Chicken salad
A fresh and colourful, high protein chicken salad for two, perfect as a relaxed summer lunch or packed into a picnic.
By chopping all the ingredients into bite-size pieces, every mouthful becomes a different mix of flavours and textures.
Each serving provides 633 kcal, 68.3g protein, 25.3g carbohydrate (of which 6.1g sugars), 26.4g fat (of which 2.9g saturates), 10.9g fibre and 0.32g salt.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (approx. 350g/12oz), boneless and skinless
- 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
- 400g tin chickpeas
- 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
- 2 spring onions, washed, trimmed and finely sliced
- 10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
- ¼ cucumber (approx. 100g/3½oz), cut into small chickpea-sized cubes
- 10g/â…“oz fresh mint leaves (approx. 1 handful), finely chopped
- 10g/â…“oz fresh parsley leaves, (approx. 1 handful), finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 small handfuls of mixed salad leaves
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Season the chicken breasts both sides with salt and pepper. Place a frying pan on a medium heat and add the oil. Cook the breasts for 6–8 minutes on each side or until cooked through then transfer them to a plate to rest for a few minutes and cool slightly.
In a sieve, drain and lightly rinse the chickpeas then give a little shake to dry. Tip them into a large mixing bowl and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
Add in the spring onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, mint, parsley and mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper then mix well.
Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl along with the salad leaves. Mix again then serve.
Recipe Tips
For a healthier version of this chicken salad, you can swap the mayonnaise for plain yoghurt.
You can cook the chicken from fresh but it also works brilliantly with leftovers from a roast.