 3 heads Romaine lettuce roughly chopped (about 8 cups)
- 2 apples (preferably Fuji) washed, dried and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
- 2 1/2 cups avocado (about 1 large avocados), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 ounces Manchego cheese, cut into small dice
- 1 1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped
- 1 packed cup cilantro, washed and dried, roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup pepitas
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- about 3/4 recipe Creamy Roasted Jalapeno Lime Vinaigrette
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
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Coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with olive oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and then place them in the pan. Sauté just until they’re through, about 7 minutes, depending on the thickness. Flip them halfway through the cooking process. Set aside to cool.
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In a very large mixing or serving bowl, toss the lettuce with the apples, avocado, Manchego, scallions, cilantro, pepitas, and cranberries.
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Once the chicken has cooled to room temperature, slice it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the bowl.
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Gently mix the salad with about 1 recipe of the Creamy Roasted Jalapeno Lime Vinaigrette. (You might use less than all of it — it’s up to you.)
Replace the word “vinaigrette” with wine and that’s often how my cook’s mind works too. Beautiful salad. GREG
LOVE that, Greg. XO 🙂 (And thank you.)
I love that this is perfect for a quick, weeknight meal! Looks delicious.
Thanks so much, Brandi! 🙂
I love salads and this one sounds so flavorful.
I have SO many apples right now…this salad is going to be a perfect way to put them to use!
Yay! I love that, Sarah! 🙂
I went apple picking this weekend and have a giant bag of apples and no clue what I want to do with them. I’m definitely going to have to give this a try!
Oh how perfect. How fun to go apple picking! 🙂
What a fabulous fall salad! I love that you used manchgo – so good!
Thanks, Allison. Hope you try it! 🙂
Thanks for the two-in-one garlic-free recipes! Love it!
Your description talks about avocado: “The sweet apples and dried cranberries with the creamy avocado…” but I don’t see avocado in the actual recipe. Should there be some?
Hi Molly, my apologies for taking a few days to get to this — I was on vacation an away from work. THANK YOU so much for pointing this out to me, and I’m sorry for my error. YES, the avocado should have been listed, and I’ve now edited it in. It’s about 2 1/2 cups avocado cut into bite-sized pieces. Hope this wasn’t too late if you wanted to make it. Thanks for visiting my site. 🙂 ~Valentina