Choose a salad dressing to complement the fruit ingredients.
For a radial change from a heavy piece of fried chicken, combine the white meat with slices of fruit, a bit of dressing and some salad greens. Serve a cool refreshing combination of chicken and fruit as the meal's salad or main course. A change in fruit or dressing produces a new flavor combination. The almost endless number of variations includes fruit grilled along with the chicken for a warm version of the salad.
Types of Chicken to Use
Because uncooked poultry should not combine with raw salad ingredients, cook the chicken ahead of time. Different cooking methods or marinades produce different flavors and textures for the meat. Combine chunks of roasted or rotisserie chicken in a spinach salad with grapefruit sections, apples and grapes. Add strips of grilled chicken to sliced citrus fruit and top with vinaigrette. Poached or boiled chicken breast pieces, marinated in a combination of red wine vinegar and fruit juice, complement sliced mangoes or pineapple in a green salad.
Fruit Choices
Summer salad recipes feature stone fruits, berries and citrus with cooked chicken either served as a cold dish with a dressing or placed atop a bed of greens. Toss sliced apples, nectarines or pears coated with balsamic vinegar or a creamy yogurt sauce with pieces of grilled chicken and serve on baby spinach or wrapped in lettuce leaves. Add citrus pieces to a soy marinade and chill before serving with shredded chicken and greens.
Chicken Waldorf Salad
Waldorf salad, the apple, celery and mayonnaise dish introduced to Americans in 1911 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, converts to a main dish with the addition of grilled chicken. "Sunset" magazine's revamped version of the traditional recipe substitutes apple juice for the mayonnaise. Other variations of the recipe rely on yogurt or fruit sauce for a sweeter flavor or add curry or tarragon spices for a zestier salad.
Chicken and Fruit Salad Nutrition
A 5 oz. grilled chicken breast contains less than 200 calories and 4 g of fat. The Harvard School of Public Health features Madhur Jaffrey's chicken, shrimp and fruit salad recipe on their website, The Nutrition Source. The salad totals only 250 calories per serving. The nutritional value of each chicken and fruit salad varies based on the ingredients included and portion size. Vary the ingredients to meet the nutritional requirements of the diners.
Tags: grilled chicken, chicken breast, dish with, fruit dressing, fruit salad
