Honey Mustard Chicken Salad

I found this great recipe for a Honey Mustard Chicken (and plenty of yummy extras) Salad by Cafe Delites (thanks Pinterest!).  I altered the recipe and made it a bit differently, but it tasted delicious and I’m so glad I tried it.

The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts and I highly recommend you use these.  I don’t know why, but prices for chicken have been quite high for the past while. I bought a family pack of chicken legs that were on special.  This still works of course, but I had to shred the chicken off the bones and it caused the cooking time to be a tad longer.

If you’re in a rush, you can always buy a pre-roasted chicken from the store and just add that meat if you wish.  As for the salad leaves, I used a Spring Mix because I like the assortment but you can use whatever you wish- Romaine, Iceberg, etc.

No matter which changes you make, I really enjoyed the fact that the dressing also acted as the marinade for the chicken.  There is no need for mayonnaise or fatty ingredients- it’s fresh and delicious.

Honey Mustard Chicken Salad with Avocado & Bacon

Ingredients

Dressing / Marinade:

⅓ cup honey
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons smooth and mild Dijon mustard (I used one with a bit of added heat)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 Chicken Legs (skinless and boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts would be better, cooking directions will change)

Salad:

¼ cup diced bacon
4 cups Spring Salad Mix, washed
2 cups sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
1-2 large avocado, pitted and sliced
1 can of corn kernels, drained
1-2 cucumber, washed, chopped

Instructions

Whisk marinade / dressing ingredients together to combine. If you have the time, pour half the marinade into a shallow dish to marinade the chicken for two hours and refrigerate the leftover marinade to use as a dressing.

Chop the bacon and add to a pan over medium heat.  Cook until crispy and set to the side.  For a healthier option, drain the bacon grease, wipe the pan and add a bit of olive oil.  If, however, you’re like me and you enjoy the extra flavor bacon grease adds, leave it in the pan and add the chicken.

If you didn’t have time to marinade the chicken legs, add half of the dressing on top of the chicken now.  Cook over medium-low for 20-25 minutes, turning the chicken over every 10 minutes.  *Chicken thighs/breasts will have different cooking times depending on thickness*

When it is fully cooked, shred the chicken off of the bones and and prepare the salad with leaves, tomatoes, avocado slices, corn, cucumber and chicken.

Since I used the bacon grease, I had quite a nice tasting marinade in the pan the chicken was cooked in.  I added it back to the dressing we had put to the side earlier.  Whisk it together and drizzle over your salad.  If you left the bacon grease out of the pan, whisk 2 tablespoons of water into the remaining dressing instead. Sprinkle the bacon over the top.  For a bit of extra seasoning, add a bit of salt and cracked pepper.

Thanks again to Cafe Delites for the recipe inspirations!  As always, you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see what recipes I try next!

Related:

https://www.athomewithjoanna.com/2014/06/20/triple-bean-salad-recipe/