What Is Chicken Salad Chick
Chicken Salad Chick is a fast-casual restaurant chain featuring chicken salad variations. The franchise boasts over 200 franchise restaurants and stores.
The origin of Chicken Salad Chick all began in the home kitchen of Stacy Brown, a stay-at-home mom. Stacy Brown had always had a desire to discover the perfect chicken salad recipe, resulting in recipe experimentation that deviated from the norm of chicken salad recipes. This aided in the perfection of Stacy Browns chicken salad recipes which gained popularity with her guinea pigsteachers, family, and friends.
As Stacy Browns chicken salad recipes gain popularity, she and her husband, Kevin Brown, decided to take a step forward in their production of perfected chicken salad. The first Chicken Salad Chick was built in Auburn, Alabama, and since then has drastically increased its locations since then. The motivation of Chicken Salad Chick is a humble restaurant that can spread joy and enrich lives through its food and service.
Copycat Chicken Salad Chicks Grape Salad
Copycat Grape Salad from Chicken Salad Chick this stuff is like crack. Its fantastic! Brown sugar and pecans are sprinkled over cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, sour cream, and grapes.
Brunch, baby showers, business potlucks, cookouts, tailgating, and holiday breakfasts are all good options. SO EASY and SO DELICIOUS! You may make this ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator.
Does This Really Taste Like The Chicken Salad From Chick Fil A
Of course it does! It literally tastes the EXACT same which is why I love it so much. Trust me on thismake it one time and youll agree!
We hope you love this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a rating, if possible. This lets us know what you really think and allows us to keep making recipes that we hope youll continue to love and enjoy.
Also Check: Drew’s Organic Salad Dressing
On A Diet What Should You Order At Chick Fil A
9 Chick-fil-A Orders That Are Both Healthy and Delicious
Last week I wrote a post asking how much is a salad at Chick Fil A . I was curious to see how much money a small salad would cost, and how much it would cost if I got a large.. Read more about chick-fil-a spicy southwest salad with grilled filet and let us know what you think.
The Best Spicy Southwest Salad
When I’m in the mood for something wholesome, fresh, and filling, this southwest salad recipe is always my go-to.
I love a salad that is all jazzed up with a combination of different ingredients. And the ingredients in this salad blend together to create the perfect balance of flavors. And this copycat Chick-Fil-A spicy southwest salad has just that.
I mean, there’s perfectly seasoned chicken, southwest-style veggies, a homemade smooth salsa dressing with a little kick, and everything is finished off with crunchy tortilla strips & chili lime pepitas. What’s not to love about this salad?
And what makes this recipe even better is it’s easy to put together and works perfectly as a healthy meal prep recipe you can eat over the next few days.
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Does Chick Fil A Host Breakfast Hours
Chick-fil-A menu has a variety of meals you can order at the restaurant. You could try out one of their waffle sandwiches if youre in the mood for something sweet and savory. Or you could get a combination of a few of their breakfast staples like the Egg White Grill and either a hash brown or some fruit.
To give you the complete list, Chick fil A breakfast menu includes:
- Hash Browns
Published: by Lynda
Along with the Original Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Nuggets, and Chick-Fil-A Waffle Potato Fries, there are also healthy options on the Chick-Fil-A menu, including fresh salads that are full of plant-based whole foods and are delicious. Seriously.
Chick-Fil-A is the Souths favorite go-to restaurant when it comes to, wellchicken. Their original chicken sandwiches are made with A boneless breast of chicken seasoned to perfection, hand-breaded, pressure cooked in 100% refined peanut oil and served on a toasted, buttered bun with dill pickle chips. Whats not to love?
Despite how delicious it is, there are very few plant-based ingredients in the sandwich.
According to the USDA guidelines , older children, teen girls, active women, most men should be consuming at least 3 servings of fruit and 4 servings of vegetables per day. The best way to do that at Chick Fil A is to order one of their salads, their Superfood Side, or fruit cup. So lets take a look at some healthy foods on the Chick-Fil-A menu that can help us meet those dietary guidelines.
Is The Spicy Southwest Salad Healthy
While the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad is healthy in that it is full of nutrient-loaded vegetables and ingredients, its definitely one of the higher-calorie salads on their menu. However, making this homemade version of the salad and dressing is a great way to lower the calorie count and keep the nutrition in the meal!
The Chick-Fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad has 690 calories. This copycat recipe has about 343 calories with the same amount of protein and the same amount of deliciousness as the original!
