Pecan Chicken Salad with Apples, Goat Cheese & Balsamic Vinaigrette (2024)

~ If I had to pick the #1 salad my family makes ALLLLL the time on constant repeat, it would have to be this Pecan Chicken Salad with apples, cranberries and goat cheese. Mmmm … and the real magic is in the quick Maple-Balsamic Dressing. It’s all a breeze to throw together and is completely adaptable … and CRAAAAZY delicious, every single time! ~

This Recipe Is:• Ready in 30 Minutes or Less • Includes Make-Ahead Steps •

My family has given our hearts to lots of salads through the years, but this one truly is the go-to, gold standard that we make over and over and over again.

Especially when my daughter Amy is home from college.

She’s crowned this as absolutely her all-time most favorite salad ever.

So you’d better believe I have it on the meal plan to make my girl happy, whenever she manages to make time to come home for a visit! (Miss you, baby girl!!!)

This Chicken Pecan Apple Salad recipe evolved out of our {also beloved} “Thanksgiving Salad” – that’s the salad with goat cheese, pears and candied pecans we first shared with you back in 2014, almost 10 years ago. We were so hooked on that one, that I started looking for ways to turn it into more of a main course salad … and this recipe is the deliciously addictive result!

(Can a salad actually be addictive, you may ask. I’m here to say YES … yes it can! And Amy will back me up. 😉 )

Why This Chicken Pecan Salad Is THAT Good!

Let’s look at what we’ve got going on here:

• Tender slices of juicy chicken
• Crunchy pecans (you can toast ’em or candy them, if you want!)
• Juicy, crisp apples
• Sweet-tart dried cranberries
• Crumbles of creamy, tangy goat cheese
• And the most wonderful Maple-Balsamic Dressing to bring it all together!

It’s got such a fabulous range of flavors and textures, all perfectly working together to equal so, so very much more than each individual ingredient.

And it’s ultra-fast, ultra-quick and easy, ultra-adaptable! Here’s what I mean about adaptable …

Tips for Adapting Your Pecan Apple Chicken Salad

You do need to measure ingredients to get the right flavor balance in the dressing. But as far as the rest of the main salad ingredients go, you honestly don’t have to measure at all. I never do. Just eyeball it and toss in what you’d like.

EASY!

There are so many ways you can riff on this and customize it, depending on what you happen to have on hand.

• Chicken Options (Lots of Ways … or Even NOT Chicken)

You can use warm or chilled chicken for this – either is totally great.

In the summer we’ll typically grill up some boneless, skinlesschicken breasts. But, I also often use the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken I grab at the grocery store for an extra-fast dinner option.

Truly, however you’d like to cook your chicken will work beautifully. Grilled, roasted, baked, poached, pan-seared … or store-bought!

And, this is a perfect way to use up leftover chicken from other meals. Be sure, though, that it’s only very simply seasoned – maybe with a bit of salt and pepper, at most. Avoid any strong flavors or marinades that would conflict with the other flavors in the salad.

You don’t even have to use chicken at all!

Try leftover Thanksgiving turkey, salmon, grilled flank steak … or even go vegetarian and leave the meat off altogether. No wrong choices here!

• Apple Options

We like to use juicy, firm, sweet-tart apples like Honeycrisp. Grab whichever apple you like best … just make sure it’s a really terrific apple, since “meh” apples will equal a “meh” salad.

Alternately, you can sub pears for the apples when they’re in season. (Remember, we use pears in our original “inspiration” salad, and they’re great here, too – but only when they’re at their peak).

• Pecan Options

You can use plain ol’ pecans, toasted pecans, candied pecans (again, like in our “inspiration” salad). I never take the extra time to toast mine, tbh. But when we’re feeling extra-fun (like when Amy rolls home from college!) I do sometimes upgrade to candied pecans.

Your choice!

And, while I know I’m calling this a Pecan Chicken Salad, you don’t absolutely have to go with pecans.

This would be great with walnuts, too. Or try slivered almonds if that’s all you happen to have on hand.

