Autumn chicken pecan salad is to die for! I’m not kidding you, if you don’t have the ingredients; I would seriously get in the car and head straight to the store.
The apples and pecans give this salad such a nice flavor and a little crunch. So I like the salad that they have at Wendy’s that has chicken and pecans and so I decided to make my own. I really don’t love feta cheese, and I think that that is because I always eat it when I go out.
This was perfect, not too much and nice and fresh. If you want a little more sweet, you could use pecans that are sugar coated, but I felt like the apple made it nice and sweet.
Another thing that I did, was when I was frying up the chicken, I added a little cinnamon. It gave it a nice taste that blended very well with the rest of the salad. I used just a little and I know the saying goes, if a little is good, a lot is even better. Not in this case. A little was perfect. Plus, it sure did make the house smell good.
Then, I used peanut oil and I was very pleased with the wonderful flavor that it gave the dressing. Peanut oil is a great oil for dressing. But you can use any oil that you want to for making the dressing.
This salad make a whole meal. Add a slice of bread and you are good to go. Also, you could add Craisins instead of dried cranberries, but I really enjoyed the cranberries. But remember if you make this Autumn Chicken Pecan Salad and then you go out to eat and get one, you will love yours a lot more. Happy eating!
- 2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cooled
- salt, pepper and cinnamon, to taste
- ½ head romaine lettuce, rinsed, dried and chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups spring mix greens
- 2 apples, cored and diced (I used gala)
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ¾ cup pecans, chopped
- ⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- ¾ Tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tsps dry mustard
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup peanut oil (or oil of your choice)
- ¾ Tbsp dried onion
- ⅓ cup sugar
- Place chicken breasts in a large skillet, over medium heat with about 1 - 2 Tbsps olive oil. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and only on one side, cinnamon. Sprinkle the chicken with the seasonings to your taste. I used about ⅛ tsp of cinnamon on each chicken breast. Cook until fully cooked.
- Let the chicken cool while you make the rest of the salad. Then cut the chicken into cubes.
- Wash, dry and chop romaine lettuce.
- Place the lettuce in a large bowl, then add the spring mix.
- Add the chopped apples, cranberries, pecans, crumbled feta and the cubed chicken.
- In a shaker bottle or the blender, combine poppy seeds, dry mustard, vinegar, salt, oil, dried onion, and the sugar.
- Mix well.
- I like to make the dressing ahead of time, and store in the refrigerator so that the flavors season together, at least one hour ahead, but that is not necessary.
- Mix the salad together gently.
- Add the dressing right before serving.
Now that is one GORGEOUS salad! Thanks for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s House we go link party!
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