Honey Dijon Chicken Salad

This beauty of a salad is made with the most delicious ingredients. Marinated honey dijon chicken is placed on top of a bed of greens, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, cranberries, bacon, cucumbers and walnuts then tossed with a creamy balsamic dressing. It tastes as good as it looks!

We just got back some Southeast Florida and I often got this salad while sitting by the pool with the kiddos. I loved it so much that I had to come back to chilly Illinois and make it myself. The combination of ingredients make this salad sweet, salty and crunchy – truly the perfect salad!

I marinated the chicken breasts with honey, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper then sautéed it until golden brown and cooked through. The flavor was awesome and the chicken was juicy. 

This is a salad I could eat everyday!

Sunny Florida was definitely a much needed vacation for my family. We had not been anywhere for three years and we so enjoyed every minute of the warm weather in Florida. Anyone else feeling ready for the weather shift here in the midwest? 

I do love the comfort food of Winter but seeing a beautiful colorful salad like this Honey Dijon Salad makes me want to scream SPRING!! I am looking forward to all things light, citrusy and colorful in the next few months. 

Enjoy!

Yield: 2

My favorite Florida Salad

Print

Honey Dijon marinated chicken is place over a salad of mixed greens, bacon, walnuts, cranberries, mandarin oranges and cucumbers. It's then tossed with a creamy balsamic vinegar.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (I like to slice mine in half so I get 4 thin chicken breasts)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoon dijon miustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Mixed greens
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup diced cucumbers
• 1/2 cup bacon bits
• Mandarin Oranges
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Creamy balsamic salad dressing

Instructions

1. Marinate chicken for at least an hour (the longer the better).
2. To make the marinade, mix together olive oil, honey, dijon, salt and pepper and pour over chicken breasts. Place in refrigerator.
3. When you're ready to assemble the salad, prepare the other ingredients - chop, dice, measure.
4. Cook bacon in a non-stick sauté pan until crispy or place on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes. Drain off excess fat on a paper towel then chop it up.
5. Cook chicken in a sauté pan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. If you're chicken breasts are thick, I suggest slicing them in half as they cook much quicker and I find them to be juicier.
6. Prepare your salad to your liking and serve with creamy balsamic!