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

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

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

Print Recipe

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

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

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

——————

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.