Rolling into Fall with this super simple Cranberry Apple Chicken Salad Wrap recipe. Crisp apple, tart cranberries, crunchy celery, and bits of toasted pecans. A great way to use up leftover chicken or even leftover holiday turkey.
Lettuce warps are my go to for lunch these days. Fresh, crisp lettuce filled with whatever leftovers I have going on in the fridge. It’s an awesome way to get a bit more greens into my diet. And perfect if you’re trying not to do the bread and cracker thing all day.
Since I cook a whole chicken pretty much every week (gotta have those bones for bone broth), I almost always have leftover chicken for lunches throughout the week. Chicken salad is a quick and easy way to use it up. All you need is some good quality mayo and some crunchy bits of veggies (or fruits) to create a healthy and delicious meal. The variations are endless.
Since we finally had our first rain of the season here in Northern California, I’m sharing my favorite Fall chicken salad loaded with all the good things: apple , cranberry, celery, and toasted pecans – all married together with a creamy dressing lightly seasoned with lemon and curry powder. Scoop it onto some crisp butter lettuce, and you have an easy breezy meal loaded with flavor.
Chicken salad is such food chameleon. You can substitute anything that sounds good to you. Here’s some ideas:
- don’t like curry? try garlic powder or dijon mustard instead
- no dried cranberries? try raisins or fresh grapes halves instead
- don’t like celery? use chopped red onion instead
- mayo not your thing? use yogurt instead
I’ve made this chicken salad several times lately as life is super full. It’s so easy to take with me on the go. If you saw my post last week, you know that our new house build is moving right along. But it feels like I spend a lot of my time thinking about and managing the job. It will be so good to finally have a home after a year and half of living with family. Can’t wait to share pictures of my new kitchen. Radiant floor heating is going in this week! Staying in gratitude every day.
Happy Fall!
xo,
Katja
Cranberry Apple Chicken Salad Wraps
- Prep Time: 10 inutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: about 4 cups 1x
- Category: lunch
- Method: chop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
DRESSING
- 1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise (homemade or THIS one)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp curry powder (like this)
- salt and pepper, to taste
FOR CHICKEN SALAD
- 3 cups chopped chicken (leftover, rotisserie, or 2 medium cooked chicken breasts)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (I prefer fruit juice sweetened like THIS)
- 1 small apple – chopped
- 1 stalk celery- chopped
- 1/4 cup toasted pecans – chopped
Instructions
- Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust for lemon. Set aside.
- Combine all chicken salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over top and mix to combine.
- Serve over crisp butter lettuce. Store leftovers in fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
This recipe works great with any leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. You can also cook up 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. My favorite way to cook chicken breasts to keep them nice and juicy: lightly pound chicken breast into one inch even pieces in between 2 pieces of parchment paper (I use my rolling pin.) Lightly salt and pepper each side. Heat 1 tablespoon of your fav cooking fat over medium heat. Place chicken breast into pan and cook for 6 minutes without moving it, until golden brown and easily lifts from pan. Add 1 teaspoon of butter, lifting chicken so the butter flows underneath. Cook for an additional minute. Flip chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes, until chicken is cooked all the way through. Remove pan from heat and allow chicken to rest for a couple of minutes.
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This will be a favorite of mine thank you so much
You are welcome! 🙂
Oh my! This sounds delicious! Love the cranberry and apple flavor combo!
Thanks, Tina!
Always a favourite a good chicken salad and easy for me to prepare – thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Darryl!! 🙂