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I use maple syrup in a lot of my recipes, including this healthy Maple-Mayo Cranberry Chicken Salad. It adds just a touch of sweetness to offset the tartness of the homemade plain yogurt used in the recipe. I love using fresh homemade yogurt to make this recipe a little lighter, healthier version of chicken salad, but you can definitely use any plain regular or Greek yogurt.
My kids are not usually picky eaters, however, my daughter dispises canned chicken in her chicken salad. Not so good for the added time I might spend in the kitchen making this salad with fresh chicken, but better overall for their health.
If I don’t have chicken from our local butcher, Libby’s Meats, I use organic chicken tenders in my chicken salad as much as possible, well because, its more tender. Trust me, I never used to splurge on fresh chicken from the butcher or organic chicken, for one, because it wasn’t readily available in our local grocers, and two because it was expensive. However, because we only have chicken about once a week, and since I don’t have to buy pork and beef at the store, I splurge on organic chicken. And, my husband, a non-chicken lover, actually like the local butcher chicken, I buy it. Plus we are supporting our local business at the same time.
I love having this in the fridge available for lunch or just snacking on. My husband will eat it with crackers or even just by the spoonful as a snack. It’s easy to put in a wrap, as a sandwich, or top on a fresh green salad with a little balsamic vinaigrette. It never lasts more than two days in my house!
Recipe Tips
You can cook your chicken in one of two ways. One is to bake your chicken in the oven with a little olive oil and Montreal steak or lemon pepper seasoning or salt and pepper. The other option is to boil your chicken in a pot of water. I usually just bake the organic chicken tenders, but feel free to boil. Once it’s done, just finely dice or shred your chicken.
Reason’s to Make
Maple-Mayo Cranberry Chicken Salad
- Lunches for work, school, or daycare
- Snacks with slices of cheddar cheese or crackers
- Picnics
- BBQ’s
- Just because it’s healthy and filling!
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Baker's spatula or spoon
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb organic chicken tenders
- 1 apple, finly diced
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup mayonaise
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup, Vermont made
- 1/2 cup copped celery
- 1 scallion, finely diced – or chives
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- fresh ground pepper
- steak seasoning
- olive oil
- ¼ tsp ground cumin – optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a glass baking dish with olive oil. Place uncooked chicken tenders in the dish. Lightly spray with olive oil and sprinkle with steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Cook for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. You may also boil your chicken in a pot of water for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Chop your celery, apple, and scallion. Add to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add your mayonnaise, yogurt, maple syrup, dried cranberries, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
- Once your chicken is cool enough to handle, finely dice and spread out on cutting board to cool. Once cooled, add to your salad and mix well. Store covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Enjoy on top of a salad, in a wrap, or as a sandwich with hearty whole-grain bread. Add cheddar cheese and greens, like fresh mesclun mix or baby spinach.