Colorful & Healthy Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is so easy, simple, and easy to change up on the fly.  Not to mention that leftovers taste better so it's a great meal to make a lot of and have lunches for the week!  Chicken is a great source of protein and this recipe is packed with healthy dried and fresh fruit, raw vegetables, and the calories are held back with reduced fat mayonnaise.  Place this on a great sandwich roll, pack in it a pita, toss it on a bed of your favorite leafy greens, or simply enjoy it by itself - either way it will be a hit.

Colorful Chicken Salad

Approximate servings: 4-6
Cooking time: 45 minutes

4 cups of cooked chicken (approx. 3 large chicken breasts)
3/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise.
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup seedless green grapes (cut in half)
1 cup pecans (chop)
2 celery stalks
1 medium/large carrot (or 2 small carrots), cut into small slices
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp celery salt (or Khosher salt)
2 stalks of green onion, chopped

* Like extra lemon in your life? Go ahead, add 2 tbsp of lemon juice

Step 1: Cook the chicken

Preheat oven to 375°.  Cover cookie sheets with aluminum foil.  Salt and pepper both sides of chicken.  Bake for 40-45 minutes depending on size of chicken.  Helpful hint:  If I'm doubling this recipe and need to use two cookie sheets to bake with, I'll split the chicken breasts into large and small groups.  This way I can pull out the smaller pieces of chicken first (after about 35 minutes) and let the larger pieces continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes.

Let the chicken rest for 20 minutes before putting it in the fridge to cool down.  When cool enough to handle, cut the chicken into 1" cubes.  Get a large mixing bowl to put everything together in.

Step 2:  Chop everything up & mix

While the chicken is cooking, wash the celery, carrots, and green onion.

Second, cut up everything into smaller, bite sized pieces.  Chop the pecans, cut the grapes in half, cut the celery stalks in 1/4" slices, julienne the carrots into short and slender sticks, and finely slice the green onion using both the white and green parts.  Measure all of the other ingredients out and mix everything together

Best served cold.


Looking for substitutes?
So you don't have all of these ingredients?  No problem.  Chicken salad is a great meal to experiment with.  Here is what I would suggest if you don't have some of the ingredients listed above:


Miss Kate's Ingredient. . . . Substitute
 Pecans . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walnuts or slivered almonds
 Dried cranberries. . . . . . Rasins or dates
Green Grapes  . . . . . . . . Green apple or omit all together
Celery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cucumber
Carrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Omit all together
Green Onion. . . . . . . . . . Other herbs such as dill, cilantro, chives, rosemary
 Paprika . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other spices or omit all together