This healthy crispy chicken salad with honey mustard dressing is an easy and hearty meal your family will love for dinner. It's gluten free, dairy free and full of protein, veggies and healthy fats.
I grew up LOVING crispy chicken salads. You're getting greens in your life but you also feel like you're indulging from the crispy chicken and honey mustard.
Is crispy chicken salad healthy?
It can get a bad rap because of the crispy chicken. And in most cases, I wouldn't consider a crispy chicken salad healthy.
But this salad? This one is healthy! In fact, it's considered paleo so it's gluten free, refined sugar free and dairy free. It's a hearty salad that fits well into an anti-inflammatory diet.
How many calories are in a crispy chicken salad? This recipe has 467 calories in a serving, including the dressing. This makes about 6 servings!
Recipe tips:
Here are a few tips to help you make this salad perfect every time.
- You can swap the tapioca and almond flour combo for the equal amounts of cassava flour or 1:1 gluten free flour for the fried chicken.
- Use a meat thermometer! This is crucial to getting the oil and chicken the right temperatures. The oil should be between 325°F and 350°F for frying. Note, when you add the cold chicken to the oil it will bring the temp down.
- Continue checking the oil temp. Because the chicken and oil temps change, keep an eye on both so the oil doesn’t get too hot and the chicken is cooked all the way through.
- If you're short on time...you can use a pre-made chicken nuggets. I love the Applegate gluten free nuggets.
- Hard boil your eggs in advance.
- Don't forget to wash all of your veggies before slicing!
How to hard-boil your eggs:
If you don't have hardboiled eggs on hand here's how to quickly make them for this salad:
Add your raw eggs (with the shell) to a medium pot and cover with water one inch above the eggs. Place on the stove over high heat, uncovered, and bring to a rolling boil. One boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low to boil. Set the timer for 6-8 minutes.
While they're boiling, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with ice and water. When the timer is up, scoop out the eggs and place immediately in the ice bath to stop cooking. Peel and chop!
How to make crispy chicken for salad:
Pat your chicken dry then dip it in the flour mixture, egg mixture then flour mixture again. Place in a large fry pan with coconut oil melted to 325-350°F. Cook on both sides for 3-4 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 165°. Transfer to a paper towel line plate to cool then chop into chunks!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and tag me with @what_mollymade so I can see it and feature you.
More healthy salads:
Crispy chicken salad [paleo]
Ingredients
For the honey mustard dressing:
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/4 cup paleo mayonnaise homemade or store bought (I like Primal Kitchen)
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard (yellow mustard will work too)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white distilled vinegar
For the chicken:
- 1 lb chicken tenderloins
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I like smoked paprika)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/3 cup coconut or avocado oil plus more if needed
For the salad:
- 8 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- 3-4 hard boiled eggs quartered see notes
- 1-2 avocado sliced or chopped
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Start by making the salad dressing. Add all of the ingredients to a small dish and whisk until smooth. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Next, make the crispy chicken. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and set aside. Whisk the eggs together in a medium bowl then combine the almond flour, tapioca flour garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a separate medium bowl and mix well. Add the coconut oil to a large frying pan and heat until sizzling and very hot. The oil should be between 325°F and 350°F. Any cooler and the coating won’t stay on the chicken and if it’s too hot the oil will smoke and burn.
- Once the oil is hot, using one hand, add a piece of chicken to the eggs and cover completely. Transfer to the flour mixture and dredge until a thick coat of flour covers the chicken. Place the chicken in the hot oil and cook until brown on each side and no longer pink in center—about 3 minutes each side, or until an internal thermometer reads 165°F. Repeat the process with all the chicken tenders. Keep checking the oil temperature to make sure it’s hot enough. The temperature dips when the chicken is added. When each chicken tender is done, transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.
- While it’s cooling, prep the rest of the salad. Add the lettuce to a large bowl and top with hard boiled eggs, sliced avocado, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. Slice the chicken into large chunks and top the salad. Serve with prepared dressing.
Riley says
SO good the whole family loved it! Even my toddler.will definitely make again.
Molly Thompson says
That's the best compliment!!! Thank you!
Shawn says
Soooo good! I used 1/2 cup of regular flour because I didn't have any tapioca on hand and they were delicious!
Jessica Harmon says
Could the chicken be baked in the oven?