Blackberry Balsamic Chicken Salad

This delicious salad is ready in under 30 minutes!

In the latest series of cleaning out the freezer, I targeted blackberries for use for a salad dressing. I saw a recipe posted by Purely Elizabeth over on Instagram and was inspired by how simple it was! Just fresh berries + balsamic vinegar + olive oil.

I found all these greens and the cucumbers at the local farmer’s market in Courthouse (go if you’re nearby! Similar vendors at the Sunday one in Dupont). Pedro and I picked out weekend – baby curly kale, pea shoots and butter lettuce! All looked so pretty and I just couldn’t resist trying them all. Hooray for new things!

I diced up the greens for lunch, after a brief period of admiration, then whipped up the dressing – I did about equal parts of oil, vinegar, and berries, pureed it all and added a little salt and pepper.

Mint on top.

I wanted to add some protein to the salad and we had some leftover chicken so I decided to pan fry it in a little coconut oil and coconut flour. We were out of eggs so I skipped the dipping step and just dipped the chicken in a coconut flour // salt // pepper combo. I think almond flour or bread crumbs would work well too! I threw this in a nonstick pan for a few minutes until browned, flipped and cooked through until finished (temperature, about 165 degrees – used my thermometer!). This was super fast since the breasts were small.  Toasted walnuts on the side. No picture here but you can se the finished produck!

Next I just layered this all up and drizzled on more dressing. Fresh, light and paleo friendly 😊

I’d definitely save leftovers for a work lunch – just keep the dressing separate until you’re ready to eat!

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Blackberry Balsamic Chicken Salad

This flavorful salad is perfect for a work lunch or a light summer meal! You can add to the salad with what you have on hand - the dressing is what makes it though!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 small or 2 big servings

Author Andrea @ French Pressed Kitchen

Ingredients

Salad

• 4-6 cups mixed greens
• 1 small cucumber diced
• 1 small handful blueberries or blackberries
• Nuts optional
• Fresh mint roughly torn

Dressing

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup blackberries defrosted if frozen
• Dash of salt
• Dash of fresh ground pepper

Battered Chicken

• 4-5 thin chicken breasts or chicken tenders
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• Salt to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Coconut oil or other neutral oil for cooking

Instructions

• Roughly chop the greens into bite size pieces and add to a large salad bowl with mint and cucumber.
• Combine all the dressing ingredients and puree until smooth in a blender or Ninja. Set aside.
• Heat a pan to medium heat for pan frying the chicken. When pan is warm, add a bit of coconut oil (I didn't need much because I used a non-stick).
• Combine the coconut flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or dish and stir to combine a bit. Dip the chicken into the mixture, then place in the pan to cook. Sear on each side about 5 minutes (depending on thickness of chicken) or until temperature reaches about 165 degrees F.
• Toss the greens with the dressing, then top with the berries and nuts if using and more dressing.

Notes

Extra dressing will keep in the fridge for a few days in a sealed container (I used a jar). It was also great with fish!

Bon appetit!