Chicken Apple Winter Salad (Print Version)

Vibrant salad with tender chicken, crisp apples, pecans, and tangy apple cider dressing, perfect for winter.

# What You'll Need:

→ Salad

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or diced
02 - 2 crisp apples (e.g., Honeycrisp or Gala), cored and sliced
03 - 4 cups mixed salad greens (arugula, spinach, or 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 apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, sea salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until emulsified. Set aside.
02 - In a large bowl, mix salad greens, cooked chicken, sliced apples, celery, pecans, dried cranberries, red onion, and feta if using.
03 - Drizzle the prepared dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat ingredients evenly.
04 - Serve immediately, optionally garnished with additional pecans or feta crumbles.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It comes together in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, no cooking required.
  • The apple cider vinegar dressing has this tangy-sweet thing going on that somehow makes chicken taste better than you remember.
  • Celery and pecans add this satisfying crunch that keeps things interesting with every bite.
02 -
  • Don't dress the salad until you're actually ready to eat—the greens will wilt if they sit in vinegar for more than a few minutes.
  • If your apples are mealy or soft, this salad falls flat; take a second to find ones with actual snap to them.
03 -
  • Use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and save yourself the work of cooking and shredding; no one will ever know the difference and you'll have dinner on the table faster.
  • The dressing actually gets better after sitting for an hour or so—the flavors settle and become rounder, so make it ahead if you can.
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