Fall Harvest Salad with Crispy Baked Cornmeal Chicken, Apples, and Gorgonzola Recipe
A salad you'll actually want to eat! Make this fall harvest salad with crispy baked cornmeal chicken, apples and gorgonzola recipe. It’s packed with tons of yummy seasonal produce, like watermelon radish and apples with pecans and an easy lemon-mustard dressing.
I made this fall harvest salad with crispy baked cornmeal chicken, apples and gorgonzola over the weekend and it was such perfection that I had to share it with you guys immediately. Salads get such a bad rep, at least from a yumminess perspective. Because salads are for being "good," not tasting good, right??
Now, this is one salad you're gonna actually be excited to eat. There's crispy cornmeal crusted chicken. Tart and juicy Granny Smith apples. Creamy sliced avocado. Toasted pecans. Peppery watermelon radish. And let's not forget that gorgonzola cheese - my favorite!
Side bar on gorgonzola cheese: I was teaching a nutrition class last week to a group of teens in an adolescent intensive outpatient program I work with, and I mentioned that cheese was my favorite food. One kid asked what my favorite kind was, so I just started naming all the kinds of cheese I like. One of the kids chimed in "so, everything except moldy cheese?" And I was like, "nope, I like that too!" Because blue cheese is moldy cheese (in case ya didn't know). I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head 🤣 🤣 🤣 The look of disgust I got was priceless!
Anyway, we munched on this salad Saturday before going out Christmas shopping. Since we were basically the only people on the east coast not to get snow, eating a salad for lunch seemed appropriate. All we got was wet rain. So if you're one of those people who posted all your pretty pictures of snow, just know that I was super jealous of you.
How to Make Crispy Baked Cornmeal Chicken
This crispy baked cornmeal chicken is such a yummy salad topper, especially if you love fried chicken. It’s basically a healthier take that gives you a similar crispy crust, but baked in the oven instead of fried.
The trick to getting a crispy crust on baked chicken is the triple dip method. It creates a thicker layer of breading that crisps up in the oven. First, dip the chicken tenders in flour to create a dry layer to stick to the chicken. Then dip it into beaten egg, which creates a sort of glue for the cornmeal breading, the final layer the chicken gets dipped into. To give the crust flavor, make sure it’s seasoned with spices, salt and pepper.
To make it crispy, spray the the chicken with olive oil spray before baking. It helps it crisp up in the oven without deep frying.
How to Make Lemon-Mustard Dressing for this Fall Harvest Salad with Crispy Baked Cornmeal Chicken
Obviously, there’s some majorly yummy toppings on this fall harvest salad, between with crispy baked cornmeal chicken, juicy Granny Smith apples, gorgonzola cheese and avocado. But the secret ingredient that brings it all together is the lemon-mustard dressing. It’s such a simple dressing to make, I pull out this recipe whenever I need a quick dressing to tie together a salad. Just whisk together lemon juice, grainy mustard and a bit of honey with olive oil. The mustard does double duty, flavoring the dressing and helping to emulsify it.
How to Make a Satisfying Salad:
What I love most about this fall harvest salad is that it’s both filling and satisfying. To make a salad that actually satisfies and tastes good, here's the components I'm always sure to include:
Greens - duh, it is a salad after all. I'm kinda picky about my greens. For lettuce, I love to get local lettuce from City Roots because it honestly tastes SO much better. I also love romaine, arugula and butter lettuce.
Protein - chicken, fresh fish, canned fish (love when it's canned in olive oil because all you have to do is add a squeeze of lemon juice to make dressing), baked tofu, beans, cheese and nuts, etc
Carb - roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, fruit, crushed up tortilla chips, etc
Fat - the dressing works, but I personally find salads are more satisfying when I have a few different kinds of fat, like nuts, olives, cheese, avocado and/or seeds
Flavor boosters - because a salad needs to taste good. Really good crumbled cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, toasted nuts, dried fruit, etc. Basically anything that adds a lot of flavor.
In this fall harvest salad, there’s chicken for protein, apples and cornmeal coating for carbs, plenty of filling fats from the dressing and avocado, plus creamy gorgonzola and toasted pecans for flavor.
How to Meal Prep This Fall Harvest Salad with Crispy Baked Cornmeal Chicken
This salad is one that’s better enjoyed fresh, but you can make it for meal prep. Store salad ingredients separately, and assemble when ready to eat. Just be sure to toss the avocado and apples with a little lemon juice to keep them from browning. You could also layer the salad in a container with the dressing tossed with the avocado and apples at the bottom (lemon in the dressing will keep it from browning), followed by the radish, blue cheese, pecans, chicken and greens. The radish forms almost a layer that keeps the dressing from touching the greens and wilting them.
Harvest Salad with Crispy Cornmeal Chicken, Apples and Gorgonzola
Serves about 4
Ingredients:
Chicken:
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 /4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb chicken tenders
Dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salad:
1 5-ounce bag mixed greens
1 large or 2 medium Granny Smith apples, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 watermelon radish, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with oil.
Prepare three shallow bowls for breading the chicken. Place the flour in the first. Scrambled the egg with 2 tablespoons water in the second. Mix the cornmeal with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in the third.
Dip each piece of chicken into the flour, then the egg, and then the cornmeal mixture. Place on the baking sheet. Spray the chicken with oil then bake for 15-17 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and crispy.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Whisk all dressing ingredients together and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
In a large bowl, mix together remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with dressing. Divide between four plates, top with sliced chicken and serve.
If you like this fall harvest salad with crispy baked cornmeal chicken, you might also like:
Persimmon Kale Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
Crunchy Lentil and Brown Rice Salad with Tahini Dressing
Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
