Skip to main content

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad with Strawberries



***My favorite salads always include nuts (preferably pecans or walnuts), chicken, bleu cheese, balsamic dressing, and either strawberries or cranberries. I was recently flipping through the pages of the new May/June 2009 issue of Cooking with Paula Deen magazine when I stumbled across this recipe. It looked and sounded perfect to me, so I gave it a try. Brad and I both LOVED this one. It's light and delicious...perfect for the hot summer months!

The chicken has a wonderful taste, with the addition of the pecans. The tangy bleu cheese is a perfect contrast to the sweetness of the strawberries, and the dressing finishes it off flawlessly!This dish is very easy and you won't have a mountain of dishes and pans to clean up afterwards. ***


Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4-inch thickness and cut in half crosswise
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3 (5 oz) bags spring salad mix
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
1 (3 oz) package goat cheese, crumbled (I used bleu cheese)
12 strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

Directions:
Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

In a shallow dish, lightly beat egg whites.

In a separate shallow dish, combine pecans, bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, and salt. Dip each chicken breast in egg white. Dredge in pecan mixture, gently pressing pecan mixture onto chicken.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add 4 chicken breasts, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil and remaining 4 chicken breasts. Bake for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Let chicken stand for 10 minutes. Cut chicken into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Divide lettuce evenly between 8 serving plates. Top each with 1 sliced chicken breast. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing. Top each evenly with goat cheese and strawberries. Serve immediately.

Comments

The Duo Dishes said…
Bee-yoo-tea-ful salad here. This is a keeper!
I have a big chunk of gorgonzola... this looks perfect.
Ciao~
Lisa said…
OMG..that is not only beautiful, but right up my alley in terms of breaded chicken with greens or fruit..and the gorgonzola..YUM! I'm bookmarking this one!
RecipeGirl said…
Looks wonderful! The chicken does look like it's prepared pretty light (yay Paula Deen!) I wonder if you might be able to get away with just sauteing it in a bit of cooking spray instead of the oil.

Great summer salad!
Anonymous said…
Oh my gosh, starred this, it looks sooooo good!

Popular posts from this blog

Absolutely Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use. UPDATE:   Since originally writing this post in 2008, I've  made these cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas!  They are a holiday tradition that my family looks forward to all year!  You can see my other posts here, with lots more photos of these sinful cinnamon rolls: CHRISTMAS 2009 CHIRSTMAS 2010 CHRISTMAS 2011 The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas

My Favorite Quiche!

***It's not often that a recipe is worthy of re-posting.  I think I've only done that once or twice in the entire time I've written this blog.  However, this is one of those rare occasions.  Back in 2009 when Brad and I went to Europe, we had the most amazing Quiche Lorraine at the incredible Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris.  It was delicious and was served alongside a yummy salad of fresh greens (Quiche Lorraine sur Salade Verte).  Oh, it was heaven on a plate!  It also didn't hurt that we were sitting on the patio of one of the most famous cafes in Paris, after all...haha.  The atmosphere and people-watching in that particular area are hard to beat. I'll never forget the elderly lady that was sitting at the table right next to us (the tables were situated pretty close together).  She was dressed to-the-nines, was all by herself, and was just the quintessential, classy Parisian lady.  I wish more than anything that I had tried to strike up a conversation with her

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven.   Don't you agree?  This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007!  In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern.  Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else.  Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention.  This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had.  An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out