Turn your salad into a main course with this flavorful Balsamic Chicken Salad from The Healthy Maven. Between the fresh figs, crunchy candied pecans and creamy goat cheese, the thought of having salad for dinner will never be so blah again.
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Balsamic Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the pecans
- 2 cups raw Pecans halves
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted (or canola/grapeseed oil)
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
For the chicken
- 8 ounces Chicken Breast, boneless & skinless
- ¼ cup Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced
For the salad
- 5 cups Baby Spinach
- 3 fresh Figs, sliced
- 2 Portobello Mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ounces Soft Goat Cheese, crumbled
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Honey
Directions
For the pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine pecans coconut oil, brown sugar and sea salt, mix well, and spread over baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, watching closely to make sure they don’t burn. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, set aside 1/4 cup for salad and store the remaining pecans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks.
For the chicken
Combine all ingredients and marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400F.
Lay chopped portobello along the bottom of a baking pan. Place chicken on top of portobellos and pour remaining marinade over portobellos. Bake for 10 mins.
Remove from oven, flip chicken and bake for another 10 mins. Slice chicken.
For the dressing
Whisk all ingredients until well combined.
For the salad
In a large bowl combine spinach, goat cheese, 1/4 cup of prepared pecans, portobellos and sliced chicken. Toss well with dressing and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Serves: 2 | Serving Size: 1/2 of salad made with 1/4 cup prepared pecans
Per serving: Calories: 632; Total Fat: 42g; Saturated Fat: 11g; Monounsaturated Fat: 23g; Cholesterol: 88mg; Sodium: 462mg; Carbohydrate: 28g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 18g; Protein: 38g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 1412mg; Vitamin A: 9%; Vitamin C: 11%; Iron: 22%; Calcium: 9%
Davida is a healthy living blogger behind The Healthy Maven, where she writes about healthy food, fitness and her insatiable sweet tooth. She aims to create delicious recipes that are healthy, gluten-free and filled with good-for-you ingredients but still taste as authentic as the originals. It’s not rare that she’ll throw spinach in her brownies! Check out more of her recipes on her blog and follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Photo courtesy of Davida Kuglemass.
Original recipe can be found on The Healthy Maven.
