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When it comes to salad, there’s always a place in my heart for calorie-laden dressings and toppings. But sometimes, I’m feeling something a bit lighter. Typically, these cravings hit:
1. After I’ve just eaten myself into a near-comatic (yes, this is a real word. no, it is not correctly being used.) state all weekend long.
2. When I eat at that nearby Mexican-style fast food joint with the free chips and salsa, for lunch. Nothing screams “You should probably scale it back for dinner” quite like an enormous steak and cheese burrito.
3. In the summer, when it’s 90+ degrees out. It’s just way too hot to think about tons of cheese and heavy dressing.
So it’s on these kinds of days that I turn to a lighter salad (but still filling) with a lean protein, tons of fresh vegetables, and a light dressing.
This particular crispy chicken salad came about from various inspirations. First, it’s CSA week #3 and I have tons of salad greens to use. Second, I came across a maple dijon vinaigrette that sounded absolutely delicious. Finally, at the time of this meal, we were just coming off the holiday weekend (refer to #1 above), where I practically ate for 72 straight hours. Time for a detox of sorts.
This chicken is actually pretty healthy. It’s baked (not fried), and breaded with plain fat-free yogurt and panko (no egg or flour). The yogurt helps keep the chicken moist and the baked panko gives it a great crunch. The dressing, too, really not so bad for you. Yes, it is made with olive oil, but no mayo, cheese or sour cream is involved! Plus, you don’t need to use a whole lot because the flavor is strong and pronounced.
So, grab a head of lettuce and all of those vegetables out of the crisper that are just days away from going bad. It doesn’t take long and you won’t feel weighed down when it’s all over. (Plus, you’ll definitely have room for dessert. Chocolate is a health food, too,people.)
Crispy Chicken Salad & Honey Mustard Dressing
Print recipe
| Serves | 2-4 |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 40 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish |
This is a healthy salad with a tangy honey mustard dressing and topped with panko crusted, baked chicken tenders.
Ingredients
- 1/2 head red fire lettuce (cut into bite-size pieces)
- vegetables of your choice, chopped (I used yellow bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, red onion)
dressing
- 1/3 cup spicy mustard (we used Nathan's)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 1 green garlic or green onion (white ends finely chopped )
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil
chicken
- 3/4lb chicken breast (cut into 8-10 strips or chicken tenders)
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- splash milk (to thin out the yogurt if necessary)
- 1 cup panko
- 1/2 tablespoon combination of spices (I used paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne)
Directions
| Dressing | |
| 1. | In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, honey, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, basil, and green garlic. Then slowly stream in olive oil, continually whisking to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. |
| Chicken | |
| 2. | Fill one bowl with yogurt (and thin out with a splash of milk if the yogurt seems to thick). Then, in a baking dish, combine panko, spices, salt and pepper. |
| 3. | Dip chicken tender into the yogurt and then panko mixture. Brush of any excess panko crumbs and place onto a cooling rack. Repeat with all tenders. Then place cooling rack on top of baking sheet and let bake in oven for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. Chicken is done when panko is browned and crispy. |
| Salad | |
| 4. | In a large bowl, combine lettuce, vegetables, and dressing. Plate each salad and top with the warm chicken. |
Some ideas:
* If you’re not feeling the vegetables – make the chicken by itself and use the honey mustard dressing for dipping.
* I left the cheese off to keep it light, but a little mild cheddar might be a great addition.
* Any leftovers would make a great wrap for lunch the next day – just spread the dressing out on a tortilla wrap, add the chicken and salad mix, and roll it up!
What types of meals do you make when you want to keep it light? Please share!
Shared on Weekend Potluck, Strut your Stuff Saturday, Addicted to Recipes
7 Responses to Crispy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
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I absolutely love baked fried chicken. I have a fear of deep frying at home, so if I want it, it’s the only way to prepare it. You seriously cant’t tell your chicken was baked, when I first saw the photo I thought it was fried. This looks great, and I know the feeling about wanting a salad on 90+ days. I’m definitely going to keep this on the back burner sometime this summer, when I’m over run with CSA veggies.
I hear you on the deep frying at home…we’ve done it before but baking is so much simpler, creates wayy less mess, and is much healthier. Thanks for stopping by!
Do you have any recipes using quinoa? I want to try it sometime and thought you may have sone good ideas!
I haven’t used a lot of quinoa in cooking, but since you mention it I have been eyeing this recipe up for a while now. http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/greek-quinoa-salad/
We should give it a shot – might make a great lunch!
I’m making this for lunches next week. Yum! I love the color in the salad. Thanks for sharing!
Please let me know how you like it. This CSA share is forcing me to try new salad combinations all the time. I’d love to hear some of your favorites! Thanks for stopping by!
This looks so good! We are so glad you joined our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday”. We love to see all of the great recipes and ideas!! Thanks and we hope to see you again next week! -The Sisters