Chicken and Goat Cheese Salad with Cranberries

Yum

Get you a salad that can do both—Thanks to its balance between awesome flavors and its simplicity, this salad recipe is perfect for a weekday lunch or a holiday table.

Why you should make Chicken and Goat Cheese Salad with Cranberries

• It’s a perfect flavor balance: Sweetness of the dried cranberries + the creamy saltiness of the goat cheese hits every time.
• There’s an awesome texture balance: Those sunflower seeds aren’t for nothing.
• It’s soooo easy: Can you make (or purchase) and cut up grilled chicken? Great, that is the most ‘demanding’ part of this recipe.
• It’s wild fast: Most salads require a lot of prep cutting all the fruits and vegetables you plan to use. But, if you have enough time to throw a bunch of ingredients in a big bowl and mix it up, you have time to make this salad.

Okay so what ingredients do I need to make Chicken and Goat Cheese Salad with Cranberries?

Okay, this salad is literally so simple.

• Mixed greens
• Chicken breast (or prepared grilled chicken)
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• Goat cheese
• Dried cranberries
• Sunflower seeds
• Dressing of your choice (I almost always use Brianna’s Poppyseed Dressing)

How do I make Chicken and Goat Cheese Salad with Cranberries?

Like I said, it’s so easy…

1. Prepare your chicken: Rinse and dry 1 large chicken breast and cut into cubes. Cover in olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick pan to medium heat and add chicken. Cover the chicken and allow to cook for about 4 minutes on medium-high heat. Once browned, use a wooden spoon to flip chicken cubes to the other side. Allow to cook for another 3 minutes, or until fully cooked. Once cooked, remove pan from heat, and remove lid to allow chicken to cool a bit.

Or, if you literally can’t even fathom the idea of cooking anything, buy pre-prepared grilled chicken breast and cut into cubes.

2. Add your ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, add your salad greens and toppings (including chicken) on top.

3. Dress & Toss: Drizzle your favorite dressing on top and toss everything together using tongs, salad tossers (?), or if you’re like me, just two regular forks—because fewer dishes.

4. Serve: So I know I said this makes two servings, but also…there’s no shame in eating this whole thing by yourself with a piece of bread if you’re super hungry, because it’s just like that sometimes.

What other types of greens can I use in this recipe?

I mean, you can use whatever you’d like. But, in my opinion tender greens (or very thinly sliced kale) work best in this salad other than mixed greeds. You can also try:

• Baby spinach
• Baby kale
• Thinly shredded kale

What Other Kinds of Toppings can I Add to This Salad

I get it, some days, you just need a little extra, or you may not have an ingredient. Other toppings I’ve been known to add to this salad include

• Quinoa (it’s nice and filling)
• Durum wheat couscous (I’ll make it with a little tumeric, salt and garlic powder and…*chefs kiss*)
• Regular or candied pecans (usually in place of the sunflower seeds)
• Shaved almonds (in place of sunflower seeds

What if I want to make this salad vegetarian?

You can do that too! Proteins that work well in this salad include:

• Quinoa
• White or Cannellini beans

I’m sure you could also use a number of soy-based protein alternatives, but personally I don’t eat soy, and I can’t imagine the slippery texture of tofu being great in this, but to each their own…