Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing is one of my faves. The whole combo of fruit with salad greens smacks of the 90s and I think I’ve been making this version since around then, originally culled from Cooking Light. On a hot day, there’s nothing better and there’s a little something to please almost anyone!

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing


 

Think of this salad all summer long. It’s gorgeous, it’s delish and it’s got to be the perfect summer salad. Have it on the deck, by the pool, but don’t forget about it if asked to bring something to a party, shower, or another function. While it’s not fussy, laid out on a platter it always impresses.

About Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing:

So let’s talk about the ingredients. First and foremost, of course, there’s the chicken, and here breast meat just shines. Make this with almost any chicken, grilled, poached, roasted, leftover – it really doesn’t matter. If you’re using leftover chicken, the creamy Raspberry Dressing plays beautifully with almost anything. (If your leftover chicken is dry, try poaching it in chicken broth for just a quick minute to heat through.) And if you’d like this as a side salad, of course, feel free to omit the chicken altogether.

As far as the fruit, feel free to vary with your taste or what looks good as the season progresses. I love the particular combo in the recipe; blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and kiwis are a great blend of spring and tropical fruit and are so good with the dressing. You can see in my photos that I used strawberries, blueberries, apple, and honeydew this time. You just can’t go wrong! Just choose a mix of textures and colors for the most appealing salad.

As far as the greens go, the salad is beautiful with spinach or a spring type of mix. The dressing is a little sweet/tart so it shines with a mix that has maybe a little radicchio or arugula or anything a little peppery. Add a little cheese, goat cheese is perfect and feta is great, too, a few nuts to finish (pine nuts or slivered almonds) and you’re gonna have a stellar salad.

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Making Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing:

The dressing is super simple, just whisk the ingredients together. Taste and adjust, adding a bit more of this or that if you’d like. You can use any yogurt, fat-free if you’d like.

This salad is really, after the dressing is made, all about the assembly. Add bananas, of course, just before serving.

If you don’t have chicken already cooked, it’s really a simple matter to poach a breast or two. Just add your chicken to cold water with a little salt (add a few peppercorns if you have on hand) and bring up to a simmer. Simmer gently for about 10 to 12 minutes or until done all the way through. When poaching if time allows, cool in the broth; your chicken will always be moister.

Saving Money on Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing:

There’s no need to ever pay full price for chicken – it goes on sale too often. It pays to know the difference between a good sales price and a rock bottom sales price (usually about once a quarter) and stock up at the low. Often these are larger family packs so portion out in sizes suitable for meals for your family and freeze. I prefer breasts which are usually more than budget chicken thighs, although many prefer thighs for being moister.

Fruit in a salad like this can be easily varied by what’s in season and what is at a great price. A great budget strategy is to choose one that’s the star of the show (like the strawberries) and fill in with less expensive fruits. Salad greens are always less expensive by the bunch rather than the bag. The mark up on the bagged salads is 4 to 10 times the amount of a bunch.

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

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Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

  • Author: adapted from Cooking Light
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Salads
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

Chicken & Fruit Salad:

  • about 6 cups of mixed salad greens of your choice
  • 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken (about 2 small breast halves)
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cup quartered strawberries
  • 1 large sliced banana
  • 1 cup sliced peeled kiwifruit (about 3 kiwifruit)
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted (substitute slivered almonds)
  • 2 tablespoons herbed goat cheese (substitute feta)
  • Raspberry Dressing, below

Raspberry Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup raspberry or red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Chicken & Fruit Salad:

Arrange 1 1/2 cups salad greens on each of 4 plates. Divide the remaining ingredients except Raspberry Dressing equally among 4 plates. Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons Raspberry Dressing.

Raspberry Dressing:

Combine all the ingredients; stir with a whisk.

Nutritional Information:

For salad with dressing, as written with no variations, amount per serving: Calories 120, Calories from fat 20 %, Fat 2.6 g, Sat fat 0.3 g, Monofat 1.8 g, Polyfat 0.3 g, Protein 1.2 g, Carbohydrate 25.1 g, Fiber 0.1 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Iron 0.4 mg, Sodium 257 mg, Calcium 39 mg

Keywords: Almonds, Blueberries, Chicken, Chicken Breast, Chicken Salad, Fruit, Honey, honeydew, Kiwi, Main dish salad, Nuts and Seeds, Romaine, Salad, Salad Dressings, Strawberries, Vinegar, Yogurt

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——————

I’ll be sharing this to Fiesta Friday number 70; I’m excited to be co-hosting the event this week, with Dina of Giramuk’s Kitchen.

Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing - Your fave fruits & salad greens with a creamy honey, yogurt raspberry dressing! #ChickenSalad #Salad #MainDishChickenSalad

 

40 thoughts on “Chicken & Fruit Salad with Raspberry Dressing

  1. Pingback: Top 20 Chicken Salad Seasoning – Best Round Up Recipe Collections

    • How funny! Now I might need to legally change my name to something more German! It seems such a contrast, my Irish first name & my frugal hausfrau blog name. I guess I am, too – A mix of French, German, Irish, English, Scottish. I *think* I have them all! And I can’t forget the Quakers way, way back!

  2. I love your salad!! I’m not really a ‘salad person’ but I’m pinning this one to make – it’s so lovely with all the fruit and the raspberry dressing! Thank you for sharing this great recipe and for co-hosting the party this week! Happy FF! 🙂

  3. What a great salad – and how wonderful to have you as our co-host! I hope you’ll enjoy it, it’s a bit like in real life: you spend the whole time making sure everyone is happy that the party is over before you had a chance to let your hair down! Nice thing about virtual parties is that you can always go back and check out the talent whenever 😉
    Happy FF!

  4. What a great salad, a combination of fruit and veggies, love it! Thanks for co-hosting, I’m sure you’ll have a blast! It looks like you’re on top of it already, whenever I co-host, I never get a chance to respond to anyone who comments on my post till the end….but you have it all under control it seems. Enjoy your weekend, and as always, thanks for the tips.

  5. I love fruits in my chicken Salad!! It’s such a refreshing addition, but more than anything I absolutely LOVE the raspberry dressing! I have wanted to try a raspberry salad dressing for awhile, and this is one I know I will love! 🙂
    Thank you so much Mollie! 😀

    • I think you’ll like this then. The dressing just has a hint of raspberry in it from the vinegar but sometimes I melt about a tablespoon of raspberry jam with about a teaspoon of water in a small cut in the microwave, stir it together and let it cool just a bit and use that instead of honey. It’s just a little “cheat” to up the raspberry flavor. But then I love raspberry and pretty much always have a little raspberry jam around.

      Happy FF! I’m excited to be cohosting with you!

  6. We’re such a fan of Cooking Light in my house too! I loved your breakdown and description for the pricing of each ingredient. Not only is it helpful, but I learned a little bit about your selections as well. I love how versatile this recipe is, yet the raspberry dressing sounds right up my alley. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

    • I started buying Cooking Light back in the 90’s, pre internet! I don’t know that I every lost any weight but it introduced me to so many foods from so many cultures and countries and i really learned to serve a lot of vegetables and varied ingredients. As a result, both my kids are great eaters.I do remember my daughter saying, “why can’t you just make normal food” though!

      Now we have so many options and wonderful blogs to look at with the push of the button, but it wasn’t always that way and I think Cooking Light expanded my horizons! 🙂

  7. I have never added chicken to my fruit salad! This I shall try for sure!! It is perfect for the hot summer lunches on the beach! Thanks for all your tips on being frugal! You are a woman after my own heart!! Happy co-hosting. Happy FF!

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