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This chopped chicken salad recipe is crunchy, fresh, and high in protein. Made with shredded cabbage, crisp leafy romaine and a sweet and tangy maple vinaigrette, this healthy chopped chicken salad is a delicious no-mayo chicken salad option. It’s perfect for easy meal prep, a healthy lunch, or a light dinner to help you meet your protein and veggie goals.
I’m always cheering you on to get more plant sources into your day, and this recipe makes it so easy (and actually delicious!).
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- What Is A Chopped Chicken Salad?
- Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to make this Chopped Chicken Salad
- Tips for the best result
- Is This Chopped Chicken Salad Healthy?
- Serving Suggestions
- Meal Prep and Storage Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More High Protein Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Easy Chopped Chicken Salad Recipe with Maple Vinaigrette (High Protein)
Why you’ll love this recipe
It’s almost salad weather…when it’s too hot to heat up the kitchen every night, so we’re happy we planned ahead with some precooked chicken breast and hard boiled eggs in the fridge. Making life easier, healthier, and still tasty! Here are all the other reasons you’re going to love this!
- Satisfying: It’s super simple to put together, yet satisfying and complex thanks to all of the different flavors and textures we’re including.
- Delicious: The Maple Vinaigrette is drinkable (but save it for the salad!) In fact, I encourage you to double or triple the dressing recipe to use for everything this week! Drizzle on salads, a spoonful on your roasted veggies, use as a marinade for chicken or fish, or dip your grilled shrimp in it! You’ll be happy you did!
- Full of Veggies: This easy chopped chicken salad is bursting with finely chopped romaine, crunchy red cabbage, sweet carrots, and a little zing from red onion. Not only do they make this salad look really nice, but they’re also packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber.
- High in Protein: The lean chicken breast and 2 hard boiled eggs give this high protein chicken salad close to 50 grams of protein per serving!
- Easy Meal Prep: Busy days call for easy meal prepped lunches and this healthy chopped salad is the perfect make ahead lunch idea.
- Uses Pantry Staples: This crunchy chopped salad uses ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen like carrots, lettuce, cooked chicken, and eggs.
- This recipe is naturally dairy-free, and gluten free.
If you are looking for more chopped chicken salad options, then try this southwest chopped chicken salad with spicy jalapenos and dressing, or this high protein chopped chicken salad with pesto, bacon, and black beans!
What Is A Chopped Chicken Salad?
A chopped chicken salad is simply a mixture that contains chopped vegetables, chicken, and other ingredients that are drizzled with a dressing of your choice.
With our high protein chopped chicken salad, we used crunchy cabbage, crisp romaine, and tender carrots, then topped it all with lean chicken breast, grated eggs, and chopped raw peanuts for added crunch. To bring it all together we created a delicious maple vinaigrette to elevate the flavors even more.
Ingredients
These are the simple whole food ingredients that make this Chopped Chicken Salad perfect for a high-protein lunch or a light healthy dinner.
Salad Ingredients:
- 4 cups finely chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- ½ cup carrots Julianne or matchsticks
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped raw peanuts
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, grated
Maple Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsps raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and instructions.
Variations and Substitutions
Make it low carb: This vinaigrette uses maple syrup which does contain natural sugar (or carbs) so in order to make this salad lower in carbs you could change the vinaigrette you use to something like a lemon vinaigrette. You could also swap out any vegetables for lower carb vegetables.
Swap the protein: Swap out the chicken for turkey, tuna, salmon, or whatever cooked meat or protein you already have on hand.
Additional Toppings: There are plenty of toppings you could add to make this chopped chicken and cabbage salad more customized for you. Here are a few healthy additions we thought of at Clean Food Crush that would go well on this salad:
- Sliced avocado
- Shredded cheese
- Feta or blue cheese
- Edamame
- Mandarin oranges
- Cucumbers
- A different chopped nut (pecans, walnuts, etc.)
How to make this Chopped Chicken Salad
Step 1. First, make the maple vinaigrette in a bowl and set aside. Next, chop your ingredients for the salad.
Step 2. In a separate large bowl, combine the chopped romaine, cabbage, carrots, onion, and celery to make your chopped chicken salad base.
