I am so happy you made it to this recipe! Expect crunchy satisfying salad, prepared with creamy chicken, crunchy apple and seasonal veggies. This quick recipe is the perfect mid-week meal.

This recipe was created back in January when we didn’t have any produce available, just the one surviving. So I combined red cabbage, celery and apples. I had just quit my job back then and after a very stressful year and a half I was drained to the bone. So easy meals it was.

That was also where my idea of so called depression meals came from. I have struggled with mental health almost my whole life, but this was something else, even though I needed to check the same boxes with my food. It needed to be easy to make, quick and most importantly I needed to feel as if I wasn’t really eating. What I mean by that is, in these times of extreme exhaustion, the last thing you think about is real food. You think about rice and a piece of meat and cut up veggies and then decide that sleep is more appealing. But if someone gave you a wafer you would have downed it immediately. That was me, I needed to trick my brain into thinking that I am eating something super tasty and a bit naughty to actually appeal to me. So this was a great alternative for me — low calorie? No. But healthy? Yes. I ate this for weeks on end.

I was never someone harbouring loving feelings towards mayo, but it went great with my fast food craving brain so I bought a bottle of reduced fat one (not really yummy but we all have our demons) and made this salad over and over again until I ran out.

So the first condition was to include mayo. Of course it had to be 50/50 with white yogurt, more for my love of yogurt than for the healthiness.

The second — it had to be crunchy. In my country we don’t really do chicken salad like this, more commonly we do mayo potato salads and fish salads etc. So this was primarily based on a coleslaw. It was supposed to be an autumnal coleslaw.

So the crunch is made up of celery sticks cut into thinish slices, apple — and now you need to lock in — get a really good apple. Something like Cosmic Crisp or Pink Lady or whatever is your favourite crispy apple. And then the cabbage. The best seasonal vegetable, because with one head of cabbage you can make so so many meals. It is the perfect crunchy vegetable and I am already excited to eat it again next year.

I am kind of squeamish when it comes to chicken so I prefer to touch it as little as I have to. So I baked it in the oven with a bit of water and garlic cloves.

After baking this (definitely under an hour) you shred it. I do it with two forks because I don’t own a stand mixer, but if you do, it should sort itself out.

After shredding I mixed it with the slaw and added the toppings. Mostly mayo and yogurt but I wanted a bit of sweetness so I added maple syrup as well and a bit of mustard for spiciness.

In the other variations I played around with adding honey and hot sauce or chilli, while still keeping the mayo yogurt base.

EASY CRUNCHY CHICKEN SALAD

Quick and easy, pre-parable lunch that is crunchy and nutritious. Put it on toast, in your pasta salad or on top of your preferred potatoes.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings: 5 servings

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 600 g  chicken breast
• 400 g red cabbage
• 3 celery sticks
• 300 g  crispy apple should be 1 large apple
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 3 tbsp white yogurt
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 cup water

Method

 

1. Bake the chicken: Place 2 pieces chicken breast in a baking dish with 1 cup of water and 3 pieces of garlic cloves. Bake in the oven until cooked through — about 45 mins.
2. Shred the chicken: Shred the baked chicken using two forks. If you own a stand mixer, use it and it should sort itself out.
3. Prep the slaw: Thinly slice 0.3 pieces red cabbage, cut 3 pieces celery sticks into thin slices, and chop 1 pieces crispy apple (e.g. Cosmic Crisp or Pink Lady). Make sure you get a really good crispy apple — it matters.
4. Make the dressing: Mix 3 tablespoons mayo and 3 tablespoons white yogurt together 50/50. Add 1 tablespoons maple syrup for a bit of sweetness and 1 teaspoons mustard for spiciness. Mix well.
5. Combine and serve: Toss the shredded chicken with the slaw, then add the dressing and mix everything together.

Notes

Variations: swap maple syrup for honey, and add hot sauce or chilli instead of mustard — while keeping the mayo yogurt base.