This salad reminds me of autumn and the crisp fall leaves. However, all of these ingredients are available year-round. Making this Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad one of my go-to salads when counting macros because it is really easy to adjust to fit your personal goals.
Ingredients Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad with Chicken:
- 8 oz Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Cucumber sliced thin, (about 50 grams)
- ½ Apple sliced thin, (about 60 grams)
- 6 cups Super Greens any lettuce mix you like is fine (about 110 grams)
- 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup Walnuts (about 40 grams)
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries (about 30 grams)
- 1 tbsp Goat Cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large stovetop pan to medium heat, while the pan is heating season the chicken breast on both sides, using black pepper and garlic powder. Once the pan is hot, add the extra virgin olive oil to the pan.
- Place the chicken immediately in the pan, leave it there on medium heat for 2 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Both sides should start to become golden brown, but the center will still look uncooked, if not golden, give each side another minute, your pan wasn’t hot enough. Then turn the heat to low and cover the chicken with a lid. Let it cook for about 8 minutes, then flip and cover again for an additional 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes on each side covered, the chicken should be done. But this does depend on the size of the chicken breast these times are based on an 8 oz breast. My rule of thumb is, once covered, cook the chicken for 1 minute per ounce per side. I find that this delivers a perfect juicy chicken breast every time.It is always best to check the internal temperature of the chicken before serving.
- While the chicken is cooking slice your cucumber and apple.
- I like to toss my greens in my dressing before assembling my salads, this allows the dressing to be evenly distributed throughout the salad and allows you to use less dressing. Place your greens in a large bowl, pour your dressing over top, and toss until your greens are evenly dressed. Then sperate your greens into serving bowls.
- Top your greens with the sliced cucumber, apple, walnuts, and cranberries.
- Using a fork, scrap your goat cheese over top of your salad to allow crumbles to fall into your salad. This is easiest when your goat cheese is cold, pulled straight from the fridge, and not at room temperature.
- Once your chicken is done, remove it from the pan, and slice it into thin slices, add the slices to your salads. Enjoy!
Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breast
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Cucumber sliced thin, (about 50 grams)
- ½ Apple sliced thin, (about 60 grams)
- 6 cups Super Greens any lettuce mix you like is fine (about 110 grams)
- 4 tbsp Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup Walnuts (about 40 grams)
- ¼ cup Dried Cranberries (about 30 grams)
- 1 tbsp Goat Cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large stovetop pan to medium heat, while the pan is heating season the chicken breast on both sides, using black pepper and garlic powder. Once the pan is hot, add the extra virgin olive oil to the pan.
- Place the chicken immediately in the pan, leave it there on medium heat for 2 minutes, then flip to the other side and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Both sides should start to become golden brown, but the center will still look uncooked, if not golden, give each side another minute, your pan wasn’t hot enough. Then turn the heat to low and cover the chicken with a lid. Let it cook for about 8 minutes, then flip and cover again for additional 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes on each side covered, the chicken should be done. But this does depend on the size of the chicken breast these times are based on an 8 oz breast. My rule of thumb is, once covered, cook the chicken for 1 minute per ounce per side. I find that this delivers a perfect juicy chicken breast every time.It is always best to check the internal temperature of the chicken before serving.
- While the chicken is cooking slice your cucumber and apple.
- I like to toss my greens in my dressing before assembling my salads, this allows the dressing to be evenly distributed throughout the salad and allows you to use less dressing. Place your greens in a large bowl, pour your dressing over top, and toss until your greens are evenly dressed. Then sperate your greens into serving bowls.
- Top your greens with the sliced cucumber, apple, walnuts, and cranberries.
- Using a fork, scrap your goat cheese over top of your salad to allow crumbles to fall into your salad. This is easiest when your goat cheese is cold, pulled straight from the fridge, and not at room temperature.
- Once your chicken is done, remove it from the pan, and slice it into thin slices, add the slices to your salads. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Macro Adjustments:
Below outlines the items in each macro group that are easily adjustable to meet your specific macro goals.
Fat:
The fat in this recipe comes from the Goat Cheese, Walnuts, Vinaigrette, and the oil the chicken is cooked in. The easiest to adjust being the walnuts or the cheese. Add as much or as little to reach your personal fat macro goals.
Carbohydrates:
The carbs in this recipe come mainly from the cranberries and veggies. The cranberries are the easiest to adjust, you would have to make major changes to the veggies to truly have an impact. However, it is important to remember that cranberries do contain a decent amount of sugar, therefore, you won’t want to increase them too much!
Protein:
Chicken is a great lean cut of meat, providing most of the protein In this recipe. You could adjust the amount of chicken used.
Meal Prep:
All salads are meal prepable, you just have to store your wet and warm ingredients separately from your cold and crisp ingredients. Warm your ingredients right before eating. Mixing your warm with the crispy cool veggies when it’s time to eat. It is also best to wait to add your dressing until right before eating, this prevents your other ingredients from getting soggy.
The majority of this recipe will last 5-7 days in the fridge. However, to keep your apple from turning brown after slicing, you can squeeze a little lemon or lime juice onto the slices.
Freezer Friendly:
Salads are not freezer-friendly, but how great would that be if they were!
Looking for other Delicious Salad Recipes like this Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad? Check out a few of my favorites!
