Chicken Apple Salad Recipe | The Gracious Pantry | Clean Eating Recipes (2024)

This chicken apple salad recipe is a wonderful salad to take for lunch!

There are few things I enjoy more than a fabulous salad. And it’s been my experience that the simpler you keep things, the better the salad tastes. This clean eating chicken apple salad recipe is a good case in point.

Maybe that’s just me. I’m not much of an “exotic ingredient” kinda girl. I like to have a good and basic understanding of what I’m eating. If I’ve never heard of something (even if it falls into the clean category), I’m far less likely to try it. I know this is not very adventuresome of me and I’m sure there is a whole world of fabulous food out there that I’m missing.

Thankfully, this salad falls into the “simple foods I know” category, and it’s nothing short of amazing. I absolutely adore this salad and eat it every chance I get.

Health Benefits Of Apples

Apples are a wonderful fruit to add to just about any salad. They have many health benefits, and as the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away! I don’t believe that to be literal, but I believe it in the general spirit of the saying. More fruits and veggies equal better health! Here are just a few of the health benefits of apples:

• Apples help with neurological disorders such as dementia.
• They’ve been shown to help reduce the risk of strokes.
• They are packed with vitamin C, B complex vitamins, and fiber.

(source)

Is Eating A Salad Every Day Healthy?

Guess what? We’re SUPPOSED to eat fruits and veggies every single day! So while it may not be mandatory in any way to eat them in the form of a salad, salads sure do make it a heck of a lot easier to get all those fruits and veggies in at every meal. A salad every day is a great idea!

Are Chicken Salads Healthy?

As with most things, a healthy recipe is dependent on the ingredients you put in it. If you put healthy ingredients in a salad, then that salad is a healthy one! A simple recipe like this is quite healthy.

Can You Add Apples To Chicken Salad?

Yes and no. It depends on what else you add to a chicken salad. In this instance, it’s obviously a good choice. Good apples to try are granny smith apples, gala apples, or even pink lady apples.

Chicken Apple Salad Recipe Variations

Apples– You can substitute these with berries, peaches, nectarines, oranges, or even mango.

Chicken– You can use pork or steak as well if you prefer that. Even salmon would work well here.

Walnuts– You can opt for pecans or almonds as well. Either will work well here.

Other Additions:

• Celery
• Green onions
• Lemon juice
• Avocado
• Cheese – Cheddar is a good choice.
• Tomatoes
• Red grapes
• Dried cranberries

You can also put this salad in a wrap to make a hand-held lunch. You could also put this between two pieces of bread to make a chicken salad sandwich.

About The Ingredients

Boneless, skinless chicken breast– baked with whatever herbs you like best. Even just salt and pepper will work well here.

Lettuce– Spring mix is a great choice here. But you can also use romaine, green leaf, or red leaf lettuce. Even iceberg lettuce is fine if you don’t mind the reduction of nutrition.

Apple– You can pick your favorite type of apple. I find that the sweeter they are, the better the salad tastes. But use your favorite.

Red onion– While other types of onions can work here, red (or purple) onions are the best option because they are the sweetest. Any sweet onion will work though.

Walnuts– I find raw walnuts to work the best for this salad. But if you greatly prefer them roasted, you can use those too. Even soaked walnut will work here.

Vinaigrette– You can pick your favorite vinaigrette. I have several recipes you canclick here for if you need one. The one I used here is linked below.

You can also make a creamy dressing using ingredients such as plain yogurt or plain greek yogurt (or mayo if you prefer), apple cider vinegar, and honey.

How To Make Chicken Apple Salad

Dice or shred your cooked chicken breast. Chop your apples, onions, and walnuts.

Toss all ingredients in a large salad bowl together with your favorite vinaigrette.

How To Store This Chicken Apple Salad

It’s best to store this salad without the dressing. However, with or without dressing, keep this in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freezing is adamantly discouraged.

RECIPES USED HERE:

• Vinaigrette

Recipe Supplies

For this recipe, you’ll need a good cutting board and knife. To purchase one of the items below, simply click on the image to be taken to the Amazon website. (Affiliate links)

More Healthy Salad Recipes

• Spinach Salad with Pesto Dressing
• Garden Salad
• Taco Salad

Chicken Apple Salad Recipe Card

This recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 1/23/10.