Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing
Dec 11, 2016, Updated Mar 02, 2021
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Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing – Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet very flavorful!
HI HI! Happy Sundaaaaay! I LOVE these days. I’m wearing my Sunday’s-best – yoga pants and my husband’s t-shirt – I also have a cup of coffee in my hand, and a red, Christmasy blanket wrapped around my back and shoulders, just because.
Also, there’s a whoooole lotta snow out there. In a few hours, we will most likely be snowed IN, which isn’t entirely a bad situation, unless of course the internet goes out and then we all have to talk to each other… KIDDING! Anyways, I’ll probably just end up cleaning the house all day long. #storyofamom
But I made you a salad!
CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
A Chicken Salad with dried cranberries and almonds to fuel your day! AND a dressing that’s made with yogurt, resulting in lower fat and higher protein that’s nutritious, delicious and damn good!
Sidenote: *Use 1 tablespoon of the dressing per cup. 😎
If there ever was a time for a salad, it’s now. I might have had just onnnnne snowdrop cookies too many last week, and some feta cheese bread ring dip prior to that. It’s December – I need the extra fat to keep me warm.
Ya know, it was pretty easy for me to love this cranberry chicken salad with multiple reasons behind the loving. First, I adore anything and all things salad. The other day, my 4 year-old told me that my favorite color should be green because I eat too many salads…
Secondly, I gravitate towards flavors and textures like this – sweet, salty, crunchy – almost always. And this salad is just another extension of my love for all of that, and then some.
This is my go to chicken-salad at the moment, mostly because it’s really good, but also because it’s wintery and festive and potluck-y. It really is. I took it to a party last night – it was gone within the first 20 minutes – and I plan on taking it to another party this coming Friday.
INGREDIENTS FOR CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD
All we’re dealing with here is some thinly cut romaine lettuce, cubed chicken tenders, sweet dried cranberries, slivered almonds, crunchy bacon, and a filling dose of a creamy dressing that is too, too awesome. I just took some yogurt, dijon mustard, a bit of grated parmesan and made a salad dressing. Nothing genius about it except that it’s brilliantly awesome and I’m glad I included it.
Serve this cranberry chicken salad with some crispy, cool chardonnay and I think you’ll make a lot of new friends. Or at least, one heck of a meal that does not include Christmas cookies.
ENJOY!
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TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS RECIPE
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Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
- 2 (8 cups) romaine lettuce hearts, , thinly sliced
- 1-1/2 pounds cooked chicken tenders or boneless and skinless chicken breasts, , cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, , cooked to a crisp and crumbled
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
FOR THE SALAD DRESSING
- 1 cup Non-Fat Plain Yogurt, (I use Dannon)
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 garlic clove, , minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water, (add 1 more tablespoon for a thinner consistency)
- salt and fresh ground pepper, , to taste
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl combine lettuce, chicken, crumbled bacon, slivered almonds and cranberries; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl combine yogurt, dijon mustard, grated parmesan cheese, rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper; whisk until thoroughly incorporated. If looking for a thinner consistency, add more water, if you want to thicken it, add more yogurt and mustard.
- Add salad dressing to previously prepared salad; toss to combine.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Thank you very much for sharing the recipe with us. I have just tried it and it was so delicious. The fact that this doesn’t contain any mayo and oil is pretty awesome
I really want to try this salad, but romaine lettuce is not currently available due to the E coli epidemic, so what kind of lettuce is most like romaine that I can substitute?
Hi!
I would use iceberg lettuce.
made this salad – was surprised at the dressing to salad ratio – seemed higher than expected. I would probably cut back on the dijon next time – just a smidge
Hi!
I should have noted that you won’t use up the entire dressing. A serving is 1 tablespoon per cup. I’ll put that in the Notes. Thanks for pointing it out!