Avocado, Bacon & Mustard Chicken Salad
This is a "dinner worthy" salad. Hearty and full of flavor perfect for a Fall/Winter dinner but can be enjoyed year round. I came up with this recipe after I realized I had forgotten some ingredients for a salad I was going to make from the Half Baked Harvest cookbook called Every Day. I decided this version was even better. I will link the cookbook below.
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken sliced into 1 1/2 tenders
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 zest of a lemon and juice
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp paprika
- salt
- pepper
- 6 cups romaine, & baby arugula lettuce
- 1 avocado, chopped
- homemade croutons
Homemade Croutons
- 1 french baguette, Sliced and cut into quarters
- 1 stick butter,softened
- salt
- pepper
Vinaigrette
- 4 slices bacon
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 3 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 1/3 cup chopped herbs, basil, dill
- pinch red pepper flakes
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
Vinaigrette
- Place bacon in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, cooking and flipping until bacon is crispy and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel. Pour off 3/4 of the grease but leave a small amount in the pan. Add olive oil, garlic and vinegar. Stir this for about 1 minute until the garlic is soft (it is Important not to burn the garlic it turns bitter). Turn the heat off and stir in the herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Chop the bacon into small bits and stir it back into the vinairette. In a large bowl place chop lettuce, chopped avocados, croutons and vinairette and toss.
Croutons
- Cut the french baguette into slices and quarter those slices so they are cubes. Place those cubes in a bowl and toss with olive oil salt and pepper. Dump the cubes on a UNLINED cookie sheet in the 425° oven and roast for 9 minutes while with a spatula keep tossing the bread every 2 minutes. After 9 minutes check on the croutons if they are not brown enough keep in the oven and check every 1 minute and a half so they don't burn.
Mustard Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 425° Wash and pat dry the chicken. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together olive oil, dijon mustard, zest & juice of a lemon, 4 garlic cloves pressed, paprika, salt and pepper. On a cookie sheet lined with tin foil place chicken on the foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spoon the mustard mixture on top of the chicken. Roast ckicken about 20-24 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes.Place tossed salad on a plate and chicken can be an accompaniment to the salad or you can cut the chicken into bite size pieces and toss into the salad.Happy Eating!!
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