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You’re going to love this delicious harvest chicken salad recipe! Tender chicken, crispy bacon, apples, pecans, and dried cranberries tossed with mixed greens and drizzled in a tasty dijon dressing bring you the most refreshing taste of fall.
Fall Harvest Salad with Chicken
We love a freshly made salad, but there’s something extra special about a harvest salad that knows how to satisfy all your fall cravings — and this salad is IT.
Grilled chicken tops off this harvest salad perfectly. Crazy about cheese? Goat cheese and feta cheese will taste great in this salad too. It’s a refreshing, zesty, and hearty salad that you’ll end up craving all year round!
Why You’ll Love this Harvest Salad Recipe:
- Super Simple: This new harvest chicken salad uses simple ingredients and requires little effort. Once the chicken has marinated, everything else can be done in a flash!
- Full of Flavor: The combination of chicken, bacon, apple, celery, pecans, cranberries, and green onions gives this great salad lots of vibrant flavor and texture that tastes amazing with the dressing!
- Make-Ahead Friendly: You can easily make the ingredients for this healthy salad ahead of time for easy assembly the next day!
How to Make Harvest Chicken Salad
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients and place the leftover dressing in the fridge for serving.
- Slice and season the chicken breasts according to the instructions below (in the recipe card). Place into a Ziploc bag and marinate for 2 hours.
- Grill the chicken on medium-high until cooked through. Once cooked, set aside to cool for 5 minutes and slice into strips.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Drain the excess fat as instructed.
- To assemble, divide the greens between bowls. Top with chicken, bacon, apple, celery, pecans, cranberries, and green onions. Drizzle with dressing and serve. Enjoy!
Many restaurants have some version of this fall harvest chicken salad on their menus, but this is our favorite version. Salad greens with apples, celery, cranberries, bacon, and pecans are tossed with a creamy dijon dressing, then topped with grilled chicken breast.
The salad itself is filled with greens, apples, pecans, grilled chicken breast, and other healthy ingredients, so overall it’s quite nutritious! However, the harvest salad dressing is made with mayo, so it does add some fat and calories. Feel free to use low-fat mayo, or swap it out with plain Greek yogurt.
Grilled chicken makes a tasty, healthy, and filling topping on top of this fall harvest salad. But if you prefer, use shredded chicken, crispy chicken tenders, or or chicken breast cooked any way you like.
This creamy dressing is made with a Dijon mustard and mayonnaise base, along with maple syrup and apple cider vinegar to add more of a fall flavor. You can add in cayenne pepper if you like a little heat!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Slice your apples right before serving to ensure they don’t brown too early. You can also blend different apple slices in your salad using various types of green apples and red apples.
- Try marinating your chicken and making the salad dressing ahead of time for a quick and easy assembly. All you’ll have to do is cook the bacon!
Make Ahead Instructions
- Make the harvest salad dressing/marinade up to 2 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
- You can cook the chicken breast ahead of time by prepping and marinating it, grilling it, then storing it in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 2 days.
- You can also let it marinate in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before cooking.
- The salad itself should be assembled when ready to eat.
Storage Instructions
This salad is best made and served fresh. But you can store leftover harvest chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The salad greens, toppings, chicken, and dressing should be stored separately for best results, otherwise the salad will get soggy.
Ingredient Substitutions
- You can substitute agave or honey in place of the maple syrup.
- Chicken thighs can be used in place of the breasts.
- Walnuts or almonds can be used instead of pecans.
- Any type of salad greens can be used, including kale or spinach.
Serving Suggestions
This salad makes a pretty filling lunch on its own, but you can still pair it with a soup or sandwich for more.
There’s nothing else like this beautiful and delicious harvest chicken salad. Whether you need an impressive side dish for a potluck or a healthy, full meal for lunch, this salad’s got your back!
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Harvest Chicken Salad Recipe
You’re going to love this delicious harvest chicken salad recipe! Tender chicken, crispy bacon, apples, pecans, and dried cranberries tossed with mixed greens and drizzled in a tasty dijon dressing bring you the most refreshing taste of fall.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total Time : 2 hours 25 minutes
Marinating Time: 2 hours
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the Dressing/Marinade
Instructions
-
In a medium bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together until combined. Add ⅓ of the mixture to a ziplock bag and place the rest in the fridge for serving.
½ cup dijon mustard, ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup maple syrup, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
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Slice the chicken breasts in half into cutlets. You should have four total. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
2 chicken breasts, salt and pepper
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To the ziplock, add the chicken, seal the top, and toss to coat in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours. If you don’t have the time, let it sit while you prep the salad ingredients!
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Heat your grill, or grill pan, to medium high. Grill the chicken on both sides until cooked through. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, slice it into strips.
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While the chicken is cooking, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain off excess fat.
4 slices bacon
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To assemble, divide the greens between bowls. Top with chicken, bacon, apple, celery, pecans, cranberries, and green onions. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
6 cups mixed greens, 1 apple, 1 cup chopped celery, ¼ cup pecans, ¼ cup dried cranberries, 2 green onions
Notes
- You can substitute agave or honey in place of the maple syrup.
- Chicken thighs can be used in place of the breasts.
Storage: This salad is best made and served fresh. But you can store leftover harvest chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The salad greens, toppings, chicken, and dressing should be stored separately for best results, otherwise the salad will get soggy.
Nutrition Facts
Harvest Chicken Salad Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 654
Calories from Fat 405
% Daily Value*
Fat 45g69%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Trans Fat 0.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 17g
Monounsaturated Fat 18g
Cholesterol 99mg33%
Sodium 837mg36%
Potassium 835mg24%
Carbohydrates 33g11%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 24g27%
Protein 30g60%
Vitamin A 1039IU21%
Vitamin C 21mg25%
Calcium 85mg9%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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