Grilled Chicken Salad with Candied Pecans and Citrus Dressing
Healthy grilled chicken salad topped with spiced, candied pecans, dried cranberries, blue cheese, and citrus dressing.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken breast halves
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- ¼ cup Dried cranberries
- ¼ cup Blue cheese
- ⅓ cup Spiced, candied pecans
- 8 cups Spring mix or Baby spinach
- ¼ cup Citrus dressing
Spiced, Candied Pecans
- 8 oz Pecan halves
- ½ cup Dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1½ Tbsp Water
Citrus Dressing
- ½ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Orange juice
- ½ Lemon or 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken breasts. Place them on a preheated 425–450°F grill and cook for 20 minutes, flipping them over once halfway through. Remove from heat and rest the chicken breasts for 5 minutes. Slice them into bite-sized pieces.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the spiced, candied pecans. Toast the pecans on a pan for 2 minutes. Then, add the rest of the Spiced, Candied Pecan ingredients to the pan and gently stir to coat the pecans with the spiced sugar mixture. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until all the water has evaporated and the pecans are coated. Pour the pecans onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and separate each piece. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Make the citrus dressing by mixing all the citrus dressing ingredients.
- Once all the toppings and dressing are ready, put 4 cups of spring mix or baby spinach in a salad bowl or a plate. Top the salad with 1 cup chicken, ⅓ cup candied pecans, ¼ cup dried cranberries, and ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles. Pour ¼ cup of dressing over the salad.
Notes
- On my grill, 425–450°F corresponds to medium heat.
- Chicken can alternatively be cooked on a stove.