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Enjoy Blueberry Chicken Chopped Salad with Dried Cranberries year round — in summer to celebrate fresh blueberries, in winter to celebrate cranberries and throughout spring and fall when you’re craving a nutritious colorful salad. This recipe works great for lunch or dinner, but I love it best for dinner, or a special lunch that you’re serving to friends or family.
Enjoy on a variety of whole food, real food diets, including: Gluten-free, Paleo, Whole30, AIP, VAD, GAPS and more.
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I make this recipe for my family, and I enjoy bringing it to friends’ houses for potlucks or similar.
Everyone loves blueberries and the fun of having fruits in salad. Plus trustworthy chicken! This recipe gives eaters familiarity and surprises. It’s predictable enough to be comfortable and recognizable, but new enough to be exciting and refreshing. Plus, the ingredients and dressing are delicious together.
As always, my two teenage sons are the biggest salad lovers in our family. They both love this salad, and they’re excited when it’s for dinner!
Serve with some good bread for a complete and satisfying meal.
Ingredients in Blueberry Chicken Chopped Salad with Dried Cranberries
The chicken in this recipe
This salad uses 12 to 15 ounces of cooked chicken. Choose any cut you like.
Sources for cooked chicken include: A whole chicken, thighs or chicken breasts you cooked yourself (including leftovers), a rotisserie chicken or meal prep chicken thighs.
This recipe calls for the equivalent of two large chicken breasts. When I buy raw chicken breasts for a recipe like this one, I always poach them! Here’s how. It’s easy (almost no work), fast and turns out plump moist breasts that aren’t over-cooked.
In the summer, leftover grilled boneless chicken also works well.
Additional ingredients are:
- dried cranberries, fresh blueberries, lettuce, mung bean sprouts, cucumbers, celery, white carrots and fresh mint leaves
(For AIP, sprouts are Stage 1 reintroduction.)
Optional ingredients for those who eat legumes or nuts include chickpeas and pecans.
The vinaigrette salad dressing
A very simple, just slightly sweet dressing is used for this salad. It takes less then five minutes to make.
The ingredients for it are: olive oil, vinegar (see specifics in recipe below), Dijon (omit for AIP), maple syrup or honey and sea salt.
This simple dressing compliments Blueberry Chicken Chopped Salad perfectly.
How to make Blueberry Chicken Chopped Salad
- Make Easy Vinaigrette. (See Notes section below the main recipe.) Set aside.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the fresh blueberries, 1 Tablespoon of the cranberries and half of the fresh mint. You’ll use these at the end to garnish the top of the salad.
- Place all other salad ingredients in large salad bowl. Add vinaigrette. Toss to coat well.
- Serve salads, garnishing each with reserved blueberries, dried cranberries and fresh mint.
Blueberry Chicken Chopped Salad with Dried Cranberries
Equipment
- large salad bowl
Ingredients
- 12 to 15 ounces chicken cooked, any cut, but it's the equivalent of 2 large chicken breasts. See above in the main post for several cooking suggestions if you don't have leftover chicken you're using.
- 1-¼ cups blueberries fresh
- ½ cup dried cranberries (<-- like these, without sugar)
- 1 large head lettuce romaine (with outermost leaves removed), or 2 heads of butter lettuce (fine to use organic iceberg for VAD)
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts roughly chopped into 3 sections each (omit for AIP)
- 1 cucumber peeled, sliced and cut into quarters
- 1 big stalk celery sliced lengthwise, and then chopped
- 1 white carrot sliced in half lengthwise, and then chopped thinly (or another color if preferred)
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves chopped small, or use small leaves
Instructions
- Make Easy Vinaigrette. (See Notes section below the main recipe.) Set aside.
- Reserve ½ cup of the fresh blueberries, 1 Tablespoon of the cranberries and half of the fresh mint. You'll use these at the end to garnish the top of the salad.
- Place all other salad ingredients in large salad bowl. Add vinaigrette. Toss to coat well.
- Serve salads, garnishing each with reserved blueberries, dried cranberries and fresh mint.
Notes
Easy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (Use regular olive oil for VAD.)
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar: Choose from apple cider, rice, Champagne and white balsamic
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (omit for AIP)
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or honey (Omit or replace with 1 softened, minced date for Whole30)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Use a whisk to combine well.
- Set aside.
Nutrition
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