Crispy Apple Chip, Pecan, Chicken Spinach Salad (with a Sweet Cranberry Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Back to school is a busy time of year. From planning meals for the kids, school supplies, and clothes shopping, to actually cooking and packing food for the whole family, it can be overwhelming. That's why I thought this simple chicken spinach salad would be the perfect recipe to incorporate into your meal planning.

Loaded with crispy apple chips, pecans, and of course chicken, this easy-to-pack salad meal is a healthy and downright easy alternative to all those unhealthy options out there, and let's face it there are a lot of those!

Featured in: Thanksgiving Menu Ideas.

This back-to-school Chicken Spinach Salad recipe has been sponsored by Martin's Apple Chips. I received monetary and product compensation for this recipe. Find more information in our Affiliate Disclosure. All opinions are my own.

Why Martin's Apple Chips?

As I'm sure you noticed this recipe is sponsored by Martin's, a family run fruit farm located in Waterloo Ontario, Canada. I'm all about making food from scratch, but with kids, work/school life, and all the unexpected things life throws our way, not everyone can always make everything from scratch and that's totally okay.

Occasionally I look for and enjoy working in partnership with Canadian companies who create healthy, quality products, that simply make our lives easier. - Chef Markus

I've tried many different apple and fruit chips, (my own included), and I was honestly never blown away by any of them. What everyone wants in a chip is first and foremost, a crispy texture.

If it isn't crispy, it's not a quality chip!

A lot of them are dry, sure, but they lack that crispy crack when you bite into them. The first time I tried the Martin's brand apple chips though, I was blown away by actually how crispy they are, not to mention delicious.

Slightly sweet, convenient, and best of all healthy, they are addicting all on their own. If a truly delicious, and crispy apple chip wasn't enough Martin's apple chips even come in different flavors ideal for snacking on. Chocolate drizzled (my daughter's favorite), cinnamon, and caramel!

Your New Favorite Chicken Spinach Salad

Let's get to the good stuff though, the actual salad. The key to this salad is it's simplicity. By using made ahead oven baked chicken breasts, you can easily prep at least one other meal and have enough protein left over for this lunch salad. Using Martin's apple chips takes care of the apples, so all you really need to do for this salad is cut a few tomatoes and make a salad dressing.

Easy enough no?

To make 4 packed and ready to go lunch salads you'll need:

For the Salad

• 2 pre-cooked oven baked chicken breasts
• 1 clam shell baby spinach (or home grown spinach!)
• 1 package Martin's Apple Chips (These can be purchased across the country and are available at Costco, Starbucks, Sobeys, Winners, Bulk Barn, Farm Boy, and many other retailers)
• ¼ cup roasted pecans
• 1 cup cherry tomato cut in half
• ¼ cup feta crumbled
• dried cranberries to garnish (optional)

For the Dressing

• 1 cup oil
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup cranberry sauce
• 1 tablespoon dijon or yellow mustard
• pinch of salt

Meal Prepping This Chicken Spinach Salad

As I mentioned above, this salad is ideal for a school or work lunch. It easily fits into tupperware containers, and because the pre-cooked chicken is cold anyway, there is nothing more that's needed but to top the salad with the crispy apple chips, and the sweet cranberry dressing before mixing it all together and digging in.

If you are planning this as a make ahead meal, start with the oven baked chicken breasts as they are the 'hardest' part of this recipe. Simply mix together your favorite spices, top boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the mixture, and bake at 425F for 20 minutes. Cool the chicken breasts and then dice them for use in this salad.

Next, quarter the cherry tomatoes, and make your cranberry balsamic vinaigrette. The cranberry dressing is a simple emulsion of oil and vinegar with cranberry sauce, and mustard working as the emulsifier, binding it all together and creating a thick creamy vinaigrette. I highly recommend using a food processor or blender of some sort to mix this, it'll create a really creamy dressing. It can be mixed by hand with a whisk, just note. it won't be as smooth.

Store the cranberry balsamic vinaigrette in a glass bottle or jar in the fridge for future use. You can pre-portion individual serving sizes into 1 ounce sized Tupperware containers for easy addition to the chicken spinach salad!

When all the salad toppings and dressing have been prepped, simply layer the toppings (minus the apple chips, we'll add those last minute) on top of the spinach in a pack-and-go container, or in a plate or bowl to be served immediately.

Martin's Crispy Apple Chips are added to the salad right before eating to keep them as crispy as possible! Drizzle the salad with the cranberry dressing and you're ready to go! For even more flavor and a seasonal feel, you can add dried cranberries to the mix!

Super simple isn't it? It's what I love about salads in general, they are so easy to prepare, travel well, and are jam packed with various textures and flavours. Perfect for a quick and healthy meal any time of the year!

Looking for more Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes? Check out the following:

• German Cucumber Salad
• Kale Slaw
• Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
• Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Have you tried this chicken spinach salad or Martin's Family Apple Chips? Leave a comment and rating below, then take a picture and tag me on Facebook & Instagram: @earthfoodandfire. For more from scratch recipes follow me on Instagram & Pinterest

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