Crispy Chicken Salad

5 from 4 votes

Our crispy chicken salad is tossed with a flavor-packed tarragon vinaigrette. The crunchy, Panko breaded chicken cutlets are the star of this salad. This is a full-meal option! for either lunch or a light dinner and the salad itself can be customized to fit your taste preference.

Prep Time30

Cook Time20

Total Time50

Course: Salads

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crispy chicken salad

Servings:

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:

¼ cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove
¾ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Crispy Chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts 6 ounces each, sliced horizontally
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs
2 egg whites from large eggs
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil more if needed

For the Salad:

5 ounces mixed salad greens
8 ounces grape tomatoes halved
3 to 4 red radishes sliced
1 Persian cucumber or ½ of an English cucumber, sliced
½ red onion thinly sliced
½ red bell pepper diced

Instructions

For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:

Add the lemon juice, tarragon leaves, honey, mustard and garlic to a mini food processor and process. Slowly drizzle the oil in while the machine is running. Process until the tarragon leaves break up into bits and the vinaigrette becomes smooth.
Taste and add salt and pepper accordingly. Pour the vinaigrette into a jar or pitcher and reserve.

For the Crispy Chicken:

Set up a 3-bowl breading station. Stir the flour, cornstarch and salt together in one bowl; whisk only the egg whites in the second bowl, add the breadcrumbs to the third bowl.
Pat the chicken breast cutlets with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Working with one cutlet at a time, dredge the chicken in the flour, then dip into the whisked egg whites, turning to coat both sides.
Place the chicken into the dish of bread crumbs and spoon bread crumbs over the top of the chicken cutlet, pressing to adhere.
Transfer the coated chicken cutlet to a parchment-lined platter and repeat with the remaining chicken cutlets.
Place a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat, add enough of the oil to lightly cover the bottom of the skillet and when it is hot place two of the breaded cutlets into the skillet.
Cook for 4 minutes on the first side, do not move the chicken. After 4 minutes, gently nudge the chicken and if it moves flip it to the other side and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Transfer the chicken cutlets to a wire cooling rack and proceed with the remaining chicken cutlets. Allow the chicken to cool on the rack then cut into bite size pieces and reserve on a plate.

Assemble the Salad:

Add the salad ingredients to a large salad bowl, pour ¼ of the vinaigrette over the salad, and toss to combine. Add additional vinaigrette if desired. Portion the salad into four chilled salad bowls and distribute chicken bites on each portion.

Notes

When preparing the vinaigrette a stick blender/immersion blender is another option. Use a food jar with a wide mouth or a similar type of container that the stick blender fits in comfortably.
Cornstarch and egg whites are the secret ingredients necessary for crisp, crunchy chicken, Cornstarch helps prevent gluten formation in the flour making the crust crisper.
Egg whites contain no fat and adds to a crisper crust.
Use your choice of salad greens and vegetables as well as cheese, hard boiled eggs or whatever you like in your salads.
When tossing the salad us only enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the greens. Start with a small amount and add more if desired. Do not drown the greens.
Do not toss the chicken cubes with the bowl of dressed salad mixture as the moisture from the vinaigrette will make the crispy chicken soggy. Add the chicken cubes directly to each salad portion.

Nutrition