I don’t like boring salads. Salads should include a lot of colour, taste, and be filling enough to eat for a main meal. This chicken salad recipe is dairy and gluten free, so there’s no bread served alongside It. But I’ve made sure the salad itself is filling enough to be served for your main meal. If you have leftovers, it’s great for a packed lunch the next day. Personally, I like to serve this chicken salad with homemade mayonnaise, but you can use alternative salad dressings of your choice.
If you suffer with food allergies or intolerance, please check the ingredients list carefully before making any recipe. It’s also important to check the individual ingredients for cross contamination or possible allergens. This post contains affiliate links.
The Best Ever Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 Celsius (370 Fahrenheit).
- Remove the skin from the butternut squash using a good vegetable peeler. Remove the seeds and chop the squash into bite sized cubes. Place in a baking tray with some olive oil and roast for 40 minutes, turning halfway.
- Place the chicken breasts in a baking tray, using the olive oil to coat the try and a little on top of the chicken. Crush the garlic over the chicken and add some salt and pepper. Place in the oven next to the butternut squash for 25-35 minutes, turning halfway.
- While the butternut and chicken are cooking, chop the lettuce into slices and wash them. Leave them to dry while you prepare the rest of the salad.
- Prepare a plate for each serving. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in half. Place 6 tomatoes on each plate.
- Cut the avocado into quarters, removing the seed. Remove the skin from each quarter, then cut into thinner slices. Place a quarter onto each plate.
- Remove the skin from the mango. Slice it into small pieces, avoiding the seed in the centre. Place a quarter onto each plate.
- Once the lettuce is dry, place a quarter onto each plate.
- Remove the butternut squash from the oven and place a quarter on each plate.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and cut through the breasts to ensure they're fully cooked and safe to eat. Slice the breasts into thin slices and place half of each breast onto each plate. Serve with mayonnaise.
Notes
Storage
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2 days. Take to work for a packed lunch.Skinning the Butternut Squash
A good vegetable peeler is key to removing the skin from your butternut squash. If you don’t have a good peeler, you can instead cut the butternut squash in half, remove the seeds, and roast it as it is. It will take a little longer, but once cooked, you can scoop the flesh out easily from the skin and use it in the salad.More about my chicken salad recipe
If you follow my recipes regularly, you may notice that I try to use as few pots and pans as possible. For this recipe, I use two baking trays for the butternut squash and chicken. You’ll also need a chopping board to prepare the ingredients for the salad. As soon as each ingredient is prepared, I dish it onto the plates we’ll be using. If you’re making it for packed lunches, you can dish it straight into the Tupperware container. Wait for the chicken and butternut squash to cool before you put it in the fridge though.
My gut loves salads and they’re a great source of nutrition so I regularly include them in my diet. The first time I suggested to my husband that I make salad for dinner, I received an eye roll. But when I dished this meal up for him, he changed his tune and decided maybe salad for dinner wasn’t quite so bad. I believe there’s a lot of misconceptions around what salad is. I hope this recipe will help someone overcome their dread of salads.
If you enjoy this chicken salad recipe, please leave a comment or review below!
I have a sweet tooth so I love to add fruit to many of my recipes, but I must admit that mango is my absolute favourite. If you enjoy mango as much as me, check out my mango chicken curry recipe here.
If you don’t have a good vegetable peeler, I highly recommend one for butternut squash. It will make your life easier. Personally, I find the Y shaped peelers easiest. Here’s a link to one on Amazon.