Read Also: Mcdonalds Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
A Few Other Discontinued Chick
The Chick-fil-A Chicken Salad is but one of the many menu items the popular fast food chain has done away with in recent years. According to Today, at the beginning of 2021, the chain announced it was removing bagels and decaf coffee from the menu, making their breakfast offerings a bit less robust. They also ceased offering four- and six-piece nuggets, instead splitting the difference and moving to a five-piece size.
The Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich is probably not going anywhere, though.
Chick Fil A Catering Menu
The Chick-fil-A eatery offers to give catering benefits too to the organization of customers who couldnt envision anything superior to have their requests in places other than the Chick-fil-A eateries. Chick fil A catering prices of different categories like Breakfast, Trays, Packaged Meals, Beverages, Sides & Treats, Salads & Wraps, and Entrées are also mentioned next to the food item below.
Breakfast:
- Spicy Chilled Grilled Chicken Sub Sandwich Tray $23.50
For complete Chick-fil-a Catering Menu and prices of different sizes, you can visit https://www.chick-fil-a.com/catering.
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How To Make Chick
How To Serve Chicken Salad
If you dine at the Chicken Salad Chick you can enjoy your chicken salad in two ways. One is a scoop of chicken salad on a bed of leaf lettuce. The other way you can have chicken salad is on a sandwich. Their sandwiches come with leaf lettuce and ripe tomatoes.
If you want you could serve it with crackers or you could stuff the chicken salad inside of a tomato. Its completely up to you.
Also Check: Chicken Caesar Salad Chick Fil A
What Makes This Chicken Salad So Good
I think there are a few different elements that make this recipe unique.
- It calls for only chicken tenders. Chicken tenders shred wonderfully when pulled apart after cooking.
- Celery is chopped super fine, so you dont get large pieces of celery.
- Also, dry Ranch salad dressing mix adds a unique flavor.
For this recipe, I have chosen to cook the chicken tenders in chicken stock. I think this adds layers of flavor to the recipe. Good quality chicken stock is made with carrots, celery, and onion. The chicken tenders pick up some of this flavor.
Gather Your Ingredients For This Copycat Chick
All you need to make this excellent clone of the classic Chick-fil-A chicken salad are some pre-cooked chicken breasts, a cup of mayo, a tablespoon of sweet relish, hard-boiled eggs, and two large celery stalks, diced rather finely.
Now, what you do with your copycat Chick-fil-A chicken salad? That’s your call. You can put it on toast with lettuce and tomato and make a great sandwich, you can use it in a wrap, or of course, you can enjoy it as is, creating a satisfying and protein-laden snack that will fuel you throughout the day.
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What Kind Of Chicken Should I Use To Make Chicken Salad
Chicken salad is typically made using leftover chicken, canned chicken, or shredded rotisserie chicken. You can use either dark meat, white meat, or a combination. If you dont have any pre-cooked chicken on hand, you can also cook chicken just for making chicken salad. Simply boil 2 chicken breasts in either water or chicken broth for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and shred chicken with a fork.
How To Store Your Southwest Chicken Salad
Like any salad, the best way to enjoy this southwest salad is when it’s freshly made.
That said, there are a few tricks you can do if you want to meal prep or enjoy some leftovers the next day. And if you want to do this, I recommend only assembling the amount you plan to eat that day.
Then you can store all of your ingredients in separate containers or in a container with dividers in it.
If you store everything this way in airtight containers, your spicy southwest salad will stay good in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you want to enjoy this salad again, add all of your ingredients to a bowl and dig in!
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How To Make Southwest Chicken Salad
Now, once you’ve got all your ingredients together, the rest of the recipe comes together in a snap.
And I know you want to dig into this salad ASAP, so let’s dive into the instructions!
STEP 1: MAKING THE SPICY CHICKEN
First things first, let’s prepare the chicken.
To start, pound the chicken breasts a few times with a meat tenderizer to flatten them. Then the chicken breasts in the pickle juice for 2-4 hours.
Now, you don’t absolutely have to marinate it, but it totally elevates the flavor of this chicken.
Next, combine the spices for the chicken – cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder – in a small bowl and give them a good mix.
Once the chicken breasts are done marinating, pat them dry with paper towels and spread sour cream on both sides of the chicken. Then cover the chicken in the prepared spice mix.
Next, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a cast-iron pan.
Then add your chicken breasts to it, cook them for 4 minutes on one side, flipthem over, and cook for another 4 minutes.
Transfer your cooked chicken to a plate and let it cool while you prepare the rest of the salad.
