Harvest chicken salad
Harvest chicken salad with pecans, apples and dried cranberries is a delicious, crunchy, fresh fall twist on the classic! It’s great served as a sandwich, wrap or with crackers or greens.
Yield: 4 -6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, boil and chop or use rotisserie (about 2 ½-3 cups chopped)
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, chopped (optional)
- ½ cup diced apple (such as Fuji or Gala)
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup mayonnaise (regular or light)
- ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and reduce the heat slightly, to maintain a steady boil. Cook the chicken for 25-35 minutes, until cooked through.
- Use tongs to remove the cooked chicken from the water and place on a cutting board to let cool for 10 minutes.
- Chop the chicken into ½-inch cubes - or smaller for a smaller dice for the salad. Let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, spinach (if using), apple, pecans, dried cranberries, mayo and Greek yogurt, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper and add an extra tablespoon of mayo or Greek yogurt, if needed, to get to your desired level of creaminess.
- Serve on a salad, as a sandwich or wrap or with crackers and cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
The chicken for this recipe needs to be cooked and cooled, so please plan accordingly. (You can also substitute rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled or baked chicken.)
You can use all mayonnaise for this recipe (either regular or a light mayo) or you can use half mayo and half Greek yogurt, as written in the recipe card.
Also, start with the ½ cup total called for and add extra mayo or Greek yogurt as needed, to get the salad to your desired consistency. (It depends on your tastes but also on how much chicken you have.)
I use a firm, sweet apple like Gala or Fuji.
I used pecans but walnuts would work well here as well.
You’ll notice I have some chopped fresh spinach mixed into mine. I love the green color it adds - and the extra veggie boost - but it’s entirely optional. This is still delicious without it.
Chicken salad will keep in the fridge, in a covered container, for up to 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 184mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g
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