Description

A bright and lemony chicken salad with crunch from celery, apple, fennel and poppy seeds and just enough sweetness from dried cranberries and grapes.Creamy mayonnaise ties this all together!

Ingredients

Scale

1.5 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup celery, diced (about 2 stalks)
1 medium apple, diced (honeycrisp or pink lady are my favorites!)
3/4 cup fennel (core removed), diced (about 1/2 bulb fennel)
1 cup grapes, quartered
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 cup mayonnaise (homemade or store bought)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (or yellow mustard)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1/2 cup roasted pecans (optional)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Put chicken breasts in large pot and fill with water two inches above chicken. Bring to boil then turn to gentle simmer until done (Internal temp 165) about 10-15 minutes. (Do not over cook!) Set aside to rest for 10 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
Put red onion and red wine vinegar in small bowl and let macerate (takes the sharp bit out!) while you prep the other ingredients.
Toss together the celery, apple, fennel, grapes, cranberries, and poppy seeds and stir with the juice from one lemon and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt.
Stir mayonnaise with lemon zest, onion powder, garlic powder, and dijon mustard.
Cut the chicken into cubes and toss with 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, parsley and tarragon.
Toss the veg, chicken and mayonnaise with the herbs and strained red onion (save the vinegar!)
Test for salt if needed. Add a little more of the red wine vinegar from the onion to taste. Add black pepper to taste and chill until cold, at least an hour. Serve with lettuce or favorite bread or crackers.

Notes

To make this Whole 30 compliant, make sure to use whole 30 approved ingredients. Check the labels for the sneaky places sugar creeps in (mayonnaise, mustard, cranberries) and use mustard without wine. Swap where necessary (raisins instead of cranberries for example). This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.