Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
Cranberry pecan chicken salad is quick and easy and packed with flavor. Perfect for lunch, dinner or parties, would also be great for meal prep or as a way to use leftover turkey from the holidays. This healthy recipe is made with no mayo and is dairy free, gluten free, Whole30 and paleo.
Servings 2
Calories 535kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken, chopped or shredded $5.99
- 2 stalks celery, chopped $0.25
- 1/2 medium apple (Fuji, Pink Lady or Granny Smith), chopped $0.40
- 2 tbsp red onion, finely chopped $0.10
- 3 tbsp pecans, chopped $0.48
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries $0.50
Dressing
- 3 tbsp. tahini $0.63
- 1.5 tbsp. apple cider vinegar $0.09
- 4.5 tbsp. water $0.00
- 1 tsp. dried thyme $0.10
- 1/2 tsp sea salt $0.03
- 1/2 tsp. dried sage $0.05
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder $0.05
Instructions
- In the bottom of the bowl or in a separate container, combine all the ingredients for the dressing.
- Chop or shred the chicken, add it to a large bowl for mixing the salad.
- Chop the celery and apple into a small dice, finely chop the red onion. Add to the bowl with the chicken.
- You can finely chop the pecans for smaller pieces in the salad or roughly chop them for larger more prominent pieces of pecans. Add the pecans to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the dried cranberries to the salad (soak them ahead if you want them to be plump in the salad).
- Add the dressing if it's not already in the bottom of the bowl and stir well to ensure all the salad ingredients are well coated in the dressing.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for 30 minutes - 2 hours to allow all the ingredients to get really cold and the flavors to combine more.
- Serve cold or at room temperature. See ideas for serving below.
Notes
How to serve apple cranberry chicken salad
- As a sandwich: serve with bread, rolls or even croissants
- As a wrap: Serve with tortillas or homemade flatbread
- Veggies: Serve in a lettuce wrap or with sliced veggies like cucumber or carrots
- Crackers: Serve with your favorite crackers, I love almond flax or pumpkin sunflower seed crackers.
- Stove – add chicken to a large pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil and boil chicken 15-20 minutes until tender.
- Oven – bake chicken in the oven at 375F for 25-30 minutes depending on how thick the chicken breast is. You want the internal temperature to be 165F. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs will take 20-25 minutes.
- Instant Pot – add chicken to the instant pot and cover with 1 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 14-18 minutes (depending on how thick the chicken breast is) for chicken breast and 12 minutes for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If cooking from frozen, increase the cooking time to 20 minutes for chicken breast or 15 minutes for chicken thighs.
- Crockpot – place chicken in the crockpot and add 1 cup of water. Add the lid and cook high heat for 2-3 hours or low heat for 4-6 hours.
- Store-bought – you can use rotisserie chicken. Simply remove the skin and peel the chicken from the bone. Chop into bite-size pieces.
- Fridge: Store leftover apple pecan chicken salad in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you are using leftover chicken, chicken is typically only good for 3-4 days after cooking, so this storage time could change based on how long ago you cooked your chicken.
- Freezer: Fully assembled, this chicken salad is not ideal for freezing. The apples and celery will get soggy and discolored when frozen and defrosted. Omit the apples and celery from the recipe if you know you will be freezing some of the leftovers. You can always add fresh apples and celery to the defrosted chicken salad.
Nutrition
Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 36g | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 17g