I've come to the conclusion that I don't make enough dinner salads. I love chopped salads of all varieties, but somehow I never think of making them. Beginning of 2018 resolution? Eat more of the things I love. Like this healthier Dijon chicken salad with a Greek yogurt dressing.
In perfect seriousness, I'm not a giant fan of salads. I love a great salad, but most salads are pretty boring and they just aren't that good. The odds that I will like a salad go up pretty rapidly with the inclusion of ingredients like dried cranberries and green apples, plus celery, plus a creamy yogurt-mustard dressing. All of which you'll find in this salad....
Another thing that deters me from making salads more frequently is I feel like they actually take a lot more time than people pretend like they do. Sure, if you buy everything pre-chopped, it's easy to throw a salad together, but if you're washing and drying and tearing lettuce leaves, plus grilling chicken breasts and letting them cool, dicing apples and celery, toasting some walnuts, by the time you get to whisking together the dressing and actually eating your salad... at least 30 minutes have gone by. The timing listed on the recipe as posted assumes that you already have cooked your chicken and let it cool down to at least room temperature.
I'm grumbling a little about the length of time it takes to make a chopped salad, but honestly, the time flies by and this salad is completely worth it. It's delicious any time of year, which is good since the first time I made it was several summers ago and now I'm posting about it in the middle of winter. Serve this healther Dijon chicken salad on its own for a complete vegetables+fruits+nuts+protein meal or with some bread/quinoa/pasta...
Original source: the Dude Diet
Healthier Dijon Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- ¼ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons wholegrain Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoons honey
- 2 chicken breasts grilled or poached, cooled to room temperature
- ½ small Granny Smith apple finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery about 2-4 stalks
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts lightly toasted, if desired
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot about 1 medium shallot
- 3 tablespoons dried cranberries
- head Bibb or Romaine lettuce leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mustards, lemon juice, and honey.
- Dice the cooked chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, then add to the bowl with the dressing. Chop the apple, celery, walnuts, and shallot, then add these as well as the cranberries to the bowl. Toss to combine everything.
- Add the torn pieces of lettuce, toss again, and serve immediately.
- This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
