Tasty Bites: Strawberry Poppy Seed and Chicken Salad a la Panera

By Beth V

I recently visited Panera  and ordered their Strawberry Poppy Seed and Chicken salad. It was so delicious! I loved all of the varieties of fruit and I decided that I must recreate it at home so I could enjoy it any time! My version is slightly different than Panera’s, but this salad is loaded with flavor and great texture and nutrition. This salad is like a green salad combined with a fruit salad and the chicken and almonds add amazing taste and crunch, not to mention protein.

Start by layering a platter, or plate if making an individual portion, with baby spinach leaves.  The platter allows the perfect greens to toppings ratio and everything gets nicely coated with dressing. It solves the problem of toppings falling to the bottom of the bowl, or greens at the bottom of the bowl being untouched by dressing. Panera uses Romaine lettuce, but I love using spinach leaves because they require no chopping, they taste great and they have so much more nutritional value than almost any other type of lettuce. Next, add a sprinkling of very thin slices of red onion.

The Panera salad used fresh pineapple and mandarin oranges. I used canned, sliced pineapple rings cut into bite-sized pieces and canned, drained mandarin oranges. If you do not have fresh pineapple, this is a great alternative since pineapple and mandarins hold up so nicely through the canning process.  Add the pineapple and oranges onto the salad.

Next, sprinkle on the berries. These brightly colored fruits are among the healthiest and most nutritionally-dense fruits. I hulled and quartered the strawberries ( if you have monster strawberries , cut them into eighths).  The blueberries only need a quick rinse and then scatter them over the strawberries.

Next, add some toasted nuts. I used sliced almonds because that’s what I had on hand, but the Panera salad had pecans. Walnuts would also be delicious. This step is not essential, but definitely amps up the flavor of any type of nuts that you would use. Toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and just beginning to smell fragrant.  Throw them onto the salad.

Finally, add some sliced chicken. You can use rotisserie chicken, leftover grilled chicken…really any sliced chicken breast meat. My favorite all-purpose meat seasoning is to sprinkle it liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder before grilling or roasting. Top the salad with thinly sliced chicken.

Now drizzle this amazing salad with this delicious Poppy seed dressing. This was my first try at making Poppy seed dressing and I should have tried it sooner! I’ve bought so many bottles of Poppy seed dressing over the years. This one is delicious and extremely easy to throw together.  It is certainly less expensive and much fresher than the store-bought varieties. Try it!

Enjoy this beautiful and delicious, healthy salad!

Poppy Seed Dressing
Allrecipes.com

1/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground dry mustard

1 teaspoon grated onion

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor, combine sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard and onion and process for 20 seconds. With blender or food processor on high, gradually add oil in a slow, steady stream. Stir in poppy seeds.

Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages seven, four and one. She is married to Jason V (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, stepping over Legos, keeping peace among the kids, and enjoying the creative outlet of cooking.