Cherry Walnut Chicken Salad – Delicious chicken salad featuring a combination of dried cherries, walnuts and baby spinach tossed with a simple oil-and-vinegar dressing.
Fresh baby spinach topped with chicken, dried cherries, gorgonzola cheese and walnuts. A tasty salad that’s quick and easy to make.
Hi-Ya, friends!!
This week! Oh my gosh!
Yesterday my 5-year old, Ana, came home from school in TEARS becaaaaaaaause…. she doesn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s FIVE! Ugh. Didn’t think it would start this soon.
THEN, a reader told me that she almost burned down the house while making one of my recipes. EEEK!
And THEN!! I got an email that said I had 20 million dollars waiting for me at a bank in Nigeria. I almost believed it.
I just need to regroup. Friday should be here any day now.
Oh look, it’s 2 weeks before Christmas and we’re eating a salad! I’m just looking out for you. If we eat a salad today, we can double up on the ham on Christmas Day. Or hit up the cookie tray and double fist.
But, Cherry Walnut Chicken Salad. Welcome to the truest love of all. It all started one Christmas Day, when a relative brought a creamy chicken salad studded with dried cherries and walnuts.
I took a bite…and another…and another. I didn’t like it.
I mean, the salad was in the middle of an identity crisis. Am I a dessert? Am I a starter? Am I savory or am I sweet?! OH, the pain!
I’m not implying that YOUR creamy chicken salad ain’t good… I’m sure it is. But mine is a tad bit healthier. Popeye approved.
This beautiful salad is an easy lunch. I often send it to work with my other half. I throw in a few of Star’s Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar Single-Serving Packs and he’s ready to go.
But, it’s an easy lunch that also serves as dinner! He just gets the leftovers to-go.
In looking for a word to describe this, I’m going to settle with delicious texture.
I’d like to suggest to totally make it your own by swapping out whatever ingredients you got, however, make sure that at some point or another, you try it AS IS.
ENJOY!
- 4 chicken breasts (about 1-pound) grilled/cooked and cut into cubes
- 1 bag (10 ounces) baby spinach
- 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 1 bag (5 ounces) dried cherries (When in season, you can also use fresh chopped cherries)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- pinch of kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- Place spinach in a large salad bowl.
- Top with chicken, cheese, cherries and walnuts.
- Add oil and vinegar; toss to combine.
- Serve.
WW SmartPoints: 12
Nina Lovelace says
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious!! My son is allergy to nuts, any recommendations for a substitute that gives it that crunch?
Katerina Petrovska says
Hi Nina!! Very happy you all enjoyed it! Thank you! 😀
How about something like pine nuts or sunflower seeds for that crunch? Or is he allergic to seeds, too?
Bacon bits always work! 😉
Tanya says
I made the cherry walnut salad and man was it good for lunch!
Katerina Petrovska says
SO happy you enjoyed it!! Thank you, Tanya! 😀
Kathy Polivka says
I can never never print out a recipe on Pinterest and it is so irritating. Please tell me how to do it. I logged in but that did not help.
Katerina Petrovska says
Hi Kathy! I don’t think there’s a way to print out a recipe via Pinterest. You have to click on the Pin which will then bring you to the website where the recipe is located. Once you locate the recipe, you should find a button near the recipe that says “Print”. If you scroll down to the recipe on my website, the “PRINT” button is found under the picture that is located within the recipe box. Please see the image. If you need anything else, just let me know. Thank YOU!
Kathy Lauer says
Thank you so much, I’m new to this and I’m having a hard time trying to find things out…where to go, how to get the recipes! but I really think I will love this salad !
Ellen says
Either you can copy and paste it to your word processing program (Pages on a Mac, or Word on a PC), or you can download Yumprint. It’s terrific – it’s for saving recipes all in one place. I love it. Give it a try. Very easy to save your recipes and organize them. You can go back to them whenever, and not try to remember where you saved it. You can print easily from there also.
Katerina Petrovska says
Thanks so much for that info, Ellen!! I had no idea about Yumprint. I will definitely check it out!
Sarah Walker Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella) says
Single serving olive oil and vinegar packs? OMG. I need those. And this salad looks delicious. My kids and I take salads for lunch often and I am always seeking ways to do ’em better.
Nikki @ NikSnacks says
You have such good humor about everything that happened to you during the week. Bring on the salad, because I want to load up on ham and such during Christmas, too!
Ramona says
I try to eat a salad every day as a meal… this one would be perfect. 🙂
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Aww. Your poor daughter. That’s awful. 🙁
It sounds like a tough week. I hope next week is better!
The salad looks great, though. 🙂
Lauren @ Healthy Delicious says
oh my goodness, what a week you’ve had! sounds like a cocktail recipe might be a good idea. 😉
This salad is gorgeous and I love the flavors. I’ll take it over a creamy chicken salad any day!
Angela {Mind Over Batter} says
Oh no!!! My daughter was 3 1/2 when in tears she asked why she didn’t have beautiful straight hair like her best friend. In preschool!! Preschool!! I thought I had time too! Good thing is she grew out of it. Anyway, this salad is super killer. The textures. Yum.
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet says
We can not get enough of salads around here! I love that you added cherries to this!
Heather / girlichef says
This salad is EXACTLY what I want for lunch today – I love everything in it!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I’m all about a gorgeously textured salad, I want to inhale this!
Kim Beaulieu says
I freaking love this salad Kate. I adore cherries so I’m all over this one.
Susan says
I’m all for salad in december. It’s all about balance. OH and what a stinky week but it’s okay tomorrow is Friday, it can only go up from there.