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Ultimate chicken salad recipe

Ultimate chicken salad recipe

10 ratings

Recipe developer Saskia Sidey says: "Lightly pickling the shallots for the base of the dressing makes the sharpness less intense. The chicken has a crazy umami hit: a crumbled vegetable stock cube is a quick hack to take seasoning to the next level." See method

  • Serves 6
  • 20 mins to prepare and 10 mins to cook
  • 302 calories / serving
  • Healthy

Ingredients

  • 1½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
  • 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 1 large echalion shallot, thinly sliced into rounds
  • 4 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • 80g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped, plus 5 tbsp oil from the jar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • ½ cucumber, cut into half-moons
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 170g pack classic crispy salad leaves
  • 20g fresh basil, leaves picked
  • 20g Parmesan, shaved
1 of your 5-a-day and high in protein

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1255kj
    302kcal     15%

  • Fat

    21g 30%

  • Saturates

    4g 21%

  • Sugars

    4g 4%

  • Salt

    1.4g 23%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 4.5g Protein 21.9g Fibre 4g

Method

Saskia Pride headshot

  1. Mix the paprika, crumbled stock and thyme in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken, then cover and set aside for at least 10 mins, or overnight in the fridge.
  2. Put the shallots in a bowl with the vinegar, season with salt and scrunch well with your hands to mix. Set aside to lightly pickle.
  3. Heat 1 tbsp sundried tomato oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 3-4 mins until golden, then fl ip and cook for a further 3-4 mins until cooked through. Set aside to rest. Splash 2 tbsp water into the pan, scraping up all the bits; reserve the liquid. Thinly slice the chicken.
  4. Pour the vinegar and pickled shallots into a large bowl (or a container if making for a picnic). Add 4 tbsp sundried tomato oil with the mustard and reserved chicken pan juices; stir well to combine and season with pepper.
  5. Layer up the salad starting with the avocado, sundried tomatoes, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, followed by the chicken, lettuce, basil leaves and Parmesan on top. Toss everything together when ready to serve.

See more Salad recipes

For top tips on protecting you and your family when preparing raw meat and poultry, visit Food Safety in the Home.

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