Sometimes you need a meal that satisfies without weighing you down. This salad does just that: a chicken breast crusted with pecans is nestled on a bed of greens with mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and blue cheese. All the sweet and savory tastes will bring a smile with every bite.
Why You Will Love This Salad
Do you love TGI Fridays? This salad is a copycat of one of their menu items. It's available at some, not all, of their locations. But if you make it yourself, it is of course available at YOUR location!
The pecan coating makes a delicious crust on a chicken breast, creating a wonderful and satisfying dinner salad. We have salad meals like this regularly in warm weather, and this one is a frequent request!
Ingredients Needed
How to Make this Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad
First, there are 2 decisions to make regarding how you serve this salad. One is whether you serve it with the chicken warm or cold. Friday's serves theirs cold, but I like it warm. It's delicious either way. 😁
Also, the dressing is balsamic vinaigrette. If you plan to make your own, you'll want to do that ahead of time. Or, just buy your favorite brand. #nojudging
Pound the chicken breasts with a meat mallet to about ½-inch thick. This helps tenderize the breast a little and gets it to a uniform thickness to assist with even cooking. Place some parchment or wax paper under the meat to avoid contaminating your work surface.
Set up wide shallow bowls for dipping the chicken breasts. Add flour to one, in another beat an egg with milk. In the third, combine crushed cornflakes and chopped pecans.
Now, coat the chicken breast by dipping in flour first, then the egg mixture, and finally the pecan mixture. Press the pecan coating a little to help it stick to the chicken breast.
Heat some oil in a skillet over medium low heat. When the oil is hot, add the coated chicken and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. You can serve right away on the salads or chill for later.
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To assemble the salads, first toss the lettuce and celery with balsamic dressing, then split this between serving plates or bowls.
To each plate, add some cranberries, mandarin orange segments, pecan pieces, and blue cheese.
Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and place one on each salad. Your salad is ready to serve. 😁
Serving Suggestions
Serve these salads with a little more balsamic vinaigrette on the side, for those who love lots of dressing. (My guy always adds, and I never do.)
The salad is a complete meal itself, but a slice of crusty bread would be a nice accompaniment. And maybe a delicious electric lemonade, another Friday's copycat.
Storage
If you want to make the chicken breasts up ahead, cook them per the above and allow them to cool a little. Then cover and refrigerate for a couple hours. When you put your salads together, you just need to slice the chicken and add to the salads.
📖 Recipe
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Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- ¼ cup pecans chopped
- ¼ cup cornflakes crushed
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- ½ cup flour all purpose
- ¼ cup cooking oil canola or similar
For the Salad
- 1 romaine heart about 5-6 cups chopped
- ½ cup celery chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 11 ounce mandarin oranges drained
- ¼ cup pecans halves and pieces
- ¼ cup blue cheese crumbled
- ⅓ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Instructions
- Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness, about ½ inch thick.2 chicken breasts
- Set up 3 wide shallow bowls for dipping the breasts. One bowl contains just flour. In the second bowl, beat together the egg and milk. Combine crushed cornflakes and chopped pecans in the third bowl.¼ cup pecans, ½ cup milk, 1 egg, ½ cup flour, ¼ cup cornflakes
- Coat each breast in flour, then dip in the egg mixture. Coat with a thick mixture of the pecan mix and then set aside on a plate.
- Heat some cooking oil in a skillet on medium-low. When hot, add the coated chicken breasts and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip over and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the chicken cooked through.¼ cup cooking oil
Salad assembly
- In a medium bowl, toss the lettuce and celery with the balsamic dressing to evenly coat. Split these greens between 2 plates or bowls for serving.1 romaine heart, ½ cup celery, ⅓ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
- To each plate, add half of the cranberries, mandarin orange segments, pecans, and blue cheese.½ cup dried cranberries, 11 ounce mandarin oranges, ¼ cup pecans, ¼ cup blue cheese
- Slice each chicken breast into thin slices and arrange it on top of the salad. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Colleen
Loved this recipe! Could you bake the chicken instead?
Sula
I think you could but the pecan crust will probably not be as crisp.
Anonymous
Thank you for sharing this recipe, it turned out great!
Sula
Fantastic!
Sherry Ronning
I have been so hooked on chicken salads lately. I came across your salad recipe and decided to make it. I cooked the chicken up on my Blackstone griddle and it turned out perfect. I will be making this again!!
Sula
The griddle is the perfect place to cook the chicken breast. You just can't go wrong with this salad!
Heather Brown
This is one of my absolute favorite high-protein salads. You'll never try any other breading once you've gone pecan-crusted!
Sula
It really is so much better than bread crumbs!