Healthy Honey Chicken Salad With Cranberries
This Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries uses chicken breasts instead of the traditional canned chicken. It also includes red onion, cabbage, celery, cranberries, less mayo and the addition of honey for a healthy take on classic chicken salad!
If you like easy lunch ideas, try Avocado Tuna Salad With No Mayo, Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad, Air Fryer Loaded Garlic Bread, or Yellow Curry Chicken With Bone Broth.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Healthy Honey Chicken Salad With Cranberries
- Ready In: 45 minutes
- Makes: 6 servings
- Main Ingredients: chicken breasts, mayo, cranberries, honey
- Flavor Profile: crunchy, sweet chicken salad with a little tang
- Dietary Info: gluten free, eggless
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: sweet twist on a
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Light & Fresh: I love this Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries as it uses less mayo and it has the addition of honey and cranberries.
- Twist on a Classic: This is a light and sweet twist on the classic chicken salad as I use honey and cranberries!
- Snack or Meal: You can serve this with crackers, nuts, and fruit for a nice little snack board or make a classic sandwich with it for an easy lunch. I love serving with Homemade Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Crackers.
- Gluten Free: Naturally gluten free!
Ingredients
- Chicken: I use organic boneless skinless chicken breasts. But, chicken thighs or drumsticks also work, you can just remove the meat from the bones. You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken for this too!
- Purple Cabbage: This provides a crunch and vibrant color to this chicken salad. Green cabbage also works!
- Mayo: I use organic mayonnaise with olive oil as opposed to canola oil to keep this free of seed oils.
- Raw Honey: I love using organic raw honey which just means it has not been heated.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Easy Substitutions
- While I'm baking chicken for this, you can also use leftover chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, or even canned chicken.
- If you want to replace the chicken with tuna you can do that too!
- If you don't have dried cranberries, try raisins!
- You can use diced bell peppers in place of cabbage for a similar crunch and flavor.
How to Make Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Add salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is done and reaches 165°F. Allow to cool completely.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the celery, purple cabbage, and red onion. Add to a large mixing bowl with the dried cranberries.
- Chop the chicken into small cubes and add to the mixing bowl with the veggies.
- Add the mayo, mustard and honey into the bowl.
- Mix together to combine completely.
Serve on bread as a sandwich, on toast, in a bowl with crackers or just eat on its own!
How to Serve
- Enjoy on its own.
- Make a sandwich using Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Organic French Baguettes With Instant Yeast, Sourdough Pretzel Buns, or Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread.
- Make a bagel sandwich with my Homemade Sesame Bagels.
- Enjoy with Garlic Lemon Sweet Potato Fries or Lemon Herb French Fries.
- Serve with Simple Green Salad with Homemade Dressing or Kale Apple Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing.
Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries FAQ's
No, this is not overly sweet. The honey just provides a lovely little sweet to complement the tart cranberries.
Absolutely, you can use canned chicken if you prefer. You can even use leftover rotisserie chicken too.
Yes, this is a great option to make this even easier!
Yes, if you want to use canned tuna you can also do that.
You can use miracle whip or vegan mayo if you are avoiding eggs. You can also use avocado in place of mayo like I do in my recipe for Avocado Tuna Salad With No Mayo.
Yes, this is a great meal prep recipe. You can make ahead of time and store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I love this on toast, or just as a sandwich. You can add lettuce, sprouts, or tomato if making a sandwich. It's great on its own with a side of crackers or pretzels for a light lunch or afternoon snack!
Yes, you can enjoy this all on its own and skip the bread or toast. You could also serve this in lettuce cups! I recommend butter lettuce if you are doing that.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
It's best eaten within 5 days, but can be find for up to 7.
More Easy Lunch Recipes
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Healthy Honey Chicken Salad with Cranberries
Equipment
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 stalks celery (sliced)
- 2 slices red onion (diced)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup chopped purple cabbage
- ⅓ cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the chicken on the baking sheet. Add salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is done and reaches 165°F. Allow to cool completely.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the celery, purple cabbage, and red onion. Add to a large mixing bowl with the dried cranberries.
- Chop the chicken into small cubes and add to the mixing bowl with the veggies.
- Add the mayo, mustard and honey into the bowl. Mix together to combine completely.
- Serve on bread as a sandwich, on toast, in a bowl with crackers or just eat on its own!
Video
Notes
- While I'm baking chicken for this, you can also use leftover chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, or even canned chicken.
- If you want to replace the chicken with tuna you can do that too!
- If you don't have dried cranberries, try raisins!
- You can use diced bell peppers in place of cabbage for a similar crunch and flavor.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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Love this lighter take on the classic chicken salad!