Honey Mustard Chicken Salad with Bacon will have you saying, "Holy Yum".
Perfectly seared or grilled chicken breasts with a sweet and tangy honey mustard dressing, bacon, avocado, red onion, and fresh tomato.
The greatest part? You can switch up the salad components however you like to make this salad your own.
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Honey Mustard Chicken Salad Ingredients:
Chicken. Honey Mustard. It's a combo that's frequently paired together for a reason.
There are probably 100,000 people eating it right now as we speak. I made that statistic up, but hey, it's probably true.
For the Honey Mustard Dressing:
- Honey
- Whole grain mustard gives the dressing some texture and beautiful color
- Dijon mustard
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Minced garlic (or shallot)
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the Salad:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Bacon, or turkey bacon
- Romaine lettuce
- Roma tomatoes
- Avocados
- Red onion
- Butter or cooking oil
Do I have to marinate the chicken?
No.
I've been there. You forgot to marinate your chicken and you only have an hour to get dinner on the table.
In this recipe, marinating doesn't make that much of a difference. This is because you marinate the chicken in the same dressing as you top your salad - either way, you're eating the dressing. Marinating does make the chicken brown up nicely, but it doesn't add any new flavors. Feel free to skip it, and grill or sear away!
Honey Mustard Chicken Salad Add-in's:
You can add many different fruits or vegetables into this versatile salad, depending on what you're craving.
- Don't like tomatoes? Try switching them out for any of the following: strawberries, chopped apples, or halved grapes.
- Want more veggies? Try adding cucumber, chopped raw broccoli, or red bell pepper.
- Slivered almonds, hard boiled eggs, or shrimp instead of chicken.
- My Gluten Free Croutons - Perfect for salads, soups, and stuffing! would also make a really great addition to this recipe.
Recipe Notes:
- Make and store the Honey Mustard Dressing in a glass jar. Keep refrigerated. Tip: Sometimes olive oil will harden in the fridge after a few days. Simply leave the dressing out at room temp for 30-45 minutes before eating to let it warm up to room temp.
- If you choose to sear your chicken inside (not grilling), then finish cooking in the oven at 350 F until cooked through all the way. I like to use a grill pan or cast iron skillet.
- Cook bacon the day before or the morning before to make assembling the salads easy. Tip: Be sure to drain the bacon before refrigerating so excess grease does not harden onto it.
- For meal prep; assemble salads in containers but leave out the avocado. Fill small sauce containers with your dressing. Bring the avocado with you in your pack and slice fresh across the salad, or leave it out.
- Don't skimp on the Whole Grain Mustard. Your dressing will not nearly be as pretty.
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Honey Mustard Chicken Salad with Bacon
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Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise (to make 8 halves)
- 12 oz. pack of bacon cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce washed and shredded
- 4 Roma tomatoes quartered or diced, (or cherry tomatoes)
- 3 avocados
- 1 red onion sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp. butter or cooking oil
For the Honey Mustard Dressing:
- ⅔ cup honey
- 6 tbsp. whole grain mustard
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsps. minced garlic or shallots
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Honey Mustard Dressing:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined, then pour into a glass jar to store. Tip: Shaking in a glass jar to combine doesn't work best because the honey will sit on the bottom.
For the Salad:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the bacon (or fry it in a pan after step 3).
- Rinse, trim, and halve chicken breasts down the center lengthwise. You should have 8 chicken breast halves of even thicknesses. Optional: Marinate in 2 tbsp. of Honey Mustard Dressing, or skip and continue to next step.
- Heat 1 tbsp. of butter over medium heat in an oven-safe nonstick pan. I use a grill pan or cast iron skillet. Sear chicken on both sides until browned, then finish cooking in the oven. Do not overcrowd the pan.
- Meanwhile, wash and chop veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, red onion).
- Once chicken and bacon are cooked; drain the bacon & use a pair of clean kitchen scissors to cut it into strips. Slice chicken once cooled.
- To assemble the salads: Lay a bed of shredded lettuce on a large plate. Place the following in piles; chopped chicken, bacon, quartered tomatoes, sliced avocado, and sliced red onion. Drizzle Honey Mustard Dressing over top and serve.
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