Blackberry season is coming. That said, this blackberry chicken salad is a balanced mixture of sweet, tangy, creamy and crunchy! It’s pretty easy too: a bed of arugula topped with chopped chicken, red onion, avocado, almonds, sliced green apples, blackberries and mozzarella – topped with an easy honey mustard dressing. It takes 20 minutes!
Equipment needed for Blackberry Chicken Salad
Here’s what you need to make this dish:
- 1 cast iron skillet or grill pan for the chicken – or whatever you use to pan fry chicken. I used my Williams Sonoma Cast Iron Grill pan, which is awesome for achieving “grill marks” indoors.
- A large serving bowl – Check out the low serving bowl I used from Year & Day. I got it from The Serving Set in color Daybreak. So pretty, durable and chic.
- Cutting board – to chop chop chop!
- A knife
- Aluminum foil – I like to cover my just cooked chicken breasts with aluminum foil. It’s a trick I learned to keep the chicken moist and juicy as it cools.
Ingredients for Blackberry Chicken Salad
Here’s what to add to the grocery list. This is the most important part of the directions since salads just require arranging!
- Arugula – I love the sharp bite of arugula for this salad. But mix it up with mixed greens or spinach if you’d prefer.
- 1 pint of fresh blackberries – give them a wash! These berries will provide the perfect sweet and tart bite. (And if you love blackberries, try my Triple Berry Sour Cream Crumb Cake).
- 1 lb of chicken breasts – If they are large, we can butterfly them so they cook faster.
- A mozzarella ball – I also like goat cheese in this!
- red onion
- fresh mint
- slivered almonds – or buy whole ones and give them a chop.
- 1 avocado
- A Granny Smith Apple – the tartness of the green apple is key.
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- dijon mustard – not the grainy/seedy kind. The creamy, yellow kind!
- honey
- Apple cider vinegar
How to make blackberry chicken salad
Let’s make it together!
Step 1
Prepare the chicken. If you have large chicken breasts, butterfly them (slice them horizontally), pat them down with a paper towel and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Be sure to chop up your other items too (mint, mozzarella, onion, apple)
Step 2
Add the oil to your pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook on both sides for 4 minutes each. The chicken should be golden brown. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Cover with aluminum foil until cooled. Then cut your cooked chicken into thin slices or bite sized pieces of your choosing.
Step 3
In the meantime, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey until homogeneous and smooth.
Step 4
Assemble the salad. Add the arugula and top with chicken, mozzarella, red onion, mint, almonds, avocado, green apples, and blackberries. Drizzle on the salad dressing before serving and toss!
Storing Suggestions
Honestly, it’s a salad. So it only keeps so long after adding the dressing to it. If you want to make the salad ahead of time, wait to add the avocado and chicken until ready to serve (otherwise it will oxidize and brown too quickly).
Put leftover salad in an airtight tupperware container and refrigerate. Consume within two days!
Other recipes to try
If you liked this blackberry chicken salad, check out these other recipes on the blog:
Red Wine Beef and Potato Salad
Summer Pasta Salad with Pancetta, Broccoli and Tomatoes
Leave a Review for Blackberry Chicken Salad
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Blackberry Chicken Salad
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet or grill pan for the chicken
- 1 large serving bowl
- 1 cutting board
- 1 knife
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 5 cups arugula
- 1 pint fresh blackberries
- 1 lb cooked chicken breasts sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh mozzarella torn
- ⅓ cup red onion sliced thin
- ¼ cup fresh mint roughly chopped
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- 1 avocado sliced thin
- 1 Granny Smith Apple sliced thin
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Honey Dijon Dressing
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken. If you have large chicken breasts, butterfly them, pat them down with a paper towel and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.1 lb cooked chicken breasts, salt and pepper
- Add the oil to your pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook on both sides for 4 minutes each. The chicken should be golden brown. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Cover with aluminum foil until cooled. Then cut your cooked chicken into thin slices or bite sized pieces of your choosing.2 tbsp olive oil
- In the meantime, make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey until homogeneous and smooth.⅓ cup olive oil, 1 tbsp dijon mustard, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp honey
- Assemble the salad. Add the arugula and top with chicken, mozzarella, red onion, mint, almonds, avocado, green apples, and blackberries. Drizzle on the salad dressing before serving and toss!5 cups arugula, 1 lb cooked chicken breasts, ⅓ cup fresh mozzarella, ⅓ cup red onion, ¼ cup fresh mint, ¼ cup slivered almonds, 1 avocado, 1 Granny Smith Apple, 1 pint fresh blackberries
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