Copycat Chick-fil-A Market Salad with Grilled Chicken

overhead picture of market salad with the dressing, strawberries and nuts

Copycat Chick-fil-A Market Salad with Grilled Chicken

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Marinating time 8

Total Time 8 35

Servings servings

Calories 748kcal

Author Amy

Ingredients

Grilled Chicken

1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts pounded to about 1" thickness
1 TBS olive oil for basting
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp paprika

Chicken Marinade

½ cup dill pickle juice
½ cup milk
2 tsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp celery salt

Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing

⅓ cup honey
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup pineapple juice
3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP water
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP lime juice
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp xantham gum optional

Market Salad

8 cups romaine lettuce chopped
1 cup green cabbage thinly sliced
8 strawberries quartered
1 cup blueberries
1 gala apple
1 green apple
½ cup blue cheese crumbled
4 TBSP Roasted almonds
4 TBSP Granola

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Remove chicken breasts from the packaging and pat them dry with paper towels. Place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag and seal. Using a rolling pin or a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness of about 1-inch, taking care to keep the shape of the breast intact to make slicing easier and more uniform.
In a small bowl, combine ingredients for the marinade and whisk together until the honey is dissolved. Pour marinade in the Ziploc bag with the chicken, shake and seal. Lay the sealed bag flat on a plate or in a dish and place it in the fridge to marinate for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours.
Once the chicken has marinated, preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Remove the chicken from the Ziploc bag and discard the marinade. Pat the chicken dry using paper towels and place them on the lined baking sheet. Brush the chicken breasts lightly with olive oil on both sides.
In a small bowl, combine ½ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp celery salt, ½ tsp garlic powder and ½ tsp paprika. Sprinkle this seasoning mix over the chicken, coating both sides evenly.
Place chicken in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉ (be sure to check the internal temperature as cooking times will vary based on your oven). Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to cool.
Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a 16-ounce jar and seal with a lid. Shake vigorously until the dressing is thick and well combined. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare the ingredients for the salad by hulling and quartering the strawberries, dicing the apples, shredding the cabbage thinly, and crumbling the blue cheese. Mix the cabbage with the lettuce and divide the salad ingredients between 4 bowls.
Once cooled, slice the chicken as thinly as possible and divide between the salads. Serve immediately with the dressing on the side.

Notes

Recipe Tips

Allowing the chicken to marinate for at least 8 hours will help produce the most flavorful chicken breasts, but if you are in a hurry, you can get away with closer to 4 hours.
In order to get this recipe to taste like Chick-fil-A chicken, we use quite a bit of salt. This recipe may be more on the salty side for some peoples’ taste buds. If you are sensitive to salt, swap the celery salt for ground celery seed in both the marinade and seasoning mix for the chicken.
Keep the dressing separate until serving and allow people to dress the salad themselves. Dressing proportions are so personal, and you can’t undress a salad.
Slice the chicken as thinly as possible if you want the salad to closely resemble a Chick-fil-A salad. Pounding the chicken to an even thickness, allowing it to cool, and using a very sharp knife make this process easier.

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