Sonoma Chicken Salad
Crunchy, sweet, and savoury Sonoma chicken salad recipe to make lips and tummies smile.
This chicken salad has so many complimentary flavours and textures it is a wonderful experience to eat. Whether you have it as a side dish, in a sandwich, or as a lettuce wrap, it is absolutely delightful and a bit addictive.
I first tried Sonoma chicken salad at Whole Foods. Back then they hadn't yet publicized their recipe, but once I tasted this salad I had to figure it out. It took some trial and error, but I devised a version I love just as much as the original. Turns out, with some minor differences, I managed to get pretty close to the Whole Foods recipe. Maybe it's all the work it took to reverse engineer it, but I still prefer my version now over theirs.
I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you do, let me know how yours turned out in the comments below.
TIP: Precooked, leftover chicken, rotisserie, or roasted chicken can be used in this salad.
Ingredients
(Makes 8 servings)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and diced
1, 1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/2 Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
dressing:
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup non-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. Place chicken breasts into a small casserole dish with 1/2 cup of water. Cover with a lid, or foil, and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
In a medium mixing bowl combine the dressing ingredients and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and allow to cool to room temperature before covering and placing in the refrigerator until completely cold.
While the chicken is chilling, prepare the pecans by lightly toasting them in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once toasted, set aside on a plate to cool.
Cut the cold chicken breasts into bitesize cubes and place in a large salad bowl. Add in the celery, grapes, apple, pecans, and dressing. Mix well and serve.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 249 | total fat = 14.5g | saturated fat = 1.56g | cholesterol = 18.25mg | sodium = 494.13mg | net carbohydrates = 20.2g | dietary fibre = 2.56g | sugars = 17.98g | protein = 8.78g
