Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

When summer arrives, I love to have salad as my meal.  All I need to do is add a bit of protein to it and I am set to go.  I find the fresh vegetables refreshing to have as well. Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing is a new favorite for me.

Customize This Salad for the Size Crowd You Are Serving

The beauty of this salad is that you can make it LARGE as shown to feed a crowd.

I can see this being perfect for a potluck any time of the year. My boys think I’m nuts when I bring a big salad to a potluck. But, I know that there are many adults who want something tasty and healthy. If nothing else, I am making sure there is something I want to eat instead of the more kid friendly carb laden options.

Alternatively, you can prep everything and make a single serving size when you are ready to eat it. Meal prep on the weekend is a great way to have things ready to go for when hunger strikes.

While I like the taste of the dressing still warm, it is great when allowed to cool first. Just make sure you mix it well as it tends to separate after sitting for a while.

This particular Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing can be made as shown or you can lighten it up a bit by removing the candied pecans. Personally, I like to have a variety of textures and tastes in my food and this one does just that.

Yield: 6 to 8

Chicken Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Multiple flavors and textures combine for a flavorful chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

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Ingredients

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

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• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. dry mustard
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• pinch to 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. celery salt
• up to 1/3 cup sugar, adding 1 Tbsp. at a time to taste

Salad

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• Start with a large helping of greens.
• 4 to 6 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup feta or blue cheese (your preference!)
• 1/2 large apple, diced
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup candied pecans, chopped
• 1/2 to whole avocado

Instructions

1. Prepare the Dressing First
2. In a small pot, add all dressing ingredients except the sugar. Stir with a whisk over low heat. Add sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, whisking the dressing well between additions and allowing it a moment to incorporate. Taste periodically to see if you need additional sugar.
3. In a large bowl, add the greens and then layer on the toppings.
4. Pour the dressing on the top.
5. Stir well to coat the salad.
6. Serve immediately.

Notes

While I added all the ingredients of the salad at once for a pretty before dressing picture, I highly recommend waiting to add the avocado until you have already coated everything else. Also, larger pieces of chicken are less likely to get 'lost' when mixing. Between the shredded chicken and small pieces of avocado, I found they created more of a paste after being mixed.

Also, I found making the candied pecans easy to do using the same pan I used to cook the diced bacon.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 607mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 19g