Blackened Chicken Salad
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This Blackened Chicken Salad recipe is a simplified copycat recipe of the crispy rice salad at Sweetgreen that you can easily make at home in 30 minutes! It’s a 10-out-of-10 on the flavor scale and the spicy cilantro cashew dressing is absolutely my all-time favorite salad dressing. The flavors are incredible and will have you coming back to this salad recipe over-and-over again!
Why this salad hits all the flavor marks
Fresh, flavorful, creamy, crunchy, this salad has it all. I honestly make it every single week and never get tired of it! I mean, are you kidding me? Just the colors of this salad scream “I’m fresh and flavorful!!”
- The spicy cashew dressing hits every flavor, sweet, savory, umami, they’re all here to party!
- The dressing and avocado are creamy, while the chickpeas, quinoa, cucumber and almonds add crunch, giving this salad great texture!
- The onions are tangy, the greens are peppery, the blackened chicken is smoky, and the salad dressing is both sweet and spicy. All of these combine for a serious celebration of flavor in your mouth!
Key ingredients
Above I show you all of the ingredients for the recipe to give you a good visual for your shopping list. Below I’ll give you some notes on specific ingredients in the recipe. You can find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card.
- Greens – for the base of this salad, I use whatever greens I have in the fridge but a 50/50 blend of baby spinach and spring mix or arugula is my favorite.
- Pickled red onions – this is an ingredient that we always have in our fridge because I like to add them to bowls, salads, and tacos. These are totally optional. You can replace them with raw sliced onions for a tangy bite, or if you’re not a fan of onions, just leave them off of the salad.
- Crispy chickpeas – I used to roast chickpeas in the oven for this salad, but then I discovered these Biena chickpea snacks and became obsessed. They’re not sponsoring this post, I just genuinely love these for topping bowls, salads, or just eating as a snack.
The sweetgreen crispy rice bowl also includes wild rice and shredded red cabbage. I’ve made this salad into a bowl with these ingredients, and it’s great, but for simplicity sake, I ditched the wild rice. If you’d like to add it back, here’s an easy recipe for stovetop or Instant Pot wild rice.
Instructions
There are a lot of components to this salad, but here’s how I make it all come together in 30 minutes for a simple lunch or dinner.
- Start by preheating the oven to 425°F.
- Season chicken breasts with blackened seasoning. (Make homemade seasoning in advance, or buy some at the store.)
- Pop the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken is in the oven, blend up all of the salad dressing ingredients. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
- After you make the salad dressing, dice up the veggies for the salad. Toss the greens with the salad dressing. This takes about 5 minutes and at this time your chicken should be ready to come out of the oven.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, dice it up and add it to the salad with all of the other toppings, like crispy chickpeas, carrots, avocado, and onions.
Now, here’s my caveat, I do like to prep crispy quinoa and pickled red onions ahead of time when making this recipe. BUT, neither of these toppings make or break the salad, so you can definitely make it without them and still have the best salad of your life!
How to make crispy quinoa
Toss 2 cups of cooked and cooled quinoa with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon seasoning. When I’m making the quinoa for this salad, I use the same blackened seasoning I use on the chicken. Cook at 425°F for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
I like to make an extra large portion of quinoa in the Instant Pot early in the week. I put some in bowls for dinner that night, usually paired with our favorite balsamic salmon, then save the rest to make crispy quinoa the next day. It can roast in the oven with the chicken for this salad.
I use this, instead of the crispy rice that comes on the sweetgreen bowl, to add more fiber and protein to the bowls.
Want to meal prep this salad?
You should! It’s amazing and so easy to prep ahead.
On a leisurely Sunday afternoon roast a bunch of blackened chicken in the oven, alongside a tray of crispy quinoa. Blend up the most amazing spicy cashew salad dressing, then store everything in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can divide the greens, carrots, cucumber, and onions between large containers and place them in the fridge. I’d wait as long as possible to dice up the avocado, so it doesn’t brown. You’ll also want to store the crispy chickpeas and almonds at room temperature to keep them nice and crispy.
Can you imagine taking this beautiful bowl of goodness to work? Guaranteed to make all your coworkers jealous!!
Blackened Chicken Salad with Crispy Quinoa
Video
Ingredients
Spicy Cashew Dressing
- ½ cup cashew butter
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lime juice , fresh-squeezed
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1 cup fresh cilantro , leaves and stems
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon umami seasoning , or ½ teaspoon salt + ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salad
- 1 large chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning, or Cajun seasoning
- 6 cups arugula + baby spinach, or mixed greens
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup diced cucumber
- ½ cup sliced red onions, or pickled onions
- ½ avocado, diced
- ½ cup crispy chickpeas
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup crispy quinoa, see notes below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Slice one chicken breast in half lengthwise through the middle. Season with blackened seasoning on all sides. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- While the chicken is in the oven, add all of the ingredients for the spicy cashew dressing to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Toss the mixed greens, shredded carrots, and diced cucumber with ½ cup of the spicy cashew dressing. Divide between two bowls. Top with the pickled onions, diced avocado, crispy chickpeas, and sliced almonds.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, dice it up, then divide it between the two bowls. Finish the salad with a sprinkle of crispy quinoa (optional) and another dollop of the spicy cashew dressing.
Notes
- To make the crispy quinoa: toss 2 cups cold cooked quinoa with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon blackened seasoning. Cook at 425°F for 20 minutes, tossing halfway through.
- This recipe makes two salads, but you can easily double the recipe to make more for meal-prepping or to serve more people. Just click the 2X button above and all of the ingredient quantities will update. The salad dressing already makes enough to make this recipe twice, so you don’t need to double it, but you should because I think you’ll become obsessed with it like I am!
- The nutritional information provided only uses half of the salad dressing that this recipe makes.
- If you prefer, you can cook the chicken in a cast iron skillet on the stove, or on a grill, instead of in the oven. I recommend about 5-7 minutes per side, but always use a meat thermometer to check the internal temp.
- This salad is already dairy-free, and easy to make vegetarian and vegan by removing the chicken. Add more chickpeas or veggies, if you’d like!
Nutrition Facts
More salad recipes
If you love this blackened chicken salad, you’re going to love all of these flavorful salad recipes!
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