Winter Chicken Green Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Pecans

This winter chicken salad is the best salad for those moments during the colder months when you’re craving something fresh that’s still hearty and filling! Made with your favorite salad greens, cooked chicken breast, roasted sweet potatoes, apples, avocado, pecans, and a bright homemade lemony salad dressing. Easy to throw together and full of flavor and phenomenal texture! Recipe is dairy free.

The best winter chicken salad

The perfect salad during the winter months should feel not only fresh, but also hearty and filling! Bonus points if it includes a roasted veggie and some nuts / seeds for texture and crunch.

I’ve worked so long at perfecting my homemade salad game that I almost *always* prefer making salad at home over ordering it out at a restaurant.

The key is including a variety of ingredients that hit all the right notes – something salty, something sweet, something crunchy, something creamy, something super fresh, and of course, an absolutely irresistible salad dressing.

This hearty chicken salad does just that, and is packed with lots of interesting textures to boot.

A seriously crave worthy salad that wholesome as can be? I’d call that a win / win!

Why you’ll love this winter chicken salad

It is:

• Hearty and satisfying
• Packed with a variety of textures and flavors
• Studded with sweet caramelized bites of roasted sweet potato
• Fresh yet filling
• Easy to make any day of the week & perfect for meal prep!
• Simple yet flavorful
• Bright and balanced
• SO, so delicious!

Ingredients and substitutions

You can find the full list of ingredients along with measurements in the recipe card below. These are just my ingredient notes and recommendations for easy swaps and substitutions!

• Sweet potatoes – Little bites of jewel toned sweet potato add a welcome slightly earthy addition of sweet flavor and creamy texture to this salad. Roasted butternut squash would be a great substitute.
• Simple seasoning blend – To give the sweet potatoes extra flavor they’re roasted with a simple blend of paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. You could also keep it super simple and just use salt and pepper.
• Arugula – I love the peppery bite of baby arugula, but just about any salad green will work well for this recipe!
• Apple – For a burst of sweet-tart flavor and lovely crunchy texture.
• Avocado – Avocado adds the sweet creamy flavor that is so easy to love.
• Pecans & pumpkin seeds – In my opinion, no salad is complete without something added for a bold measure of crunch. Nuts and seeds are the obvious choice, but if you have an allergy feel free to substitute with what works best for you.
• Cooked chicken breast – Whether you cook it yourself or buy pre-cooked from the store, using cooked chicken breast is a great shortcut for salads, especially if you’re meal prepping for the week ahead. Our natural food store sells excellent grilled chicken breasts that work great for recipes like this. Rotisserie chicken is also a good option!
• Lemony salad dressing – Made with both lemon juice and lemon zest, olive oil, optional mayonnaise, dijon mustard, honey or maple syrup, salt, and pepper. It’s bright, flavorful, and coats the salad greens perfectly!

Can this salad be made vegan?

Absolutely!

With a few simple swaps this salad is easily made vegan. You can either simply omit the chicken, or replace it with beans of some kind (garbanzo beans, white northern, or even black beans), or marinated tofu!

In the dressing you’ll want to use vegan mayo or just leave it out.

Can I use a different dressing?

Most definitely.

I love the bright lemony flavor of the homemade dressing outlined in this recipe, but if you have another favorite or a jar of something else ready to go in the refrigerator feel free to use that instead!

Balsamic vinaigrette, red wine vinaigrette, poppyseed dressing, and most other types of light / bright dressings would be a great fit for this hearty salad!

How to make a hearty winter chicken salad

This chicken salad is super easy to throw together and only requires a small amount of prep.

Most ingredients can even be prepped ahead of time to make assembly a breeze when it’s time to eat!

I include instructions for making ahead of time / meal prepping below if you’re looking for specific recommendations.

If you’re ready to start cooking you can find the whole recipe in the recipe card below.

• Roast sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven and add cubed sweet potatoes to a rimmed baking sheet and toss to coat with oil and spices. Roast until tender and starting to caramelize on the edges.
• Prep salad ingredients. While the sweet potatoes are roasting prep the remaining salad ingredients. Dice the avocado and apple, toast the pecans, and shred the chicken. Set everything aside.
• Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar whisk together the dressing ingedients until well combined and emulsified.
• Assemble the salads. Divide salad greens evenly between two bowls. Top with shredded chicken, roasted sweet potato, apple, avocado, chopped pecans, and pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!

How to make this salad ahead of time

If you’re hoping to make this salad in advance there’s a few tips I have to make sure it turns out tasting fresh and delicious every time!

The main thing to keep in mind is that certain ingredients will maintain their integrity longer than others, so you’ll want to divide your prep into 2 categories.

Items that can be prepped a day or two in advance:

• The salad dressing
• Roasting the sweet potatoes
• Portioning of the greens
• Toasting and chopping the nuts and seeds
• Shredding the chicken

Store in separate containers until ready to use.

Items that should be prepped shortly before eating:

• Diced avocados
• Diced apples

If you’re prepping this salad for lunches throughout the week I would suggest assembling all prepped ingredients in a container the night before (storing the dressing on the side in a separate small container), and then adding the diced avocado and diced apple just before you leave the house.

This will keep those ingredients fresh and free of soft / brown spots!

Expert tips

• Fill this salad with things that YOU love! One of the best things about homemade salads is that they are easily customized to include the ingredients you love best. So feel free to include other veggies / fruits / nuts / seeds that YOU like! The more fun you have making it the more you’ll enjoy it. Guaranteed!
• Adjust the salad dressing to taste. Because of the lemon and mustard the dressing can be quite tart. You may want to adjust to taste by adding a bit less lemon juice and/or adding a little more honey or maple syrup to sweeten it up a bit!
• Use your favorite salad greens. I chose arugula because I love the bright peppery flavor and tender texture, but whatever salad green(s) you like best will work for this versatile salad!
• Toast your nuts & seeds! For the most crunch (TEXTURE!!) toast your nuts and seeds if they aren’t already toasted. Toasting also helps bring out the warm nutty flavor that is so completely irresistible.

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe. 

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!

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