I love traditional chicken salad but I was not craving mayonnaise and celery- which can be quite heavy, a little bland, and not to mention a little bit fattening. So I came up with this idea of a lighter and more flavorful chicken salad that was spicy, thus why I named it spicy chicken salad. I had some left over roasted chicken, some salsa and some greens- so I thought "I can make a salad out of this!" This spicy chicken salad is light, refreshing, and low in calories; plus it was very easy to make! It would be easy to add other ingredients as well or keep it simple.
I used arugula for the greens as they are also a little spicy and I really wanted this to be a spicy chicken salad. I love the Whole Foods-Cupertino because they have a smokehouse and I love their smoked chicken. I used the smoked chicken in this recipe but a regular roasted chicken would still be delicious. I was also pleasantly surprised how good Whole Foods spicy Picco De Gallo was.
Spicy Chicken Salad Recipe (4 Servings)
1 C of cubed chicken
4 C Salad Greens
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 C of Picco De Gallo
Salt & Pepper to taste
I toss the greens with the olive oil and vinegar first. Then I add the cubed chicken and picca de gallo. Toss again and salt and pepper to taste. I then serve it right away. Arugula really wilts quickly so if you use it serve quickly. Other greens would be good as well. If you don't like spicy then I would go with a mild green and a mild picco de gallo.
Other options I will try: adding some grated cheese or sour cream for richness. I know that an avocado would also be a great addition. I am sure that you could make a vegan version with a high quality tofu. Add some fresh corn and olives to either version.
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