Harvest Chicken Salad

A hearty salad that features the warm, sweet and satisfying flavors of fall.

Harvest Chicken Salad is made complete with roasted sweet potatoes, toasted walnuts, pear or apple slices, dried cranberries and tender chicken.

This isn’t any ol’ salad! It’s a salad that will fill you up and make your tastebuds happy. Harvest Chicken Salad is tossed in our flavorful Citrus Vinaigrette with Thyme and you’re going to love all of the flavors and textures that come together in this fiercely delicious salad. The perfectly roasted sweet potatoes (or butternut squash), the crisp apple (or pear) slices, the tart dried cranberries, the crunchy toasted walnuts (or pecans), and tender chicken creates a salad that’s truly for everyone…even for them non-salad lovers.

This salad is Whole30-friendly!

Harvest Chicken Salad is free of gluten, dairy and grains and the Citrus Vinaigrette with Thyme is sugar-free making it a Whole30-friendly recipe. We used Made In Nature dried cranberries which are sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar (like most dried cranberries on the market). Made In Nature makes a variety of organic dried fruits and snacks that are refined sugar-free and free of preservatives; perfect for adding to salads, packing in lunches, baking with, and snacking on. Check out the entire line of Made In Nature products here.

Add a little cheese!

If you’re not Whole30’ing and you’re cool with dairy, we suggest that you add a little soft goat or crumbled feta cheese to this salad. So good!

Wondering how to make the perfect chicken breast for this salad? We’ve got you covered with our How to Make the Perfect Chicken breast tutorial. 

Include Harvest Chicken Salad with your next weekend meal prep.

This salad makes for the perfect prep ahead salad because of the hearty ingredients. It’s easy to prep everything on the weekend (including the Citrus-Thyme Vinaigrette) and assemble the salad either in a bowl or lunch container then store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. We recommend that you make two salads (or 4 if you’re prepping for 2) during your weekend meal prep so that you have a healthy and satisfying lunch prepared for the next 2-3 days. For the apple or pear slices, just simply toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Hold the dressing until just before eating.

New to meal prepping? Click here to learn our Top Meal Prepping tips.

Note: This salad also makes for a delicious dinner entree or you can leave off the chicken and serve as a side to any meal.

We can’t wait for you to give this salad a try!

Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Harvest Chicken Salad

Harvest Chicken Salad is a Whole30-friendly salad that features the warm, sweet and satisfying flavors of fall.

Prep: 15 minsCook: 20 minsTotal: 35 mins

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Servings: 2 servings 1x

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Ingredients

For the Salad:

• 1/2–1 Tbsp. olive or avocado oil
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed (about 2 cups; may substitute butternut squash)
• ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
• Sea salt & pepper to taste
• 5 oz. bag of fresh spinach or mixed greens
• ¼ cup dried cranberries (Made in Nature)
• 1pear or apple, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped & toasted if desired
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta or soft goat cheese (OMIT for Whole30)
• 8–10 oz. sliced chicken breast, grilled or baked

For the Citrus Vinaigrette (makes ~10 servings):

• 1 orange, juiced (~1/3 cup)
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1½ tsp. fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried thyme)
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard (whole30 compliant) or yellow mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 Tbsp. finely minced shallots)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• ⅔ cup olive or avocado oil

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400℉.
2. Place sweet potato cubes and sliced onions on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil. Bake 20-25 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until tender and slightly caramelized. Remove from oven, season to taste with sea salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.
3. While the sweet potatoes and onions are roasting prepare vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette add ingredients in a small food processor or blender and blend until well combined. May also whisk ingredients together.
4. Divide the salad ingredients amongst two plates or salad bowls.
5. Toss gently with vinaigrette just before serving.

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Notes

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Nutrition Information

• Serving Size: 1 salad with serv. dressing
• Calories: 453
• Fat: 21 g
• Sodium: 350 mg
• Carbohydrate: 40 g
• (Fiber: 7 g
• Sugar: 21 g)
• Protein: 29 g

Dietary

Dairy-FreeEgg-FreeGluten-freeGrain-FreePaleoWhole30

© The Real Food Dietitians

Recipe By: The Real Food Dietitians

Comment below and let us know if you give our Harvest Chicken Salad a try!

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