Chicken Mango Salad
Chicken mango salad is loaded with a mix of colorful vegetables, herbs, and avocado tossed in a tangy vinegar dressing. This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, and can easily be made vegan.
This salad is truly so refreshing and is a great meal to prep ahead for a picnic, hike, or as a camping meal. It’s full of crunchy texture, has a little sweetness from the mango, and the shredded chicken helps make it super satiating.
I foresee making many variations of this in the future whether it’s by switching out the vegetables or using bbq salmon bites in place of the chicken.
Ingredients
To make the shredded chicken, you’ll need skinless and boneless chicken breasts, kosher salt and pepper to season each side, olive oil to cook them in, and chicken or vegetable broth for added flavor during the cooking process.
The salad consists of chopped romaine lettuce, diced English or Persian cucumbers, orange bell peppers for an extra pop of color, any variety of chopped tomatoes, fresh or frozen but thawed diced mangoes, and avocado for creaminess.
The tangy vinaigrette uses extra virgin olive oil, champagne vinegar, dijon mustard, raw honey, kosher salt, and pepper.
How to Make Chicken Mango Salad
Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook for 5 minutes on one side.
Flip the chicken over, add your liquid of choice and cover with a lid. Let it cook for another 7-8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer.
While the chicken finishes cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Add the cooked chicken breasts to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a bowl with a hand mixer or alternatively two forks).
Turn the mixer on medium speed until the chicken is fully shredded.
Assemble the salad by adding two cups of chopped romaine to each bowl followed by the rest of the salad ingredients. Add the dressing just before serving.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this chicken mango salad using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No boneless skinless chicken breasts? – you can also use chicken thighs, you may just need to cook them longer.
- No broth? – you can use water instead.
- No romaine? – use any mixed greens in their place.
- No orange bell pepper? – use a red or yellow bell pepper instead.
- No champagne vinegar? – use white wine or apple cider vinegar.
- No raw honey? – sub maple syrup.
- Make it vegan – add beans or tofu for the protein.
- Add-ins – chopped red cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, chopped nuts, dukkah, etc.
Equipment
All you need to make this salad is a chef knife and cutting board to prep the vegetables and fruit, measuring spoons and a whisk to make the dressing, and a large skillet with a lid to cook the chicken.
While you can shred the chicken using two forks, my personal favorite is to add the cooked chicken breasts to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) and let it do the work. It only takes a minute and then you don’t have to hear the dreaded noise of two forks clashing together.
Storage
Store in a tightly sealed container separate from the dressing. Add the dressing up to an hour before serving. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. After that, the chicken will start to really dry out.
Top Tip
If mangoes aren’t in season or are really expensive where you live, thawed frozen mangoes are a great option.
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Chicken Mango Salad
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 – 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup chicken or vegetable broth or water
Salad
- 8 cups romaine, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 mango, pitted, peeled & diced
- 1 cup English or Persian cucumber, diced
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes, any variety
- 1 medium orange bell pepper, diced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- handful fresh cilantro or basil, optional
Dressing
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons raw honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt reduce by half if using another type
- freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Generously season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook for 5 minutes on one side.
- Flip the chicken over, add your liquid of choice and cover with a lid. Let it cook for another 7-8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit on a meat thermometer.
- While the chicken finishes cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add the cooked chicken breasts to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a bowl with a hand mixer or alternatively two forks).
- Turn the mixer on medium speed until the chicken is fully shredded.
- Assemble the salad by adding two cups of chopped romaine to each bowl followed by the rest of the salad ingredients. Add the dressing just before serving.