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Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing – Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet very flavorful!

HI HI! Happy Sundaaaaay! I LOVE these days. I’m wearing my Sunday’s-best – yoga pants and my husband’s t-shirt – I also have a cup of coffee in my hand, and a red, Christmasy blanket wrapped around my back and shoulders, just because.

Also, there’s a whoooole lotta snow out there. In a few hours, we will most likely be snowed IN, which isn’t entirely a bad situation, unless of course the internet goes out and then we all have to talk to each other…  KIDDING!  Anyways, I’ll probably just end up cleaning the house all day long. #storyofamom

But I made you a salad!

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing - Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet SO flavorful!

CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD

A Chicken Salad with dried cranberries and almonds to fuel your day! AND a dressing that’s made with yogurt, resulting in lower fat and higher protein that’s nutritious, delicious and damn good!

Sidenote: *Use 1 tablespoon of the dressing per cup. 😎

If there ever was a time for a salad, it’s now. I might have had just onnnnne snowdrop cookies too many last week, and some feta cheese bread ring dip prior to that. It’s December – I need the extra fat to keep me warm. 

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing - Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet SO flavorful!

Ya know, it was pretty easy for me to love this cranberry chicken salad with multiple reasons behind the loving. First, I adore anything and all things salad. The other day, my 4 year-old told me that my favorite color should be green because I eat too many salads…

Secondly, I gravitate towards flavors and textures like this – sweet, salty, crunchy – almost always. And this salad is just another extension of my love for all of that, and then some.

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing - Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet SO flavorful!

This is my go to chicken-salad at the moment, mostly because it’s really good, but also because it’s wintery and festive and potluck-y. It really is. I took it to a party last night – it was gone within the first 20 minutes – and I plan on taking it to another party this coming Friday. 

INGREDIENTS FOR CRANBERRY CHICKEN SALAD

All we’re dealing with here is some thinly cut romaine lettuce, cubed chicken tenders, sweet dried cranberries, slivered almonds, crunchy bacon, and a filling dose of a creamy dressing that is too, too awesome. I just took some yogurt, dijon mustard, a bit of grated parmesan and made a salad dressing. Nothing genius about it except that it’s brilliantly awesome and I’m glad I included it.

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing - Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet SO flavorful!

Serve this cranberry chicken salad with some crispy, cool chardonnay and I think you’ll make a lot of new friends. Or at least, one heck of a meal that does not include Christmas cookies. 

ENJOY!

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Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing - Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet SO flavorful!

Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing

Katerina | Diethood
Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing – Festive and delicious chicken salad packed with sweet cranberries, crunchy almonds, crispy bacon, and a creamy salad dressing that is lightened up, yet very flavorful!
4.50 from 2 votes
Servings : 8 cups
Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

FOR THE SALAD
  • 2 (8 cups) romaine lettuce hearts , thinly sliced
  • 1-1/2 pounds cooked chicken tenders or boneless and skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 4 slices thick-cut bacon , cooked to a crisp and crumbled
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
FOR THE SALAD DRESSING
  • 1 cup Non-Fat Plain Yogurt (I use Dannon)
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon water (add 1 more tablespoon for a thinner consistency)
  • salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large salad bowl combine lettuce, chicken, crumbled bacon, slivered almonds and cranberries; set aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl combine yogurt, dijon mustard, grated parmesan cheese, rosemary, garlic, lemon juice, water, salt and pepper; whisk until thoroughly incorporated. If looking for a thinner consistency, add more water, if you want to thicken it, add more yogurt and mustard.
  • Add salad dressing to previously prepared salad; toss to combine.
  • Serve.

Notes

*Use 1 tablespoon of the dressing per cup of salad.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cup | Calories: 257 kcal | Carbohydrates: 13 g | Protein: 16 g | Fat: 15 g | Saturated Fat: 3 g | Cholesterol: 37 mg | Sodium: 229 mg | Potassium: 402 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 8 g | Vitamin A: 4110 IU | Vitamin C: 3.7 mg | Calcium: 132 mg | Iron: 1.5 mg | Net Carbs: 10 g

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken salad
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15 comments on “Cranberry Chicken Salad with Light Dijon Parmesan Dressing”

  1. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe with us. I have just tried it and it was so delicious. The fact that this doesn’t contain any mayo and oil is pretty awesome

  2. I really want to try this salad, but romaine lettuce is not currently available due to the E coli epidemic, so what kind of lettuce is most like romaine that I can substitute?

  3. Avatar photo
    tobreth s hansen

    made this salad – was surprised at the dressing to salad ratio – seemed higher than expected. I would probably cut back on the dijon next time – just a smidge

    1. Katerina - Diethood
      Katerina Petrovska

      Hi!
      I should have noted that you won’t use up the entire dressing. A serving is 1 tablespoon per cup. I’ll put that in the Notes. Thanks for pointing it out!

  4. this looks wonderful, love that it has a lot of protein but is still “lightened up”! Also love this dressing recipe, thank you for sharing this!

  5. Avatar photo
    Angie | Big Bear's Wife

    That first photo makes me want to reach right into the screen and grab a big spoonful. haha and YES that’s my Sunday attire too. lol I’d be perfect fine with that outfit, salad and some snow!

  6. Avatar photo
    Renee - Kudos Kitchen

    I need this salad in my life. It’s perfect for the holidays, and perfect for the first of the year when salads will become a focus in our home!

  7. Avatar photo
    Laura | Tutti Dolci

    How did you know I needed a great salad in my life?! (I mean hello, cookies!) This is gorgeous!!

  8. I can’t believe you have snow there. Luckily, we don’t get the white stuff here in the Bay Area. I am just too wimpy.

  9. Avatar photo
    Kristen Chidsey

    I am not jealous of your snow Katrina, but this salad has me green with envy. I have to make it ASAP! Love cranberry and parmesan together

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