Shredded chicken, dried cranberries, and pecans come together to create the perfect, simple to make, chicken salad perfect for lunch!
Hey, y'all! This summer I've been sharing with you my meal-prep lunches. Although I have all the time in the world to make my lunch now (helllloooooo teacher life!) once school starts back up, I'm going to need this quick and easy meal prep lunches to keep me going throughout the day. Recipes like Low Carb Chicken Burrito Bowls, Thai Peanut Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Broccoli Slaw and this chicken salad recipe are sure to do the trick!
I love a good chicken salad. Chicken salad is fast and easy to make, requires very little prep, and stores well in the refrigerator for lunches throughout the week. It is also one of those recipes that you can tailor to fit your taste. Chicken salad doesn't have to be boring, I like to add fruits like apples, grapes and dried cranberries to mine to add a little freshness to the dish. I also like to stir in pecans. To keep things lighter, I substitute Greek yogurt for the traditional mayo.
I like to eat chicken salad on top of a bed of spinach but you can also have it with crackers, rolled up into a wrap or served on sandwich bread. Whatever you decide to do with your chicken salad, I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with the outcome.
I'm sure you're wondering...how in the world can I make this in just 10 minutes? My favorite short cut is using a rotisserie chicken. They are readily available at my local deli and it is much easier to pick one up than to prepare the chicken on your own. Since I do my grocery shopping and meal prep on Sundays, I just pick one up while I'm at the store and use it to make my lunch for the week. You could also used canned chicken as a short cut for this recipe.
If you don't feel like running out to the deli, you could always shred your own chicken. I love using my Instant Pot to do this. I can make up a batch in less than 20 minutes using my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Recipe. I always make a large batch so I can have some handy in the freezer.
Kitchen Essentials:
Instant Pot (optional)
Ingredients:
3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries 1/2 cup pecans, chopped 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine cooked chicken, dried cranberries, pecans and greek yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
2. Serve on a bed of lettuce or spinach, with crackers or on a tortilla or sandwich bread.
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Updated: 2/23/2019