This tasty walnut rooster salad combines crisp greens with candy cherries, crunchy nuts, and creamy gorgonzola cheese, tossed with juicy rooster items in a lightweight and tangy French dressing.
I really like recipes like this walnut and cherry rooster salad or my mango rooster salad as simple meals. They’re additionally nice paired with soup or a sandwich for a bistro-style lunch or dinner!
Inspiration for this salad got here years in the past when a relative introduced over a traditional creamy rooster salad studded with cherries and walnuts. Quick ahead, and I’m eternally obsessive about my inexperienced, leafy model of a cherry and walnut rooster salad. It’s fast and straightforward to make like several good salad must be. The juicy rooster chunks make it excellent to tuck into as a lightweight lunch or hearty aspect dish. When you’ve got leftover rooster in your fridge, it’s an indication. Make this salad ASAP!
Why I Love This Walnut Rooster Salad Recipe
The flavors are scrumptious. I really like the distinction of crunchy walnuts and candy dried cherries with sharp blue cheese and a recent French dressing. It’s so satisfying.
It’s prepared in minutes. If you have already got your rooster cooked and prepared, the salad comes collectively in 10 minutes or much less. It’s simple to meal prep, too, and take to-go through the week.
It’s tremendous versatile. For lunch, dinner, or a aspect dish, this rooster salad does all of it. Any season, on a regular basis! It’s even nice rolled up inside lavash bread as a rooster salad wrap.
Substances You’ll Want
The great thing about this salad is that the substances preserve it easy, however there’s a great deal of taste to go round. Take a look at some notes right here, and scroll right down to the recipe card for a printable record of substances and recipe instructions.
- Rooster – I like to make use of cooked boneless skinless rooster breast because it’s simple to cube up. I’ll usually make this salad every time I’ve leftover baked rooster breast or a complete roast rooster to get by way of.
- Greens – Select any mixture of your favourite salad leaves. I like a mix of child lettuce and spinach, or I’ll choose up a bag of spring combine from the shop.
- Gorgonzola Cheese – Agency, crumbly gorgonzola is a sort of blue cheese from Italy. I adore it paired with walnuts in recipes like this rooster salad and my orzo salad. For those who aren’t a fan, crumbled feta or goat cheese makes substitute.
- Cherries – Dried cherries style nice any time of the yr. When recent cherries are in season, I’ll take away the pits and chop them up to make use of as a substitute.
- Walnuts – This recipe makes use of chopped uncooked walnuts. Pecans are one other good choice.
- Dressing – I embrace methods to make a simple Dijon French dressing, however you’ll be able to costume your walnut rooster salad with any salad dressing you want.
How you can Make a Walnut Rooster Salad
My cherry rooster salad with walnuts comes collectively identical to some other salad. First, organize the greens in a bowl. Then, it’s a matter of nestling the rooster over high and including the remainder of the toppings. On this case, crumbled gorgonzola, dried cherries, and walnuts for crunch. Whisk collectively the dressing, drizzle it over the salad, and toss! It’s as simple as that.
The Finest Rooster Salad Dressing
The sunshine Dijon French dressing that I exploit for this walnut rooster salad is considered one of my all-time favorites. It’s ridiculously easy. To make it, mix oil and vinegar with Dijon, salt, and pepper and provides it whisk or a shake in a tight-lidded jar to emulsify.
Be happy to regulate the substances to style. The recipe is definitely impressed by the dressing used within the well-known La Scala chopped salad. For those who’d like, go forward and embrace freshly grated parmesan like the unique!
Extra Add-In Concepts
A walnut rooster salad is a good one to customise relying on which substances are in season. As all the time, I’d love to listen to your concepts! Within the meantime, listed here are a few of mine:
- Spring and Summer time: Recent cherries and recent berries, like strawberries or blackberries, make a pleasant add-on to this salad after they’re in season. In grilling climate, it’s scrumptious with grilled rooster, or I’ll swap rooster for steak for a model of a steak salad.
- Fall: Sliced apples, pears, and toasted pumpkin seeds or pecans are a tasty technique to transition this salad recipe into the autumn. I additionally like so as to add roasted butternut squash.
- Winter: Strive add-ins like cabbage, kale, or different winter greens, like Brussels sprouts. Dried cranberries additionally work nice instead of cherries.
Serving Recommendations
This rooster walnut salad is a good gentle lunch. I prefer to pair it with a comfortable bowl of soup, like this cream of zucchini soup, or a grilled cheese sandwich. If I’m planning a date night time dinner at house, this salad makes a reasonably starter main into tacky crock pot French onion soup and our favourite chardonnay, with chocolate mousse for dessert.
Yr-round, I’ll serve this salad as a fancy-without-even-trying aspect dish. It goes with pasta after we entertain, or I’ll take it alongside to our neighborhood picnics and potlucks!
Can I Meal Prep This Salad?
Completely. Again in my big-city-office days, I used to make a to-go model of this walnut and cherry rooster salad the night time earlier than to take to work within the morning. It makes a terrific mason jar salad, or you’ll be able to retailer it in an hermetic container.
To prep this salad prematurely, begin by including a couple of spoonfuls of dressing to the container. Then, layer the remainder of the salad on this order: walnuts, cherries, rooster, and blue cheese, ending with the salad greens—don’t toss it or combine it collectively. Seal the container, preserve the salad within the fridge, and shake it earlier than serving.
Storing Leftovers
Sadly, as soon as dressed, this rooster salad received’t keep recent for lengthy because the leaves are inclined to wilt and develop into soggy after a day or two within the fridge. If you recognize you’ll have leftovers, do your greatest to retailer the salad with out the dressing (see my meal prep ideas above). Take pleasure in!
Extra Rooster Salad Recipes
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Assemble the salad. Place combined greens and spinach in a big salad bowl. High with rooster, cheese, cherries, and walnuts.
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Make the dressing. Mix oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk till properly integrated. Style and modify for vinegar, salt, and pepper.
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Mix. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to mix.
- Rooster choices. Use this simple baked rooster breasts recipe to prepare dinner your rooster. For those who’d like to make use of thighs, seize this recipe for stovetop rooster thighs.
- Fruit choices. If recent cherries are in season, you should use these if you happen to like. However if you happen to can’t get any sort of cherries, use dried cranberries or recent berries.
Energy: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 22g | Fats: 32g | Saturated Fats: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 11g | Monounsaturated Fats: 12g | Trans Fats: 0.01g | Ldl cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 658mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 5738IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might range in response to the substances and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
