This fall Harvest Chicken Salad with honey mustard dressing is a great way to celebrate the flavors of fall. Enjoy it as a light lunch or dinner, or as a side dish for Thanksgiving.
Using rotisserie chicken keeps the prep minimal, but you can feel free to switch it up for any other kind of chicken. Below you will also find ideas for more mix-ins, variations, and substitutions.
Harvest Chicken Salad With Honey Mustard Dressing
Fall and winter are known for heavier meals like chilis, casseroles, and roasted meats. So what better way to break it up a little than with a fresh green salad filled with seasonal flavors?
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This rotisserie chicken salad is loaded with salad greens, feta cheese, crisp apples, and candied pecans, then tossed in a homemade honey mustard dressing. It’s light, but deceptively hearty.
Feel free to add more mix-ins like bacon bits and dried cranberries to make it even more of a meal. Or, serve along with your favorite fall soup, stew, casserole, or pasta.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to adapt. You can swap out just about any ingredient in this salad for another, including the chicken, greens, cheese, nuts, and fruits. You can also add even more mix-ins, make it nut-free—you can keep experimenting until you find the combination you love most.
- Great way to clean out the fridge. Have leftover chicken, raw veggies, bacon, or salad greens? Toss them in!
- Perfect for any occasion. This salad can be an easy lunch, or it can be a side dish for Thanksgiving. Because it is so easy to adapt, it can be the perfect choice no matter what the type or size of gathering.
Key Ingredients You Will Need
- Chicken — rotisserie chicken makes this recipe super easy, but you could absolutely substitute any kind of cooked chicken here, including leftover chicken.
- Salad Greens – I suggest using a Spring Mix, but you can use any combination of lettuces, spinach, arugula or other salad green mixes that you like. This would also taste great if you substituted kale.
- Feta Cheese – buy crumbled feta, or crumble it yourself from a block. Goat cheese would make a great substitute.
- Candied Pecans – it’s easy to make your own candied pecans. If you have a nut allergy, use toasted or candied pumpkin seeds instead.
- Apples – I suggest a crisp, tart apple such as Granny Smith or Honey Crisp. If you want to prevent them from browning, toss in a small amount of lemon juice just after cutting.
- Honey – use your favorite type of honey or even substitute maple syrup.
- Dijon Mustard – the combination of sweet honey and tangy Dijon mustard is a classic that I don’t recommend messing with!
- Olive Oil – since this will be eaten raw and not for cooking, we suggest using a higher quality olive oil.
- Lemon Juice — fresh lemon juice balances all of the flavors of the dressing.You may want to add a little more or less so be sure to taste while you are making it.
How to Make This Harvest Chicken Salad
- Add salad ingredients to a bowl. In a large bowl, add the chicken, Spring Mix salad greens, feta cheese, candied pecans, and sliced apples. Gently toss.
- Make the honey mustard vinaigrette. In a blender, combine the honey, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Turn on to medium speed then slowly add in the olive oil, giving it time to emulsify.
- Toss and serve. Transfer the dressing to a pourable container and drizzle over the salad. Toss, then serve. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
- Use any kind of chicken! Leftover chicken, diced chicken, shredded chicken, you name it — any kind will work here.
- Try a different protein. You could also switch up the protein and use bite-sized pieces of steak, salmon, or shrimp.
- Use kale for the greens. For a slightly heartier green, try using kale. Whenever you use raw kale in a salad, it’s good to massage the kale with a little salt and olive oil. It breaks the kale down a bit, improving the flavor and texture.
- Sprinkle in the pomegranate seeds. These add a little extra crunch and color to the salad.
- Make it nut-free. Use toasted or candied pumpkin seeds instead of candied pecans for nut allergies.
- Other Mix-In Ideas. Add other mix-ins such as dried cranberries, bacon bits, chopped figs, toasted pepitas or peanuts.
More You’ll Love
Looking for a refreshing yet filling fall salad? This hearty harvest chicken salad is loaded with greens, rotisserie chicken, feta cheese, and crisp apples all covered in honey mustard dressing.
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Chicken Harvest Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups rotisserie chicken, cut into 1/2" chunks
- 1 pound spring mix salad greens
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup candied pecans, chopped
- 2 large apples, sliced thinly (honey crisp or granny smith)
Honey Mustard Dressing
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chicken, mixed salad greens, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, chopped candied pecans, and sliced apples.
- In a blender, combine the honey, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Turn on to medium speed then slowly add in the olive oil, giving it time to emulsify.
- Transfer the dressing to a pourable container and drizzle over the salad. Toss, then serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Chicken, Christmas, Fall Recipes, Gluten-Free, Healthy, Salads, Sides, Thanksgiving, Winter Recipes,
