This Chicken and Grape Salad is one of my go to recipes for holiday dinners, potluck parties, or when I am craving a wholesome power lunch. It is a light and healthy salad packed with flavor, crunch, sweetness, protein, fiber and antioxidants.
During the busy holiday season all of us are guilty of getting wrapped up in dinner preparation and tend to use the recipes that are usually high in fat and calories. So what is holidays without indulgent food, right? However, it is easy to create a balanced menu by including some delicious and healthy items like this Chicken and Grape Salad that will save you both time and calories!
My Chicken and Grape Salad is very easy and may be prepared ahead of time. I like the convenience of using the chicken breast from the rotisserie chicken prepared at my favorite supermarket, and then use the rest of the chicken for sandwiches. I use walnut halves for a full crunch and flavor.
The beautiful red grapes are available all year round and during the holidays they add sweetness and a festive look to this simple salad. The spoonful of capers and sliced hot peppers add just the right amount of salt with a mild spicy kick.
The cooked chicken breast is cubed into bite size pieces and mixed with red seedless grapes in a medium bowl. Drain all the brine before adding the capers. The hot pepperoncini peppers are cored and deseeded, then sliced or chopped. In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard until smooth.
Add the walnut halves, the dressing and freshly cracked black pepper to the bowl. I don’t add any extra salt to this recipe because I feel there is sufficient amount of saltiness from the capers, pepperoncini and the dressing; however after mixing the ingredients, you could add some kosher salt to taste if you wish.
Make ahead Tip: This salad may be mixed one day in advance, without adding the walnuts (so they don’t lose their crunch). Then the next day simply add the walnuts and serve over lettuce.
Shred the Romaine lettuce into about 1-inch strips.
Serve this healthy and delicious Chicken and Grape Salad over a bed of lettuce as a holiday salad with, a side dish for your potluck party, or as a delightful any-day salad. Enjoy it knowing that you’re serving a healthful guilt free salad with a hint of sweet and salty that is anything but boring!
Total time: 10-15 minutes
- 2 cups cubed cooked rotisserie chicken breast
- 2 cups red seedless grapes
- ½ cup walnut halves
- 3 pepperoncini peppers (cored and deseeded), sliced or chopped
- 1 TBSP capers, drained
- 2 TBSP mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- One head Romaine lettuce shredded to 1-inch strips
- Freshly cracked black peppers to taste
- Kosher salt to taste
- Add cubed cooked chicken, grapes, walnut halves, chopped pepperoncini peppers and capers to a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl add 2 TBSP mayonnaise and 1 tsp Dijon mustard, whisk until smooth.
- Add the mayonnaise mixture and freshly cracked black pepper to the bowl with chicken mixture and toss to coat all the ingredients very well. I usually don’t add any extra salt to this salad but if you wish you may add some kosher salt to taste after mixing the ingredients.
- Serve the Chicken and Grape salad over shredded lettuce and top with more freshly cracked black pepper.
Oh, how I love the combination of these ingredients. Grapes go so well with chicken meat, and the other ingredients just make it more decadent. So easy to make such a delightful burst of flavors in the mouth. Yum!
So glad you like this combination Fae! It is a pretty healthy salad that may seem decadent, but carries minimal guilt 😉