Sweet Dairy Free Chopped Chicken Salad

Now that the warmer weather is here salads have returned the DiBurro dinner menus!  This Sweet Dairy Free Chopped Chicken Salad was satisfying and delicious!  It also makes a pretty presentation when bringing it to a party or a cookout. This salad is dairy free, egg free, nut free, wheat free, and gluten free.  I used soy sauce, but coconut aminos can easily be substituted to make the meal soy free too!

Dressing or Naked?

Call me crazy, but this chicken recipe is SO flavorful that I didn’t even use ANY dressing! That’s right!!! We went naked! No dressing means less calories, less ingredients, less possible allergens, and easier prep time!  However, if you feel that you MUST have a dressing I would suggest using Go Dairy Free’s recipe for Dairy-Free, Low-Fat Ranch Dressing or Allergy Awesomeness’ Dairy-Free, Egg-Free “Buttermilk” Ranch (Top 8 Free, Too!) .

Which toppings?

The great thing about salads is that you get to pick and choose what toppings to put on.  Don’t like tomatoes?  Leave them off?  Love avocado?  Pile them on!  It’s just really easy to accommodate everyone’s tastes by either plating the salad toppings separately or grouping them together on one pile for easy picking and choosing. I offered tomatoes, red peppers, carrot shreds, avocado, spinach, romaine, and corn along with the sliced chicken.

Sweet Dairy Free Chopped Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken

• 1lb chicken boneless chicken thigh
• 2 Tablespoons of cooking oil
• 3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

Salad

• 1 bag of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
• 1 cup of raw spinach
• 1 cucumber, washed and sliced
• 1 red pepper, washed and chopped
• 1/2 cup carrot shreds
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed
• 1/2 can corn

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pat chicken dry. Mix all of the wet ingredients and salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Cook chicken in oil until the edges turn white and it’s nicely browned.  Flip chicken and cook for about another 3 minutes until both sides of chicken are browned.
3. Empty mixture into pan with the chicken and turn heat to low.  Allow the sauce to cook and get sticky, making sure to flip the chicken over to allow the sticky mixture to cover the chicken.  Allow the chicken to cook and slice into thin strips.
4. Make each salad separately depending on each person’s tastes OR mix all of the salad ingredients and toss together with sliced chicken OR lay a bed of romaine and spinach and place a heaping of each ingredient on top of salad greens for a pretty presentation. Top with favorite dressing or leave it naked like we did.

 

Enjoy!

Elizabeth DiBurro

EBL Food Allergies