For someone who doesn’t frequent a lot of steakhouses, I seem to be building up quite a little collection of Steakhouse Recipes. (Click on the tag “Steakhouse” at the bottom of this post to see some of them.) Here’s another, a copycat version of Longhorn Steakhouse’s Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad.
Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad
When I was in Atlanta for my daughter’s wedding, somehow one afternoon when we were running errands, we ended up stopping in at Longhorn Steakhouse. We each got a salad (this salad comes with chicken or without at the steakhouse) and we split a steak which worked out pretty well – except I didn’t get the Longhorn’s Strawberry Salad. I got something else, and then wished I wouldn’t have!
About Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad:
I don’t think I’ve had a strawberry salad of any kind since the ’90s. A berry-picking morning with the kids followed by making jam and then having a strawberry salad later in the day kind of burned me out on them! But one bite of Jess’ salad and I knew sooner or later I would do a copycat version. See, we don’t have Longhorn in Twin Cities and I wanted to taste that salad again.
This salad is such a beautiful blend of ingredients. There’s a mix of lettuce, which automatically makes me think “pampered” along with the strawberries, mandarin oranges, grapes, and a few red onion slices for a bit of a needed bite. Then the whole salad is sprinkled with Feta cheese. The salad is gorgeous and every bite is a play on textures and flavor contrast. It just doesn’t get old.
Two things that make it really special, though, are the Candied Pecans and the Raspberry dressing. I’ve had a recipe on my site for ages for Candied Pecans; they’re super simple, especially when you just want to do up a handful or two. And that dressing! It’s so creamy and cool and pretty in pink! And you won’t believe how easy it is to make…just a little raspberry jam (coz that way you don’t have to worry about fresh or even frozen raspberries) for some sweetness, a little vinegar for the tart and a touch of yogurt (you could use mayo instead of the yogurt) for the creamy and you’re done. You could make it in your sleep!
Candied Pecans
Making Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad:
And above, I didn’t mention the chicken, did I? The chicken for the salad, if you’re using it, is grilled. I didn’t really detect any specific flavor leanings in the bit of my daughter’s salad that I had, so I just used a simple basic marinade (and just for giggles used part of the mandarin orange’s juice) and then grilled it off quickly. Do it inside or out, it doesn’t really matter; directions are for both in the recipe.
So that’s three things to make for the salad, the chicken, the pecans and the vinaigrette. And of course, if you wish, make the pecans and the vinaigrette ahead if you want. The chicken actually could be cold or warm, so do that ahead, too if you need to or want to. Then it’s just about the assembly.
This salad would be so beautiful for a ladies’ lunch, a little dinner on the deck with a glass of wine on a spring, summer or warm fall evening. We may not have many more of those depending on where you live! If it’s cold, pin this for next year! And I can’t help but think how perfect this salad would be made in larger quantities for a shower. I can’t see how it could possibly fail to impress.
If you follow me, you [robably know that I usually post more seasonally. But I had my shoulder operated on a little while ago, and am relying on some of my drafts that I didn’t post earlier in the year to help me get by…no worries, though, I have a couple of pie recipes and a few special things coming up for Thanksgiving and I’m getting better by the day! I might have to see how everything goes after I start physical therapy, though. I’m dreading that!
Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad – This is the Creamy Dressing
Saving Money on Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad:
I make so many chicken recipes on my site, if you follow me, I’m sure you already know I tell you to know the high and low sale prices for chicken, especially chicken breasts which are a bit pricier than the other parts. Generally, chicken will drop to a low once a quarter and that low is usually the difference between a good sales price that might happen more often and a rock bottom price. When it hits that rock bottom price, stock up. And stock up in enough quantity to last to the next great sales price. Those sales are often larger family packs, so divide them up in packages to suit your family size and freeze.
I don’t often by the spring mixes, but sometimes you have to splurge. They’re usually 4 to 10 times the price of buying lettuce by the head. Watch for it on sale (and wash it well under running water, then spin it dry) and check at Aldi if you have on nearby. Their prices can’t be beaten. If it still seems pricey or it doesn’t look good at the store, this salad will be amazing made with fresh spinach, too. I usually pick up most of my fruits and vegetables at Aldi, too.
The rest of the ingredients are usually pretty inexpensive. The Feta cheese is always best bought in blocks rather than crumbles; per pound, it is far less expensive even though sometimes the crumbles might seem like they are a bargain. I have a whole post about shopping for and Feta and just about everything else you could possibly want to know about it and it’s called (surprise, lol) What to Know about Feta! I stock up on nuts every fall when the harvest is in and they are at a low for the pre-holiday sales. I chuck those, well wrapped, in my freezer, too. They’ll stay fresh forever.
Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad
Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad
- Prep Time: 1 hour (for marinade)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salads
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Salad:
Feel free to add more or less of any ingredients.
- 1 (10 to 12 ounce) bag spring salad mix
- 1/2 pint strawberries, sliced
- 1 1/2 cups grapes, halved
- 1 small (7 ounce) can of mandarin oranges, drained, save the juice
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- about 1/2 cup candied pecans (See recipe)
- 2 to 3 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled
- 4 chicken cutlets, sliced and divided among the servings
- 1 recipe Raspberry Vinaigrette
For the Grilled Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 horizontally, lightly pounded if needed
- 1/4 cup of the juice from the mandarin oranges
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Raspberry Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoon raspberry jelly or jam
- 1/4 cup white wine or white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- sugar, salt to taste
Instructions
For the Salad:
Lay the greens out on a platter or on individual serving plates. Arrange the strawberries, grapes, mandarin oranges and candied pecans on salad, leaving a space in the center for the chicken. When cooked and allowed to cool for a few minutes, slice chicken at an angle and place in the center of the salad. Top with red onion slices and Feta cheese. Pass the dressing.
For the Raspberry Vinaigrette:
Mix all ingredients together. If using a jam that’s chunky, dressing may be blended. Thin wth a bit of water if needed. Taste and adjust, adding salt and pepper to taste, making a bit sweeter or a bit tarter if needed. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Pass the dressing at the table so everyone may add as much or as little as they wish.
For the Grilled Chicken:
When ready to cook, heat your grill to high for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pound each chicken breast between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap with a rolling pin or a mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. Add to a ziploc bag and add the rest of the ingredients. Marinade for at least an hour and if time allows, marinade longer. When ready to cook, remove chicken, discard marinade and pat chicken dry.
Place chicken on the grill, smooth side down and grill for 2 to 3 minutes or until nice grill lines show. Turn and continue to grill until golden brown and just cooked through.
Place each chicken cutlet on a large plate as they’re done and allow to rest, lightly covered for several minutes before slicing and dividing among the salads.
If making indoors, heat a large skillet with a tablespoon or two of oil over high heat, proceed with the recipe as stated above, watching the heat level and turning down if necessary.
Keywords: Bargain Meal of the Week, Cheese, Chicken, Chicken Breast, Feta Cheese, Grapes, Jam Jelly or Preserves, Lettuce, Longhorn Steakhouse, Main Dish Salad, Mandarin Oranges, Red onion, Salad, Salad Dressings, Steakhouse, Strawberries, Vinegar, Yogurt
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I’ll be sharing Longhorn Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad at Fiesta Frida 301, hosted this week by this week by Antonia @ Zoale.com and Angie, herself.
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