Chicken Apple Winter Salad (Printable format)

Hearty mix of chicken, crisp apples, pecans, and tangy dressing for a bright, fresh winter meal.

# List of ingredients:

→ Salad

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
02 - 2 crisp apples (Honeycrisp or Gala), cored and sliced
03 - 4 cups mixed salad greens (arugula, spinach, romaine)
04 - 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
05 - 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
06 - 1/4 cup dried cranberries
07 - 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
08 - 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

→ Apple Cider Dressing

09 - 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
10 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
11 - 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
12 - 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
13 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
14 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

# How to make it:

01 - Whisk together apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl or jar until fully combined. Set aside.
02 - In a large bowl, mix salad greens, shredded chicken, sliced apples, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, red onion, and feta cheese if using.
03 - Pour the prepared dressing over the salad and toss gently to evenly coat all components.
04 - Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with extra pecans or feta as desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It's ready in 15 minutes but tastes like you spent the afternoon on it.
  • Leftover chicken transforms into something that feels completely new and celebratory.
  • The apple cider dressing is bright enough to actually make you look forward to eating salad when it's cold outside.
02 -
  • Don't slice the apples more than a few minutes before serving, or they'll brown and lose their fresh crunch—a tiny brush of lemon juice buys you maybe 10 minutes if you're in a bind.
  • The quality of your olive oil and the freshness of your apple cider vinegar matter more in this salad than in almost anything else you'll make, because they're the main flavor players and there's nowhere for them to hide.
03 -
  • Prep your ingredients mise en place style—everything diced and ready—and the actual assembly becomes almost meditative, which is the opposite of rushed.
  • Keep a jar of this dressing in your fridge at all times; it fixes plain greens, roasted vegetables, and even grilled chicken on difficult Tuesday nights.
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