This tasty walnut rooster salad combines crisp greens with candy cherries, crunchy nuts, and creamy gorgonzola cheese, tossed with juicy rooster items in a light-weight and tangy French dressing.
I really like recipes like this walnut and cherry rooster salad or my mango rooster salad as simple meals. They’re additionally nice paired with soup or a sandwich for a bistro-style lunch or dinner!
Inspiration for this salad got here years in the past when a relative introduced over a basic creamy rooster salad studded with cherries and walnuts. Quick ahead, and I’m perpetually obsessive about my inexperienced, leafy model of a cherry and walnut rooster salad. It’s fast and straightforward to make like several good salad needs to be. The juicy rooster chunks make it good to tuck into as a light-weight lunch or hearty aspect dish. In case you have leftover rooster in your fridge, it’s an indication. Make this salad ASAP!
Why I Love This Walnut Hen Salad Recipe
The flavors are scrumptious. I really like the distinction of crunchy walnuts and candy dried cherries with sharp blue cheese and a contemporary French dressing. It’s so satisfying.
It’s prepared in minutes. If you have already got your rooster cooked and prepared, the salad comes collectively in 10 minutes or much less. It’s simple to meal prep, too, and take to-go throughout the week.
It’s tremendous versatile. For lunch, dinner, or a aspect dish, this rooster salad does all of it. Any season, on a regular basis! It’s even nice rolled up inside lavash bread as a rooster salad wrap.
Substances You’ll Want
The fantastic thing about this salad is that the substances maintain it easy, however there’s a great deal of taste to go round. Try some notes right here, and scroll right down to the recipe card for a printable record of substances and recipe instructions.
- Hen – I like to make use of cooked boneless skinless rooster breast because it’s simple to cube up. I’ll typically make this salad every time I’ve leftover baked rooster breast or a complete roast rooster to get by way of.
- Greens – Select any mixture of your favourite salad leaves. I like a mix of child lettuce and spinach, or I’ll decide up a bag of spring combine from the shop.
- Gorgonzola Cheese – Agency, crumbly gorgonzola is a form of blue cheese from Italy. I like it paired with walnuts in recipes like this rooster salad and my orzo salad. When you aren’t a fan, crumbled feta or goat cheese makes a superb substitute.
- Cherries – Dried cherries style nice any time of the yr. When contemporary cherries are in season, I’ll take away the pits and chop them up to make use of as a substitute.
- Walnuts – This recipe makes use of chopped uncooked walnuts. Pecans are one other good possibility.
- Dressing – I embody tips on how to make a simple Dijon French dressing, however you may costume your walnut rooster salad with any salad dressing you want.
Make a Walnut Hen Salad
My cherry rooster salad with walnuts comes collectively identical to another salad. First, organize the greens in a bowl. Then, it’s a matter of nestling the rooster over prime and including the remainder of the toppings. On this case, crumbled gorgonzola, dried cherries, and walnuts for crunch. Whisk collectively the dressing, drizzle it over the salad, and toss! It’s as simple as that.
The Greatest Hen Salad Dressing
The sunshine Dijon French dressing that I take advantage of for this walnut rooster salad is considered one of my all-time favorites. It’s ridiculously easy. To make it, mix oil and vinegar with Dijon, salt, and pepper and provides it a superb whisk or a shake in a tight-lidded jar to emulsify.
Be at liberty to regulate the substances to style. The recipe is definitely impressed by the dressing used within the well-known La Scala chopped salad. When you’d like, go forward and embody freshly grated parmesan like the unique!
Extra Add-In Concepts
A walnut rooster salad is a good one to customise relying on which substances are in season. As at all times, I’d love to listen to your concepts! Within the meantime, listed here are a few of mine:
- Spring and Summer time: Recent cherries and contemporary berries, like strawberries or blackberries, make a pleasant add-on to this salad after they’re in season. In grilling climate, it’s scrumptious with grilled rooster, or I’ll swap rooster for steak for a model of a steak salad.
- Fall: Sliced apples, pears, and toasted pumpkin seeds or pecans are a tasty option to transition this salad recipe into the autumn. I additionally like so as to add roasted butternut squash.
- Winter: Strive add-ins like cabbage, kale, or different winter greens, like Brussels sprouts. Dried cranberries additionally work nice rather than cherries.
Serving Options
This rooster walnut salad is a good gentle lunch. I wish to pair it with a comfortable bowl of soup, like this cream of zucchini soup, or a grilled cheese sandwich. If I’m planning a date night time dinner at dwelling, this salad makes a reasonably starter main into tacky crock pot French onion soup and our favourite chardonnay, with chocolate mousse for dessert.
Yr-round, I’ll serve this salad as a fancy-without-even-trying aspect dish. It goes with pasta once we entertain, or I’ll take it alongside to our neighborhood picnics and potlucks!
Can I Meal Prep This Salad?
Completely. Again in my big-city-office days, I used to make a to-go model of this walnut and cherry rooster salad the night time earlier than to take to work within the morning. It makes an important mason jar salad, or you may retailer it in an hermetic container.
To prep this salad upfront, begin by including just a few spoonfuls of dressing to the container. Then, layer the remainder of the salad on this order: walnuts, cherries, rooster, and blue cheese, ending with the salad greens—don’t toss it or combine it collectively. Seal the container, maintain the salad within the fridge, and shake it earlier than serving.
Storing Leftovers
Sadly, as soon as dressed, this rooster salad received’t keep contemporary for lengthy because the leaves are inclined to wilt and turn into soggy after a day or two within the fridge. If you’ll have leftovers, do your finest to retailer the salad with out the dressing (see my meal prep ideas above). Take pleasure in!
Extra Hen Salad Recipes
Pin this now to search out it later
-
Assemble the salad. Place combined greens and spinach in a big salad bowl. Prime with rooster, cheese, cherries, and walnuts.
-
Make the dressing. Mix oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk till properly included. Style and alter for vinegar, salt, and pepper.
-
Mix. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to mix.
- Hen choices. Use this simple baked rooster breasts recipe to prepare dinner your rooster. When you’d like to make use of thighs, seize this recipe for stovetop rooster thighs.
- Fruit choices. If contemporary cherries are in season, you need to use these for those who like. However for those who can’t get any kind of cherries, use dried cranberries or contemporary berries.
Energy: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 22g | Fats: 32g | Saturated Fats: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 11g | Monounsaturated Fats: 12g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 658mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 5738IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might differ based on the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
