Tender chicken, plump grapes and berries, crisp lettuce, tangy feta cheese, crunchy almonds, and the real star – almond honey mustard dressing! Eat the rainbow and be glad, friends!
Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing
Featured comment
This is single-handedly the BEST salad recipe ever!! The dressing is the bomb…I’ve made this salad 3 times this week!! Addicted:) Thank you for this recipe!!
Molly Johnson
One thing I love: this honey mustard dressing, which I am still licking off my fingers as I type this. Rude. Sorry.
Quick question: how do we feel about fruit in salad?
Red grapes, blueberries, that kinda thing? I feel reeeeeal good about it. Like, a whole bunch of juicy fresh yum just landed right in the middle of my salad. Also noteworthy in this salad is the golden brown chicken. It was simple and delicious and you know I love a good meatless main, but this spice-loaded, juicy and golden brown chicken in little bite-sized salad pieces makes me happy (and full). Add in some crunchy almonds, creamy tangy feta, and the gang’s all there. Almost.
All Hail The Almond Honey Mustard Dressing
As if I need to even tell you, the crown jewel of this salad is the dressing. It’s like regular honey mustard but a little more rustic-feeling, if that can be a thing for honey mustard (lol), because of that almost-smooth texture that a quality almond butter adds to the whole thing. The thickness of the almond butter gives it an ultra creamy texture, plus it has the perfect sweetness of a homemade honey mustard. It was just superdelicious.
So, better question: how do we feel about lunches and it’s-still-light-out dinners that are easygoing and colorful and very delicious?
Enjoy The Rainbow
For my big bowl here, I used grapes and blueberries, but you just go ahead and make use of whatever remnants of fruit are hanging out in your fruit bowl or the back of your refrigerator. Oranges? Strawberries? Pomegranate? No one is going to be mad about any of that.
There is a little bit of lettuce in the bowl to make it, well, you know, A SALAD, but it’s not a sad salad lettuce situation. It’s more for a little bite of tender-crisp greenery and dare I say I even found myself enjoying those bites of delicate crispness as much as the rest of it. Look at me go, mom.
The color, the crunch, the texture, the wholesomeness of all of it together is a straight drive into warmer weather, lighter days, and all-around nicer feelings.
Eat the rainbow and be glad.
More Hearty Salad Recipes
- Quinoa Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing (so colorful, so fresh!)
- Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette (you know how we feel about fruit on salads – YES!)
- Chopped Thai-Inspired Chicken Salad (one big ol’ chopping session and done)
- Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas (a majorly delicious pasta salad reminding you that salad comes in all forms)
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Common Questions About Our Rainbow Chicken Salad
I have a nut allergy. What substitutions can I make?
First off, sad! We’re so sorry to hear this. But the good news is this salad is super delicious when substituting sunflower seeds for the almonds and using sunflower seed butter in place of the almond butter.
How can I make this vegetarian?
Some crispy pan-fried tofu would be great in this in place of the chicken.
Can I meal prep this salad for lunches?
Sure! We’d suggest just drizzling the dressing right before serving to keep things crisp and fresh. More meal-preppable faves can be found here.
Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Rainbow Chicken Salad is topped with tender chicken, plump grapes and berries, crisp lettuce, tangy feta cheese, crunchy almonds, and the real star – almond honey mustard dressing! Perfect for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Salad
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts (mine were cut into smaller, thinner pieces which made the sautéing a bit easier)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups grapes, halved
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 3 cups curly lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 cup almonds, chopped or crushed
For the Dressing
- 3 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon stoneground mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon raw honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt, pepper, and chili powder. Saute in the oil for a few minutes, flipping the chicken now and then to cook through and get a nice golden color on both sides. When the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and set aside.
- Cut and prep all the vegetables and fruits. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into bite sized pieces. Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl – you can either arrange the bowl by ingredient, like pictured, or toss everything together. Refrigerate to chill.
- For the dressing, puree all the dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust to your preferences. Pour dressing over salad and serve.
Equipment
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Notes
After snapping these photos, I threw some crumbled crispy onions on top for a little extra crunch and flavor. Bjork just about died of happiness.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: rainbow chicken salad, chicken salad, almond honey mustard dressing, honey mustard dressing
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March 1, 2021
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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This salad is so delicious! I followed the recipe for the dressing exactly and it was amazing. I will definitely be making this salad often!!
Just made it tonight for husband and 2 teen boys. Added more chicken than 8oz but other than that kept it the same. They loved it!
Can you use peanut butter if you don’t have almond butter?
We haven’t tried, but we think it’d work out just fine!
