Sonoma Chicken Salad

Preparation

Gather all of your ingredients.  

Let’s make the dressing first. Stir together the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, onion powder, poppy seeds, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper.  If you’d like to minimize calories, you can sweeten with your favorite low calorie sweetener in place of honey.  I’ve made this with honey and with Splenda and it tastes the same. Set the dressing aside. 

Now let’s prepare the chicken, pecans, and grapes.  I like to buy a whole Rotisserie chicken at Sam’s Club.  It is a huge amount of chicken for the price.  I use the breast meat for this chicken salad.  You could also cook your own chicken breasts from fresh or frozen to use. I like to chop the chicken on a cutting board and then place into a large bowl.  Once in the bowl, I use clean hands to mash up the chicken with my fingers.  That is the texture I prefer for my chicken salad, but you could leave your chicken in larger chunks or even shred the chicken.  

When chopping the pecans, the quickest easiest way is to use a mini food chopper.  The day I made this, I decided to chop the pecans by hand.  Hold your knife like this and then repeatedly move your right hand up and down for a quick safe chop. 

Finally, cut the grapes in half. 

Putting it All Together

Now we can add the chopped pecans and dressing to the chicken.  Mix this well. 

Finally add the halved grapes and gently mix them into the chicken salad.  The grapes need to be added last so that they don’t get all mushed up.  This helps them keep their form. 

I like to eat mine with crackers and maybe some extra grapes. 

Tips and Suggestions

You can make substitutions or additions that fit your tastes.  Chop and add celery or apple for some extra nutrition and crunch. You could use walnuts or almonds rather than the pecans. I like to use Olive Oil Mayonnaise to make this a healthier dish as well.  You could even make homemade mayonnaise if you have dietary restrictions. 

My favorite thing to do is take a  container of it to the pool or beach for a high protein snack to share with friends. This would be great for a brunch or ladies tea.  I also just love it for high protein meal prepping for packed lunches during my work week. I hope you enjoy this unique chicken salad flavor as much as I do.  It truly has become my favorite version of chicken salad to make!

I got this recipe from the FASTer Way to Fat Loss recipe collection. FASTer way is an all encompassing digital program that pairs amazing efficient daily video workouts (HIIT, strength training, and active recovery) with science-backed nutrition. Meal plans and recipes, education, coaching, and community make this an amazing path to lasting health and wellness.