Chicken Salad Like Whole Foods'

Garlic Chick's Note:

This salad is very similar to the Sonoma Chicken Salad at Whole Foods' Deli. I love it - just not the hefty price tag. I enjoy creamy chicken salads with grapes and hope others will too. This is a combination of some other chicken salads and the ingredient list from Whole Foods. Plan ahead, the dressing should sit overnight in the refrigerator to meld flavors before adding to the other ingredients.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ¾ cup chopped celery
• ¾ cup chopped toasted pecans
• 2 cups seedless grapes
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Combine mayonnaise, cider vinegar, honey, poppy seeds and salt and pepper.
2. Refrigerate overnight for the flavors to meld
3. Place chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish with 1/4-1/2 cup water.
4. Cover chicken and bake in a 375F oven until cooked through - about 25-30 minutes.
5. Cool and cut the chicken breasts into 3/4 inch pieces (or whatever bite size you wish) then chill.
6. Add the chopped celery, chopped toasted pecans, and grapes.
7. Pour the dressing mixture over the chicken mixture and combine gently until coated.
8. Serve on top of a green salad or as a sandwich.

Reviews

[Bayhill]

We've never had Whole Foods' Sonoma chicken salad so I can't compare this recipe to that, but we thought this was a very yummy. We really loved the sweetness of the grapes and crunchiness of the pecans. My grapes were huge, so I quartered them to make it easier to eat. I served this over fresh lettuce from my garden and it was so delish!! Thank you for sharing this keeper of a recipe.
**Made for 2011 Fall PAC**

[JMigs;0)]

I tried this and it was really good, I did however sub a bit of the mayo (maybe 1/4 cup) for sour cream. And I also added tarragon. I omitted honey and added some sugar to taste. And I used left over Costco's rotisserie chicken as a short cut.

[Ravenseyes]

made this as ordered in the recipe - came out very good I added a little less honey because as you all know that becomes a point of contention for my diet - however I felt it did not detract from the taste or the flavor of the recipe whatsoever - with the sweetness of the grapes and the little hint of the toasted pecans - it was simply wonderful we served these in butter leaf lettuce and it was a prefect appy and could be used for a luncheon anytime - made for PAC fall 2099 thanks