This delicious Harvest Chicken Salad features apple cider marinated grilled chicken, crispy bacon, chunks of blue cheese, walnuts, red onion, mixed baby greens, red and green chunks of apples.
This fall-inspired Chicken Salad is inspired by Wendy’s Harvest Chicken Salad. It’s flavorful, juicy, and the perfect addition to this amazing garden salad.
And who doesn’t love a lunch or dinner that is super flavorful, all while quick and easy to create!? Don’t forget to try my balsamic dressing recipe.
The chicken is marinated in an apple cider marinade and reminds me of fall on the farm in New England, apple orchards, and local fairs. Grab a bottle of apple cider at a local apple orchard or in the produce section at your local grocery store (near the refrigerated juices).
Want to cook bacon the easy way? Cook it in the oven! It comes out perfect every time and makes cleanup a breeze!
How to cook bacon in the oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Overlap slices of bacon slightly on the pan. Cook at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, depending on how crispy or chewy you prefer your bacon. Remove from the oven and transfer the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
Want an even more flavorful bacon? Sprinkle on a little granulated maple sugar prior to cooking. It gives you amazing caramelization on the bacon for a salty with a touch of sweet flavor.
Fresh cubes of granny smith and gala apples (or any seasonal apple that you love), chunks of blue cheese, red onion, grape tomatoes, walnuts and chicken are so good together in this salad.
This grilled chicken also works great as a chicken BLT. Toast some sliced brioche bread, spread a little mayonnaise and top with fresh heirloom tomatoes, crispy bacon, and romaine lettuce. Oh yum! Can you taste that?!
More great Apple recipes:
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Harvest Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Apple Cider Marinade
- ¼ cup corn oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup apple cider
- ¼ cup whiskey or bourbon
- 2 tablespooons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- black pepper to taste
Harvest Chicken Salad
- 3 grilled boneless chicken breasts sliced thin
- 1 5-ounce package mixed baby greens or Romaine lettuce (cut up)
- ½ granny smith apple cored, cut into small cubes
- ½ gala apple cored, cut into small cubes
- 6 slices crumbled bacon
- ¼ cup walnut halves and pieces
- 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- slices of red onion
- 6-8 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- dressing of your choice balsamic recommended
Instructions
Apple Cider Marinade
- Place oil, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, whiskey, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper into a large zip-style bag. Press on the outside of the bag to mix the ingredients.
- In another large zip-style bag, use a small rolling pin or a meat tenderizer to flatten the chicken breasts a little. Mostly to make them evenly flat. Once each chicken breast is flattened a bit, place into the marinade.
- Seal the zip-style bag and place the chicken into the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons of corn oil and one tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken breasts and brown on each side. Cook the chicken all the way through. Remove from the skillet and let rest on a plate for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Or grill the chicken on an outdoor grill for about 3-4 minutes each side.
Harvest Chicken Salad
- To assemble the salad, layer mixed greens in a large bowl. Then add pieces of red onion, walnuts, blue cheese, sliced grilled chicken, crumbled bacon, cherry tomatoes, and pieces of apples.
- Drizzle with balsamic dressing or your choice of dressing and enjoy immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Blair villanueva says
Wow your recipe is making me craving, this is delicious! I dont mind eating chicken meat with veggies on top.
Erica says
third salad recipe i checked today!! really into chicken salad! love the marinade! i’d definitely want to try this one too!!!
LavandaMichelle says
What a wonderful post! This looks delish, I’d love to make this for my Family. Thanks for sharing! 🙂