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Homemade Chicken Tender Salad With Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Chicken tender salad is made with golden brown crispy chicken strips on a bed of greens with juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette. This easy weeknight dinner is dairy free and can easily be made gluten free.
Looking for more salad recipes? Try my Asian crunch salad with crispy chicken, salmon Caesar salad with crispy chickpea croutons, or chicken bacon ranch salad.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this crispy fried chicken salad:
- Romaine lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes
- Avocado
- Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- Homemade chicken tenders – boneless skinless chicken breasts, whisked egg, panko breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Honey mustard dressing – Dijon mustard, olive oil, white wine vinegar, raw honey, kosher salt, and black pepper.
How to Make Chicken Tender Salad: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Add the chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, and seeds to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Set up your dredging station. In one bowl, mix the panko bread crumbs and spices. In the other bowl, beat the eggs. Dredge each piece of chicken first in the beaten egg then in the panko mixture.
- Cook your chicken in either an air fryer or a skillet on the stovetop. See directions for each in the recipe card.
- Assemble your bowls. Toss the salad mixture with crispy chicken pieces, avocado slices, and the dressing until mixed to your liking. Enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer. No matter what cooking method you use, you’ll have to cook it in batches.
- The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer.
Quick Tip: Use your favorite dressing, it doesn’t have to be the honey mustard vinaigrette. See the ‘Make It Your Way’ section below for ideas.
Storage
Store the crispy chicken, salad, and dressing separately in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this crispy chicken salad recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No romaine? – use any greens for the bed of lettuce such as butter lettuce, massaged kale, or mixed greens.
- Make it gluten free – use gluten free bread crumbs if needed. Aleia’s is my favorite brand for gluten free and dairy free breadcrumbs. It tastes identical to traditional panko and is what I used for this recipe.
- Add-ins – crunchy tortilla strips, red bell pepper, thinly sliced red onion or shallot, julienned carrots, cucumber, etc.
- Variations – use a different salad dressing such as dairy free ranch dressing, 5 minute dairy free caesar dressing, or spicy cashew dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular breadcrumbs?
Yes, I just like the extra crispy texture of panko, but any type of breadcrumbs will work, either homemade or store-bought.
More Salad Recipes
- Asian Crunch Salad With Crispy Chicken
- Salmon Caesar Salad With Crispy Chickpea Croutons
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
I hope you love this Chicken Tender Salad! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Homemade Chicken Tender Salad With Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
Chicken tender salad is made with golden brown crispy chicken strips on a bed of greens with juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette. This easy weeknight dinner is dairy free and can easily be made gluten free.
Ingredients
Salad
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 heaping cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado sliced
- ¼ cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons raw honey to taste
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Homemade Chicken Tenders
- 1 – 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large egg beaten
- ⅔ heaping cup panko breadcrumbs use GF if needed
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt reduce to ½ teaspoon if using any other kind
- ½ teaspoon EACH garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- olive oil or avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Add the chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, and seeds to a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Set up your dredging station. In one bowl, mix the panko bread crumbs and spices. In the other bowl, beat the eggs. Dredge each piece of chicken first in the beaten egg then in the panko mixture.
- Cook your chicken in either an air fryer or a skillet on the stovetop. See directions below for each method.
- Assemble your bowls. Toss the salad mixture with crispy chicken pieces, avocado slices, and the dressing until mixed to your liking. Enjoy!
Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 400ºF.
- Arrange the breaded chicken pieces in a single layer in the tray. Spray the top of the chicken with avocado oil or olive oil. Cook for 9 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through and spraying the tops of each piece with a little more oil.
- Transfer the cooked pieces to a wire rack and continue with this process until you’ve cooked all the chicken.
Stovetop
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat with enough avocado or olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.
- Cook the chicken in a single layer on each side until golden brown and has an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Notes
The recipe makes 3/4 cup of dressing.
See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and FAQs.