This Fall Harvest Chicken Salad features all the best flavours of fall, topped with a delicious maple balsamic vinaigrette. An elegant, but simple salad, perfect for your holiday table !
I’d gone a bit wild at the The Olive Oil Dispensary, and had a ton of fun coming up with all kinds of delicious salad recipes.
... then I got caught up in a bunch of camping (Are you following our adventures over on 2 Nerds in a Truck?), and got WAY behind.
The leaves are turning now, though, so it seems like I should probably post my delicious fall harvest salad recipe. It’s my favorite time of year, so I should at least mark the occasion, right?
This recipe has everything I could want in a fall salad recipe - seasonal flavors from some of my favorite fall ingredients - roasted butternut squash, apples, figs, fresh sage ... it’s a tasty AND colorful salad!
The best part?
Not only is it a delicious meal any random day of the week, it is fancy enough that it would be a welcome addition to a Thanksgiving dinner spread!
Beyond the colours, flavours, and textures, the salad is also naturally gluten free, paleo, and AIP compliant!
It may just be the perfect salad.
Anyway, enough chatter, let’s get to the recipe!
Ingredients
So, this recipe has a bit of a laundry list of ingredients going, but they’re all pretty simple ingredients - many are pantry staples. You shouldn’t have any problem finding what you need at any larger grocery store.
Small Chicken Breasts
I use boneless, skinless chicken breast for this, and really haven’t bothered to deviate from it - it just works well for us.
That said, feel free to swap them out for boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces, though, you may want to allot 2 thighs per serving.
Butternut Squash
Butternut Squash was always my go to for things like this, but we’ve been on a delicata squash kick lately, so I think I’ll use some next time I make this.
If you’re not a fan of roasted squash, you can use sweet potatoes and still have the same general theme going - you’ll just want to shorten the first round of cooking time a bit, and keep an eye on them.
Fresh Greens
I leave this ingredient wide open, and will generally either go with what we have on hand, what looks freshest at the grocery store, or whatever fresh greens grab our attention at the farmers market.
I like to have at least some baby spinach or raw kale (usually baby kale, but chopped kale works in general). I also like to have something dark red in there - Spring mix usually has some kind of red / purple greens in there.
Also: shredded Brussels Sprouts work really well as part of the green on this recipe. Really, just go with what you like, and what’s in season!
Fresh Apples
I usually use honeycrisp apples when making this recipe - but switch to Mutsu when they’re in season. Pink Lady or Granny Smith would also work.
Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
To keep this recipe AIP / Paleo, I had to go looking - and pay a premium for - Unsweetened Dried Cranberries.
If you’re not on a super restrictive diet, feel free to use regular dried cranberries, which are sweetened.
Maple Balsamic Vinegar
When I first designed this recipe, it was mostly as an excuse to try - and showcase - the bottle of Maple Balsamic Vinegar I’d purchased.
I eventually ran out, and have been using a regular dark balsamic vinegar - still a fantastic recipe.
So, don’t feel like you need to run out to buy the maple dark balsamic vinegar if you don’t already have it on hand!
Apple Cider Vinegar
You can use lemon juice or orange juice in place of the vinegar, if you prefer.
Avocado Oil
You can use extra-virgin olive oil if you prefer.
We actually usually use extra virgin olive oil for these kinds of things, but I’d run out recently, and for some reason, it’s been way more expensive than avocado oil for a while... so I’ve been defaulting to avocado, waiting for it to go on sale.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Maple Syrup
Olive Oil
Crimini Mushrooms
Red Onion
Celery
Fresh Figs
Fresh Garlic
Dried Sage
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Sea Salt
Optional Toppings
I designed this recipe to *covertly* fit my AIP / Paleo diet. “Covert”, as there’s nothing weird in there, no real substitutions made, it’s just a great salad for everyone.
That said - if certain ingredients weren’t off the table for me - there are all kinds of other things I’d add to this. If you’re not keeping paleo, here are some options to consider:
Crispy Bacon: A bit of smoky bacon or crispy prosciutto would be lovely on this salad.
