Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts

I love serving dinner salads to my husband after a hot summer day. They are light and tasty, and easy to make, so you spend less time in a hot kitchen.

This salad boasts tender seared chicken, Roma tomatoes, julienned carrots, sweet peas, and boiled eggs. My husband loves boiled eggs on a salad so they are always a must. Add in a handful of dried cranberries, some English walnuts, cheddar cheese, and homemade sourdough croutons, and you have yourself a very nutritious meal.

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Ingredients for Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Walnuts

(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Prepare the Ingredients

With a sharp knife and cutting board slice the chicken tenders or chicken thighs into 1/2″ pieces.

Tear the Iceberg lettuce into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Shred the cheddar cheese with a box grater.

Using a second cutting board, peel and julienne the carrot. Dice the Roma tomato.

Place frozen petite sweet peas in a microwavable bowl and cook for 3-4 minutes until heated through.

You may use regular sweet peas for this salad, but I really like the petite version and how they “pop” in you mouth. (As a side note, when I was taking pictures of this salad, I actually forgot about the peas in the microwave, so they are missing in half of the shots I took.)

Heat a large skillet with 2- 3 tablespoons olive oil. Place the sliced chicken in the hot oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook for 7-8 minutes until browned, stirring often. Transfer the chicken to a bowl or plate lined with paper towels to catch the excess oil.

Place large eggs in a medium saucepan and cover eggs with cold water. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Remove from heat and cover the pan with a lid. Allow to set for 12-13 minutes.

Drain the water from the eggs and plunge the eggs into cold ice water for 7 -10 minutes to cool.

There is nothing more frustrating then boiling eggs and having the shell stick to the egg. This method of allowing the eggs to set in the hot water for 12-13 minutes, and then plunging them in ice water is the best way I’ve found to cleanly peel hard-boiled eggs. I have about a 98% success rate using this method. 

Peel off the eggshells and place the eggs in a bowl. Slice the eggs with a knife or an egg slicer.

Using a large tray or bowl, layer the following: Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, boiled eggs, sweet peas, julienned carrots, walnuts, and cranberries.

Add chicken and croutons and toss lightly with a favorite vinaigrette or salad dressing. Finish by sprinkling with cheddar cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

I love Wishbone’s Red Wine Vinaigrette or Ott’s French Dressing. My husband, however, is a Ranch Dressing man through and through, and uses it on all of his salads.

Of course, there are many variations you can make to this salad. Use spinach instead of Iceberg Lettuce, or try sunflower kernels instead of English walnuts. Also, if you’ve never tried making your own dressing, I encourage you to try one of these favorites–Thousand Island Dressing, French Dressing, or Homemade Ranch Dressing.

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