• Cranberry Options

Amy LOVES dried cranberries, and I often have a giant, Costco-sized bag in the pantry when she’s home. So, that’s an easy pantry staple for me to toss in here.

But instead of dried cranberries, you can get a little fancy and use dried cherries instead (yet again … like we do in our “inspiration” holiday salad).

• The {Ahhhh-Mazing Maple-Balsamic Dressing}

This is the one thing I’m gonna tell you NOT to mess with. Don’t be tempted to sub in a bottled dressing from the store. Disappointment awaits you along that path.

Trust me – the vinaigrette dressing is too good to miss.

It’s what really sets this salad apart from the pack.

The proportions in my recipe card will probably make more vinaigrette than you’ll actually need for the amount of salad. Maybe almost twice as much.

But it’s good to have a little extra, if someone in your family is a dressing hog and pours with a heavy hand. And you’ll be happy to have some vinaigrette left over, for some other lucky salad later in the week.

• And What About Other “Extras”?

Sure, I can envision that you might wanna toss in some thinly sliced red onion or flecks of green onion, or maybe some crunchy celery.

And I can imagine you adding in a few red grapes – maybe even green grapes – if you’ve got some in the fridge. (Works beautifully in our creamy Healthy Chicken Salad with Yogurt Dressing, so why not?)

This recipe is written for the way we always make it. Use it as a springboard for how you make it. And don’t stress over the details.

Here’s all you have to do to throw the recipe together (in seriously only a few moments!) …

How to Make This Chicken Pecan Salad

Ingredient Prep

There isn’t much prep to be done – just slicing your juicy chicken (remember a purchased rotisserie chicken or leftover pre-cooked chicken works fine), then chopping up some apple and whisking together the dressing.

I personally like to chop the apples into cubes, but thinly slice the chicken. You can definitely go with sliced apples instead of cubed, though … or cubed chicken instead of sliced. Whatever you prefer.

Step #1

Heap your salad greens in a large serving bowl, or separate them onto individual plates.

Layer some of your chopped apples, pecans, dried cranberries and goat cheese throughout your bed of lettuce, as you build the salad. (That way, you’ll have bits of those yummy “toppings” all throughout your creation … instead of only on the top layer.)

Then, sprinkle the remaining apples, pecans, cranberries and cheese over the top of the salad and arrange your chicken.

Since I typically do sliced chicken, I like to fan it attractively on top. But, if you opt to chop your chicken in chunks, you can layer it throughout the salad with all the rest of the “toppings.”

Easy so far, right?!? You’re practically already done!

Step #2

For the dressing, whisk together some balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, smooth Dijon mustard and salt.

Make sure that all the salt is dissolved, and not collected at the bottom of your bowl.

Make the Dressing Ahead

If you’re short on time, fear not!

You can make your vinaigrette ahead of time, since it keeps beautifully in the fridge for several days.

Besides our holiday Salad with Goat Cheese and Pears, we also use this same Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette in our Adorable Thanksgiving Salad with Butternut Squash Turkey and (with a couple tiny tweaks) in our Superfoods Brussels Sprout Salad.

You’ll find plenty of opportunities to use it!

Just give the dressing a quick re-whisk, as needed, before serving.

Step #3

Serve it up … yum yum yum! (Does this even count as a step?!?)

I recommend that you wait to add the dressing to your salad until right before serving, or that you pass it ’round the dinner table so everyone can dress their own.

The Very Best Dinner Salad in the Entire World???

(Amy thinks so!)

Sure, we have lots of salads here on our website. And we truly love every single one of them (otherwise, we wouldn’t bother to share them!).

But this one. THIS ONE.

When I need to throw a big, main course dinner salad together, without really even thinking about it. And when I need a quick, flexible, nourishing meal that I know (from years of experience), everyone will be absolutely thrilled with …

This is that one.

You’ll love that it’s so quick and easy. And so flexible.

You’ll love that it’s a meal in itself, all together in one bowl, with no other side dishes needed.

And you’ll love that it’s just so, so good.

Amy’s all-time favorite salad in the entire world. There’s no higher praise I can give it than that!

~ by Shelley