Step 3. Add the chicken and chopped peanuts to the base salad ingredients.
Step 4. Drizzle with the maple vinaigrette you set aside earlier and mix, then grate the hard boiled eggs over the chopped salad.
Enjoy!
Love, Rachel
Tips for the best result
- Add the dressing right before serving.
- Make a double batch of our maple vinaigrette to drizzle over roasted veggies or use as a marinade later in the week!
- Prep all veggies, eggs, and chicken ahead of time for quick assembly at meal time.
- Adjust the sweetness of the Maple Vinaigrette based on your preferences.
- Don’t skip grating the hard boiled egg. It really creates a lovely fluffy texture that elevates the salad.
- Serve this chopped salad in a Big Wooden Salad Bowl in the middle of the table.
- Make your life easier by using a veggie peeler with a julienne function like this one.
If you are looking for more easy salads to try, then you may like this healthy brussels sprouts salad with Caesar dressing, or this no-mayo cabbage salad with cranberries and roasted pecans. Both are great for easy meal prep or to serve as a side dish.
Is This Chopped Chicken Salad Healthy?
Yes! This healthy chopped chicken salad is made with whole food ingredients, including almost 50 grams of lean protein to help keep you full and support muscle health, plus a variety of fresh vegetables rich in vitamins and fiber. It’s also made without mayo, making it a lighter, more nutritious option. This crunchy cabbage and romaine chopped chicken salad is a fresh, healthy alternative to traditional chicken salad recipes.
Serving Suggestions
This chopped chicken salad without mayo is filling on its own, but you could also pair it with additional healthy dishes.
If you want to add carbohydrates to this meal, this easy salad will go really well with our crispy roasted purple potatoes or this easy side dish recipe for no mayo creamy potato salad.
You can also add even more nutritious vegetables to this salad or on the side. One of my favorites to add is either this Crispy Smashed Broccoli recipe or this Smashed Roasted Cauliflower recipe. Both are delicious and go well with this salad.
Now, if you are like me, you will definitely want to follow up this healthy meal with a healthy dessert. We have plenty on the site, but the one recipe that really complements this meal are these maple brownies. No worries! They’re made with sweet potatoes and way healthier than traditional brownies!
Meal Prep and Storage Tips
Let’s chat about leftovers! While this salad is best enjoyed fresh, you can definitely prep all of the components separately. Keep the dressing on the side until you’re ready to serve to prevent the greens from getting soggy. Grate the boiled egg just before enjoying your salad.
To make the chicken ahead of time, we recommend this recipe for Garlic Herb Poached Chicken Breasts.
Always add the dressing right before serving the salad or it will become soggy in the refrigerator.
We do not recommend freezing this chicken chopped salad.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make chopped chicken salad ahead of time?
Yes! You can absolutely make this chicken salad ahead of time. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Or 4 days if you add the eggs right before serving. Make sure you add the dressing right before serving.
How do you keep chopped salad from getting soggy?
The best way to keep this chopped salad from getting soggy is to 1. Make sure all the ingredients that go on the salad are cold or warm, not hot, and 2. Be sure to add the dressing right before serving. If you add the dressing too early, the salad will become soggy.
What dressing goes with chicken chopped salad?
For the ingredients we chose to go on this chopped salad, we feel the best dressing is our maple vinaigrette. It is both sweet and tangy, plus it really brings the salad together.
More High Protein Salad Recipes You’ll Love
Easy Chopped Chicken Salad Recipe with Maple Vinaigrette (High Protein)
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 4 cups finely chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- ½ cup carrots Julianne or matchsticks
- 1/2 small red onion, (thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup chopped raw peanuts
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, (grated)
Maple Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsps raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsps extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, combine chopped romaine, red cabbage, carrots, onions, shredded chicken, and peanuts.
- Whisk together the vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, Dijon mustard, sea salt, and pepper until well emulsified. Taste test, and adjust to your liking.
- Drizzle your vinaigrette over the salad and toss gently to coat all the ingredients evenly.
- Plate your salad then grate 1 hard-boiled egg over each serving using a fine grater for a fluffy finish.
- Enjoy!
- Love, Rachel
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
