Crispy Chicken Salad
This Crispy Chicken Salad is inspired by the popular Chick-Fil-A Cobb Salad, featuring crispy chicken tenders, smoky bacon, hard-boiled eggs, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and creamy cheeses, all tossed in a zesty honey mustard dressing. Perfect for meal prep or a quick weeknight dinner, this salad brings the best of restaurant dining to your kitchen.
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, approximately 2 romaine hearts
- ½ cup honey mustard dressing, or ranch dressing
- ½ cup corn kernels, drained and rinsed from a can
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ½ cup bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 2 hard boiled eggs, click link for recipe
- 2 cups crispy chicken tenders, diced (click link for recipe)
- ½ cup crispy red peppers
Instructions
Prep ahead.
- Before assembling this salad recipe, you’ll want to have cooked bacon, hard boiled eggs and honey mustard dressing ready to go. Follow each of the links provided to prepare them at home.
Make the chicken tenders.
- To make the air fryer chicken tenders for the salad, click on the link for the full recipe instructions, with helpful tips, or follow the basic recipe below.
- Whisk 4 large eggs in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, combine 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 teaspoon salt. In a third bowl, add 2 cups panko breadcrumbs.
- Slice 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 4-6 inch strips. Toss the chicken strips with 3 tablespoons chicken seasoning. Place each piece of chicken in the egg wash, then the flour, back to the eggs, then into the bread crumbs. Continue until all of the strips of chicken are breaded.
- To air fry the chicken strips, place them in a single layer in an air fryer basket and spray with cooking spray. Cook at 400°F for 4-6 minutes, flip, spray with cooking spray and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes.
- You can also fry the chicken by heating 1 cup of vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken strips in an even layer, not touching, and fry for 3-4 minutes per side.
- Dice the chicken strips before adding them to the salad.
Assemble the salad.
- In a large bowl, toss chopped romaine lettuce with avocado ranch dressing, until the lettuce is completely coated.
- Divide the dressed lettuce between four bowls.
- Top with the corn, red onion, cherry tomatoes, bacon, shredded cheddar and monterey jack, hard boiled eggs, crispy chicken, and crispy red peppers.
Notes
- The chicken on the salad can be served hot or cold. I prefer the chicken to be hot, but this is just a personal preference. If you want to make the chicken ahead of time and serve it cold, that will work just fine!
- You can also make this salad will grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken, instead of fried chicken. Pulling the meat from a rotisserie chicken and adding it to the salad makes it quick and easy, but it does take away the “crispy” element from the salad.
- To make this salad gluten-free (and easy!) pick up gluten free chicken nuggets in the freezer section of the grocery store. Cook them according to package directions, then dice them up and add them to the salad. Also, omit the crispy red peppers on top of the salad.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 500kcal (25%)Carbohydrates 28g (9%)Protein 25g (50%)Fat 32g (49%)Saturated Fat 11g (55%)Polyunsaturated Fat 3gMonounsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 185mg (62%)Sodium 701mg (29%)Potassium 652mg (19%)Fiber 3g (12%)Sugar 5g (6%)Vitamin A 8832mg (177%)Vitamin C 15mg (18%)Calcium 291mg (29%)Iron 3mg (17%)
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