Photo of Apple cider-chicken salad by WW

Apple cider-chicken salad

4
Points®
Total Time
1 hr 10 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
Here’s a marvelous meal in a bowl: You'll love this refreshing twist on a classic chicken salad. The chicken’s moist and flavorful, thanks to a marinade of apple cider vinegar, chives, and Dijon mustard, and the salad has a wonderful balance of salty and sweet. This recipe calls for pecans and blue cheese as the finishing touches, but feel free to use whatever kinds of nuts or cheese you have on hand, such as almonds or goat cheese. We also call for a red-skinned apple, but if you want to mix things up, use your favorite kind to mix things up a bit.

Ingredients

Apple cider vinegar

4 Tbsp, divided

Chives

2 Tbsp, fresh, chopped, divided

Dijon mustard

4 tsp, divided

Kosher salt

1 tsp, divided

Black pepper

½ tsp, freshly ground, divided

Uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast

16 oz

Olive oil

1 Tbsp

Mixed greens

10 cup(s)

Apple

1 large, red-skinned, halved, thinly sliced

Chopped pecans

cup(s), toasted

Blue cheese

¼ cup(s), crumbled, not packed, crumbled

Instructions

  1. In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon chives, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; add chicken and turn to coat. Cover chicken and marinate in refrigerator, turning chicken once or twice, about 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a baking dish; discard marinade. Cover chicken with foil; bake until chicken is just cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let chicken cool slightly and then transfer to a cutting board; cut diagonally into thick slices.
  4. Meanwhile, in a glass cup or bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, oil, remaining teaspoon mustard, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside.
  5. When ready to serve, in a large serving bowl, combine greens, apple, pecans and blue cheese; drizzle with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette and toss to coat.
  6. Place chicken over salad. Stir any juices from baking dish into remaining vinaigrette and drizzle over chicken; garnish with remaining tablespoon chives. Yields about 2 1/2 cups salad and 3 ounces chicken per serving.