This is seriously the best salad my 8 year old requested it as her back to school dinner. The child could pick anything and she picked this. We were all thrilled.
Looking forward to making this this week. Is there another alternative for a dressing? My husband can’t have too many nuts. Preferably something in a bottle lol
Hi Katie! Any vinaigrette (like balsamic vinaigrette) would be great with this salad!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! We grilled instead of cooked chicken on stovetop (as I do not trust myself cooking chicken on stovetop – I either over/undercook). Also, I used 3T OJ, 1T water and 2T oil in the dressing to increase orange flavor. We only used grapes, as we did not have available blueberries. Still, a nice complement of flavors/textures.
Phenomenal salad. Filling and delicious!
This was delightful! Thank you for another beautiful and satisfying salad recipe that both my husband and I found really filling and delicious. I love the variety of textures and flavors and it’s very fresh-tasting.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Marie! Thanks for the comment!
I made this for lunch today and it was delicious! I love the nutty flavour, the sweetness from the fruits, the creaminess from the dressing and the crunch for the almonds. Mounds of flavour and textures, I didn’t want it to end! Can’t wait to have more tomorrow (might have it for dinner tonight too).
We love hearing this, Danielle! Thanks for the comment!
I’ve been looking forward to this recipe since you emailed it out and I finally made it today and prepped enough for lunches all week. It’s so good! I love the blend of textures. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Abby! Glad you enjoyed it!
This salad is SO great! It is like one of those salads you order at a restaurant and say, “I wish I could make this at home.” It is such a great summer salad with all of the fresh fruit. I also added strawberries.
So glad you enjoyed the salad, Trish!
This salad is LEGIT. And super easy to make. Will be a reoccurring dinner in our house!
So glad you enjoyed it, Amanda!
Wow! So delicious and easy! Thank you, thank you 😊
Made this today. Delicious! Substituted kiwi for the blueberries.
Awesome, Ginny! So glad you enjoyed it!
This looks amazing! I will have to do some altering – nut allergy; what do you suggest to replace the almond butter – all nuts are out. I look forward to all of your e-mails – can’t wait to see what’s new (or old) in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing your recipes and your hard work.
You could try sunflower butter or tahini. Enjoy!
I bet you could use tahini, if you’re not allergic to sesame seeds.
Thank you so much for the ideas…looks like sunflower butter is the winner as sesame seeds are a no go. Making this tonight – will let you know how it goes.
Holy!! Well, I said I was making this on March 3rd and I did and it was as amazing as I thought it would be. So amazing that I also made it again on the 4th, 6th (for company) and am making it again tomorrow. My husband loves it as well and we have tried different fruits and types of greens and everything works great with the dressing. Thank you again for all of your posts!
Awesome, Rosemarie! So glad you and your husband have been enjoying the salad!
I love this recipe and how it uses simple pantry items to make a divine dressing that goes with so many different things! Tried it in a warm salad by subbing in broccolini in place of lettuce. Sooo yummyyyy
I am not that much of a blueberry person but I gave this a try and I loved it—I think because the blueberries WITH the grapes somehow became like an ultra grapey sensation rather than separate fruit flavors. So it was sort of like a savory, chickeny PBJ salad and though it sounds weird I’m 100% not mad about it and way into it.
I used chicken tenders and threw them on my George Foreman grill for a couple minutes and that was way simpler for me, prep-wise.
Just made this today and it was so yummy!! The dressing it’s delicious!! I skipped the cheese but everything else 👍
So glad to hear that, Ema!
This is so good! I sub’d The chicken for a veg based “chicken” to make it vegetarian. DELISH!! You always have the best recipes!❤️
This is my favorite salad. I make some variation of it about once a month. Yesterday, I threw in some pickled beets because I had some, and I just wanted to say that they are REALLY GOOD in this. I highly recommend that fans of this salad try including pickled beets sometime.
This was yummy. Husbands away right now. Been making frozen dinners. Glad I tried this. Will make it again and again
Can you use anything to sub. for almond butter? I will be making this salad, it looks amazing.
I made this exactly as written for my husband’s nurses…. they couldn’t stop talking it up!! THEN I made it for a dinner party & instead of chicken I made crispy chickpeas seasoned with chilli powder – also good!!
Made this today after seeing it on IG. SO. GOOD. That dressing was delicious, and all the flavours together is perfect 🙂 I usually put sliced grapes and either almonds or cashews in with my chicken salad sandwich filling, so I knew this combo of fruit and chicken would work.
This is a real winner! We thoroughly enjoyed this delicious salad. It’s the best salad I’ve ever made, and I’ve made plenty! Thanks for such a great recipe.