Nuts and/or Seeds: Toasted pecans, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds would add a fantastic crunch and flavour. Pomegranate seeds probably aren’t actually off the table for Paleo, now that I think about it. Pomegranate arils would also add a nice pop of colour and flavour.
Cheese: A bit of tangy feta cheese or creamy goat cheese crumbled on top would work really well with this salad.
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How to Make Autumn Harvest Salad
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through:
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Measure all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a blender or the cup of an immersion blender, blitz until smooth.
Season with salt, to taste, then cover and chill until ready to serve
Note: You can make this the a few days before if you’d like. The best way to keep it fresh is to chill it in an airtight container, like a mason jar.
Roasted Chicken Breasts and Squash
Preheat oven to 400 F, Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Trim chicken breasts if necessary, season all over with sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Set aside.
Spread the seasoned butternut squash pieces in a single layer over the sheet pan, roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Add the seasoned chicken breasts to the pan, cook for 3-4 minutes or so, until well browned. Flip, brown on the other side.
Remove from heat.
Keep an eye on the chicken after the 15 minute mark - it’ll be done when an instant read thermometer reaches 165 F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.
As the chicken and squash roasts, assemble your salads:
Divide your salad ingredients between 4 large serving bowls or plates, arranging as desired.
Once they’re fully cooked, slice the chicken breasts, place one on top of each salad, along with the squash.
Serve with the Maple balsamic vinaigrette.
Leftovers
Once assembled, it’s best to eat the salads right away - they don’t work well as leftovers.
That said, you can roast the chicken and squash, use what you need, and let the rest cool to room temperature. Cover and chill for up to 3 days, then just reheat and serve on freshly assembled salads when you’re ready.
More Gluten Free Main Dish Salad Recipes
Looking for more healthy salad recipes that are substantial enough to serve as a meal and gluten free? Look no further!
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Cobb Salad
Curried Chicken Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Grilled Halloumi & Peach Salad
Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Salad
Honey Ginger Shrimp Salad
Italian Sub Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Mandarin Glazed Chicken Christmas Salad
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Salad Meal Prep
Seafood Cobb Salad
Seared Tuna Salad
Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Shawarma Chicken Salad
Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
Teriyaki Chicken Salad
Thai Pesto Salmon Salad
Harvest Chicken Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Equipment
- Large nonstick pan
Ingredients
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Maple Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Garlic Clove peeled and pressed or finely minced
- Salt to Taste
Roasted Squash and Chicken Breasts
- 4 Small Chicken Breasts
- Dried Sage
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Salt
- 1 small Butternut Squash Peeled and chopped into ½" cubes
- 4 tablespoon Avocado Oil Divided
Salad Base
- 6 cups Salad Greens of Choice
- 1 Apple
- 4 Fresh Figs
- ⅔ cup Unsweetened Dried Cranberries
- ½ cup Sliced Celery
- ½ Small Red Onion thinly sliced
- 6 Crimini Mushrooms sliced
Instructions
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Measure all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a blender or the cup of an immersion blender, blitz until smooth.
- Season with salt, to taste, then cover and chill until ready to serve.
Roasted Chicken Breasts and Squash
- Preheat oven to 400 F, Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Trim chicken breasts if necessary, season all over with sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, toss the chopped squash with 2 tablespoon of the avocado oil, and a bit of sage, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. Measure with your heart!
- Spread the seasoned butternut squash pieces over the pan, roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat the remaining 2 tablespoon of oil in a medium nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the seasoned chicken breasts to the pan, cook for 3-4 minutes or so, until well browned. Flip, brown on the other side.
- Remove from heat.
- Once the 10 minutes are up, add the browned chicken breasts to the pan of squash and return to the oven for 20 more minutes.
- Keep an eye on the chicken after the 15 minute mark - it’ll be done when an instant read thermometer reaches 165 F when inserted into the thickest part of the chicken.
- As the chicken and squash roasts, assemble you salads:
Salad Base and Assembly:
- Divide your salad ingredients between 4 large serving bowls or plates, arranging as desired.
- Once they’re fully cooked, slice the chicken breasts, place one on top of each salad, along with the squash.
- Serve with the Maple balsamic vinaigrette.
Notes
Nutrition
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This Harvest Chicken Salad is one of our favourite fall dishes, and we hope you love it, too!