Need a salad that’s hearty, filling, and will leave you feeling fully satisfied? I got you. Take a big bowl of greens and veggies then add some crispy chicken and a hefty drizzle of homemade ranch. This crispy chicken salad is what’s on the menu when we are craving a good salad but still need it to be filling enough to be the main meal.
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There are a few things going on with this dish. But the great thing is this crispy chicken salad is easy to customize for what you may have on hand or for what you prefer. We start with a simple green salad. I like to use romaine or baby gem lettuce. Something simple and crunchy like those. But use what you like. I add tomatoes, green onion, avocado, and fresh herbs. Again, you can add more veggies or leave some out if you prefer. Then the crispy chicken tenders. I like to keep these heavier on protein, and lighter on carbs so I use mostly almond flour with just a small amount of panko breadcrumbs. You can totally skip the almost flour and use just breadcrumbs. Lastly, I use a heavy drizzle of homemade ranch. If you haven’t made your own ranch, you are in for a treat! Is it completely necessary, no? Storebought totally works. But making it from scratch is actually super easy and probably a bit healthier too. I won’t go back to storebought after making my own.
The crispy chicken salad with homemade ranch is not only protein-packed and healthy, it’s a rather simple dish to put together considering it’s all homemade. You can even cook the chicken ahead of time and make the ranch earlier on. Then you just need to warm the chicken before serving, if you want it warm. I often serve it just room temp since I make this ahead of time. If you have the time though, straight out of the oven (after resting for a few minutes) is the best way to enjoy the tenders. And if you are serving to little kiddos, just cut up the tenders, place some greens on the side, and a dollop of ranch on the side too. My son loves to take pieces of chicken and lettuce leaves and dip them in the ranch.
Ingredients needed for the Crispy Chicken Salad
- Lettuce – I like romaine or baby gem
- Veggies for the salad like tomatoes, green onion, avocado
- Chicken tenders or chicken breast cut into tenders
- Almond flour
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Egg
- Mayo
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
- Flour
- For the Dressing
- Sour Cream or plain yogurt
- Mayo
- Lemon
- Fresh dill
- Cilantro
- Chives
- Buttermilk (I use milk with a little lemon juice or vinegar)
How to make Crispy Chicken Salad with Homemade Ranch
- Start by mixing the almond flour and panko with a little seasoning and olive oil. Then you toast that over the stove until it lightly browns. This is going to add nice crispiness to the tenders. Place in one shallow dish.
- Then mix your dredge, the egg, mayo, and some seasonings, in another shallow bowl.
- Take your chicken tenders and salt and pepper on each side. It’s important to season all the layers for the best flavor. After salt and peppering, you will lightly dust flour over each side. Shake to remove any excess.
- Dip the tenders in the egg mix and then the almond mix. Press the almond crumb to the tender to get it really stuck on there then place each tender on a wire rack-lined baking sheet. Bake the tenders.
- While the tenders are cooking you can whip up the ranch and prep the salad.
- If you aren’t eating it right away, store it in the fridge.
- Tenders are best warmed again in the oven at 325 for about 10 minutes. Otherwise, serve after cooking!
Why we love this recipe…
- Healthy and protein-packed
- The chicken tenders are moist and have such good flavor
- The homemade ranch is a gamechanger
- It’s a great salad that stands on its own, this is a full meal!
More recipes you will like…
Tips for the Crispy Chicken Salad
- To get the tastiest chicken strips, make sure to season every layer.
- Toast the almond flour and panko over the stove before you press on the chicken.
- Mayo in the egg dredge may seem odd but it will help keep the tenders moist.
- The ranch dressing doesn’t have to be homemade, but it’s so easy and seriously so good. I wish I had started making it from scratch sooner.
- And on the ranch talk, you can use yogurt instead of sour cream, but sour cream really gives it the best flavor. You could also do a combo of the two.
- If you don’t have the herbs from ranch, Trader Joes makes a great seasoning you can just mix into sour cream, or yogurt, or whatever you’re using.
- The recipe calls for buttermilk but I never actually use that. I make my own with a little milk then stir in a little white vinegar. Let that sit for several minutes and you have your own buttermilk!
Crispy Chicken Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Equipment
- 1 skillet for toasting the coating
- 2 shallow bowls for the chicken tenders
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 wire rack, optional, for the chicken tenders to bake on over the baking sheet
- 1 large bowl for salad
- 1 small/medium bowl to mix dressing
Ingredients
Chicken Tenders
- 6-8 chicken tenders, patted dry I use about 8 smaller sizes tenders
- 1 cup almond flour, packed
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Salad
- 4 cups lettuce (about 4 large handfuls) more or less depending on how many salads you serving.
- veggies for salad I like adding avocado, tomato, and green onion
Homemade Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup buttermilk i use milk with 1 tsp vinegar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp fresh dill finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chives, freshly chopped
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley or cilantro
- salt & pepper
- squeeze of lemon to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.o
- In a shallow bowl, mix the almond flour, panko, and a little salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and stir until it's a little crumbly. Toast over medium to high heat in a skillet. Stir as to not let the almond flour burn. Remove from heat back in the shallow bowl after it starts to brown.
- In another shallow bowl wxhisk the egg, mayo, paprika, and some salt and pepper.
- Take your chicken tenders. Make sure they are dry. Lightly salt and pepper each side. Then dust with a little flour. I use about 1 tablespoon for all the chicekn, flip, then sprinkle over 1 more tablespoon total. Very light. Shake off any excess.
- Take each tender one by one. Dip in the dredge, gently let the extra drip off, then place in the almond flour coating. Gently press each side into the coating to make sure it sticks. I like to use a tong in one hand that dips in the egg then the other hand presses into the breading. This keeps it clean(er). Place tenders of a lightly greased wire rack or baking sheet. You can lightly spray the tenders before baking to help get them crispy. Bake for 18-20 minutes gently flipping halfway through.
- Remove the tenders and let them sit for 5-10 minutes before serving to allow the coating to settle.
- While the tenders are cooking place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Except for the buttermilk and lemon. Give it all a stir and add as much buttermilk to get the conistancy you want. Add a little squeeeze of lemon to you preference. Sometimes I leave it out and it't totally fine. Store any leftovers in the fridge.
- After you mix the dressing, place the lettuce and any veggies you are using in a large bowl. I like to have each person take as much salad as they like, then add a couple tenders (2-3), then drizzle with ranch. I cut up my tenders into bite sized peices too. My husband leaves them whole, so do as you please
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