Chicken Apple Winter Salad (Printable)

A hearty salad featuring chicken, apples, pecans, and apple cider dressing to brighten chilly days.

# What You'll Need:

→ Salad

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
02 - 2 crisp apples (e.g., Honeycrisp or Gala), cored and sliced
03 - 4 cups mixed salad greens (arugula, spinach, or romaine)
04 - 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
05 - 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
06 - 1/4 cup dried cranberries
07 - 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
08 - 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

→ Apple Cider Dressing

09 - 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
10 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
11 - 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 - 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
13 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
14 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

# How to Make It:

01 - Whisk together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, sea salt, and black pepper until emulsified. Set aside.
02 - In a large bowl, mix salad greens, cooked chicken, apple slices, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, red onion, and feta cheese if desired.
03 - Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat all components evenly.
04 - Plate the salad immediately, optionally garnished with additional pecans or feta cheese.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It tastes like sunshine even when its freezing outside, crisp and sweet and completely satisfying.
  • You can make it in the time it takes to remember where you put the salad tongs.
  • Leftovers actually get better as the flavors soak into the greens.
02 -
  • If you dress the salad too early the greens will wilt and turn sad, so wait until youre ready to eat before you toss.
  • Cold chicken straight from the fridge is fine, but if you let it sit out for ten minutes it tastes less like leftovers and more like intention.
03 -
  • Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat for three minutes, they turn golden and smell like heaven and it makes all the difference.
  • Use a mandoline to slice the celery and red onion paper thin, it distributes the flavor evenly and looks more elegant than chunky cuts.
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