Our fried chicken salad finds the perfect balance between fast food and nutritious greens. It features fried chicken as the deep-fried item and mixed salad as the light and fresh powerhouse.
This interesting salad shows that healthy eating involves all kinds of cuisine, and you don’t have to limit yourself to any specific ingredients.
Is Fried Chicken Salad Healthy?
Our fried chicken salad is compliant with our nutrition guidelines.
It has 248 calories in each serving, which is a manageable number for a dish with a high-calorie ingredient like mayonnaise.
The use of canola oil helps to limit the saturated fat level to only 2.6 g because it contains less fat than other oils. The high smoke point of this oil makes it one of the ideal choices for deep-frying.
This dish contains only 233.6 mg sodium, which is within the limits of our nutrition guidelines.
The fried chicken adds 17.2 g of protein to a dish already packed with nutrients from the salad. Along with exercise, complete protein choices like chicken helps to build and maintain lean muscle mass.
It’s important that you cook the chicken properly to enjoy its health benefits. It must reach an internal temperature of 165°F because raw or undercooked chicken is inedible and may cause food poisoning.
This dish provides you some more nutrients from the vegetable lineup of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, green beans, red cabbage, and corn, including an abundance of antioxidants like vitamin K and vitamin C.
Ingredients for Fried Chicken Salad
- Fried chicken
The first thing you need to do is cut the chicken into several pieces depending on the servings. In this recipe, cut it into four pieces.
This recipe uses chicken breast, which contains less fat than thighs or drumsticks. We season the chicken with Cajun seasoning and a bit of pepper, which is more than enough to make the chicken flavorful.
For the crispy coat, we use flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs, in this order. All-purpose flour is ideal because it can withstand the heat that’s necessary to cook chicken. The egg helps the layers of the coating stick to each other. Panko breadcrumbs are used to create the crispy texture that we all love.
- Salad
The salad consists of a variety of vegetables with diverse textures and flavors.
At the base are romaine lettuce and cherry tomatoes, two very common ingredients in salads. The leafy texture of lettuce works perfectly with sweet and juicy tomatoes.
Red cabbage has a chewy texture and a slightly peppery flavor that adds something new to the dish.
Corn has the same role as red cabbage, making this salad more diverse. The corn kernels add a distinct texture to the dish.
Green beans are blanched, so they are tender and have a slightly earthy taste.
- Dressing
The dressing of choice is the usual pairing of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. This creamy dressing makes the fried chicken taste more satisfying and the vegetables fun to eat.
We add pepper and parsley to add a bit of flavor to an otherwise mild dressing.
What to Serve With Fried Chicken Salad
This salad is missing some starch from becoming a complete meal. You can fix that by pairing it with the usual side dishes for fried chicken like mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.
Deconstructing the salad is also fun. You can prepare some buns or bread, place the fried chicken and salad as the toppings, and use the dressing as a sauce.
How to Store the Leftovers
- Salad
Mayonnaise-based salads can last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Transfer them to an airtight container before refrigerating. We don’t recommend freezing salads because the ingredients will become mushy, and the dressing will break.
- Fried chicken
Store fried chicken in airtight containers. Wrapping them tightly in aluminum foil is also an option. Fried chicken can last up to 4 days in the fridge.
The shelf life of the fried chicken can be extended to 4 months if it’s kept in the freezer. Use airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags to store it.
Let the chicken get to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 400°F before reheating for 12-15 minutes. You must reheat the frozen fried chicken to 165°F.
How to Make Fried Chicken Salad
Today's fried chicken salad recipe allows you to have fun while eating healthy with fried chicken on a bed of vegetables.
- cook TIME 25 mins
- prep TIME 7 mins
- total TIME 32 mins
- COURSE Side Dish
- CUISINE Global
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 248 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ozskinless boneless chicken breast
- 1 medium egg (whisked)
- 1 tspCajun seasoning
- 0.5 tbspall-purpose flour
- 0.3 cupplain panko breadcrumbs
- 4 ozcherry tomatoes (halved)
- 4 ozromaine lettuce (roughly chopped)
- 2 ozcorn kernels
- 1 ozred cabbage (chopped)
- 4 ozgreen beans (ends removed)
- 1 cupcanola oil (*)
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 2 tbspJapanese mayonnaise
- 2 tbspplain Greek yogurt
- 0.5 ozfeta cheese (crumbled)
- 0.5 tsppepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Season 8 oz chicken breast with 1 tsp Cajun seasoning and 1/2 tsp pepper.
Coat the chicken with 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour, one whisked egg, and 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs.
Fry the chicken in 1 cup of canola oil on low heat for 5 minutes. Take out the chicken pieces and place them on parchment paper.
Blanch 4 oz green beans for 2 minutes, then shock them in cold water.
Make the dressing with 2 tbsp Greek yogurt, 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 2 tbsp parsley. Mix well.
Assemble the salad with chicken, 4 oz romaine lettuce, 4 oz cherry tomatoes, 2 oz corn, 1 oz red cabbage, green beans, and 0.5 oz feta cheese.
Serve with the dressing and enjoy.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder
Natalie Butler, RD, LD
Nutrition Reviewer