STEP 2: MAKING THE CREAMY SALSA DRESSING
While the chicken is cooling, we can move on to the dressing. And this dressing couldn’t be easier to make!
Then, blend everything together until you get a smooth and creamy consistency.
STEP 3: MAKING THE CHILI LIME PEPITAS
STEP 4: ASSEMBLING THE SALAD
Variations Of This Recipe
- ONION not traditional in the Chick-Fil-A version, but I love to add a bit of grated onion or very finely minced yellow onion to my chicken salad. You wont need much! Another option is to mince some green onion or chives and toss those in the salad. You could also serve the chicken salad sandwiches with some sliced red onion as well.
- SWEETER you could add a 1/2 tsp of granulated sugar to the chicken salad if you prefer a sweeter version.
- DILL some folks dont like the sweetness of the sweet pickle relish, so feel free to try dill relish instead.
- LOW CARB if youd rather ditch the extra carbs and go bread-less, try picking up some Bibb lettuce and serving this chicken salad up in lettuce cups!
- BREAD OPTIONS I went with hearty whole wheat bread here since thats what Chick-Fil-A used to use, but my favorite way to have chicken salad is on a slightly toasted croissant. I take the croissant halves and heat them cut side down in a skillet thats been sprayed with cooking spray and heated over MED HIGH heat. Once theyre golden brown, I let them cool slightly and then make my sandwich. Toasted bagels are another great option .
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What Do I Need For The Original Chick Fil A Recipe
Heres what youll need to make this recipe:
- Cooked chicken breasts the original Chick fil a recipe calls for four of their chicken breasts, which can be grilled or fried. I went with the grilled chicken breast.
Four of those chicken breasts will run you around $18.40. So youre gonna be making one of the most expensive one pound batches of chicken salad ever. Yikes!
I did follow their recipe but I would really recommend buying the ready to use grilled chicken breast pieces that you can find at your local grocery store or cook your own. It will be a lot less expensive. Chicken nuggets or rotisserie chicken would also work if thats what you have on hand. Youll need around one pound of chicken to make the recipe.
- Celery adds great flavor to cold salads and texture. Celery is also a pretty common ingredient in chicken salad or tuna salad recipes.
- Sweet Pickle Relish just like my mothers chicken salad recipe, this one calls for the sweet pickle relish. A lot of folks like the sweet relish. The taste reminds me of the store bought varieties. My own simple chicken salad recipe uses dill relish salad cubes instead because thats what we prefer at our house.
- Real Mayonnaise if I had to guess I am betting that the original Chick fil a spread uses Hellmans or a restaurant mayonnaise. Since I dont know for sure, because the recipe wasnt that specific, I used Dukes mayonnaise.
Best Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipes
Besides the easy list of ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocery store , youll also need a food processor to combine the salad the way they made theirs. Thats what I did, but everything could also be hand chopped and would be just as delicious.
Wheres the salt and ground black pepper? I thought the same thing! As I mentioned before, I did follow their recipe exactly and the recipe didnt call for seasonings. If I were to make my own tweaks to the recipe, I would add a little salt and pepper because I do like that in chicken salad.
I would also likely add a little bit of onion too. After you try the recipe, you may also want to make alterations to suit your tastes. A bit of chicken broth could be used for extra flavor or a splash of lemon juice for a citrus kick of freshness.
Begin by prepping all of your ingredients so they are ready to go into the food processor. When I use celery in cold salads, I like to remove the stings on the stalk with a knife before chopping into chunks.
Theres no need to spend time dicing the celery since it will be going into the food processor.
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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder
Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.
Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.
She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.
She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.
As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.
Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.
Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.
Is Chick Fil As Grilled Chicken Sandwich Healthy
The grilled chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A contains just 320 calories, 5 grams of fat, and 30 grams of protein, so it will keep you satisfied far beyond lunchtime. To make a balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, and lipids, grilled chicken is combined with fruits, vegetables, and a little cheese.
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How To Store Chick Fil A Cobb Salad
You should store each component of the Chick Fil A salad separately in the refrigerator:
Wrap the chicken in plastic and use it within three days.
Try storing the salad dressing in a sealed container with a bit of plastic wrap pressed down on the surface of the dressing to prevent the avocados from oxidizing and turning brown. Once the salad dressing starts to change colors, toss it.
The cooked bacon and uncut hard-boiled eggs should last about five days when wrapped separately in the fridge.
Cover and put any leftover salad in the fridge and eat it within a few hours to prevent it from getting soggy.