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    Home > Salads & Dressings > Strawberry Chicken Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

    Strawberry Chicken Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

    Published: Apr 23, 2010 · Modified: Oct 15, 2022 by Lea Ann Brown · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Strawberry Chicken Salad

    Strawberry Chicken Salad with creamy poppyseed dressing. Make the most out of fresh strawberry season with this easy main course salad. Poppyseed dressing, fried chicken breast and strawberries are an absolutely wonderful main-course salad combination.

    Fried chicken breast sliced on romaine lettuce with strawberries, onion, mango with poppyseed dressing

    What to Cook For Dinner Tonight – Easy!

    Cooking the chicken breasts while you assemble the rest of the ingredients, dinner will be the table pronto. Actually you’ll even have time for a glass of wine with your feet propped up on the coffee table for a few minutes. Priorities.

    My point? Easy weeknight recipes like this quick Strawberry Chicken Salad are always welcome. 

    Fresh Strawberry Season

    Strawberries are everywhere right now. And they’re big, plump and delicious.

    You can’t walk into any market in Denver without a big display of baskets of perfect strawberries pleading to be adopted. And at good prices.

    But from where did this glut of strawberries come??  It seems that the strawberry harvest in Florida was delayed due to lousy weather, and now their harvest is coinciding with the California harvest resulting in 80 million pounds of strawberries distributed in the U.S. all at once.   

    Results?  Oh-so sweet prices.

    A recent trip to Costco found a large flat of strawberries in my cart, in my car, and now in my refrigerator. Let’s make a salad! And let’s make that salad with one of my favorite dressings, creamy poppyseed dressing. 

    These strawberries are beautiful and perfect, they taste really good. But if you can find local fresh strawberries, grab as many as you can. I feel “strawberry ruined” after traveling to Oregon and feasting on fresh Oregon Strawberries. You haven’t lived until you’ve had the real thing. No comparison. Can’t even begin to describe the difference.  A moment of silence please.

    I look forward to Colorado Grown strawberries to hit out markets soon. If you can find them.

    Fried chicken breast salad with sliced strawberries, mango, onion, romaine, and poppyseed dressing

    Creamy Poppyseed Dressing Recipe

    Hands down, poppyseed dressing is my favorite salad dressing of all time. Creamy with mayo and sour cream, this recipe gets a kick of even more deliciousness by adding heavy cream. With cider vinegar to brighten and add a hint of tartness, it’s absolutely perfect in my books.

    Oh sure, there are some brands you can buy at the store and they’re good.  Panera Poppyseed Dressing is pretty darn god. But this recipe comes together in less than 5 minutes and the flavor and quality are superior to bottled. By far.

    I hope you take the time to make homemade without the preservatives and crazy ingredients that you find in bottled.

    Strawberry Chicken Salad – Make it With Almonds

    Chicken breasts that are dusted with flour and then sauteed produce such a tender, juicy and flavorful end result.

    The flour seals in all the goodness and texture that we look for in chicken breast. Once the chicken is cooked and juices run clear, remove to a plate with a paper towel and tent with foil. This will help to seal in those flavorful juices even more. 

    Slice the chicken before building the salad for easy to manage meal. I’ve added sliced almonds to my Strawberry and Chicken Salad. A little crunch is always a good thing. 

    Chopped mango adds a splash of yellow orange color. A colorful main course fried chicken salad that seems light and fresh in a hearty sort of way. 

    Of course you can saute chicken breasts without that coating of flour. It will save a bit on calories – and make this a gluten free strawberry salad. But a little compromise on the flavor scale. Unless you are eating gluten free, I simply wouldn’t skip the flour. 

    Fried chicken salad with strawberries, mango and creamy poppyseed dressing

    Recipe for Strawberry Chicken Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

    I hope you give this Strawberry Chicken Salad recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe. 

    And if you have a favorite Fried Chicken Salad Recipe let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

    More Summer Salad Recipes

    • Avocado Mango Salad with Blue Cheese
    • Peach Burrata Salad
    • Grilled Peach Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese
    • Butter Lettuce Salad with Peaches and Pistachio Vinaigrette

    And if you’re salad fans like us, don’t miss my post on 9 Secrets To A Remarkable Tossed Salad. A step by step guide on how to make the best tossed salad ever.

    And don’t miss my Salad Category. You’ll find lots of salad ideas and dressing recipes and the most popular on my site for Homemade Thick and Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing.

    Fried chicken breast sliced on romaine lettuce with strawberries, onion, mango with poppyseed dressing

    Strawberry Chicken Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing

    Take advantage of fresh strawberry season. A fresh and easy weeknight light dinner with chicken, strawberries and creamy poppyseed dressing.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 39 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 974kcal
    Author: Lea Ann Brown

    Ingredients

    • 2 chicken breast halves Boneless, skinless, slightly pounded to even out thickness, dusted with flour and sautéed until golden and cooked through.
    • 1/4 cup flour
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 3 Tablespoons oil vegetable or olive
    • 2 fist fulls salad greens Romaine, spring greens, arugula, etc.
    • 1 cup Strawberries washed, tops cut off and halved
    • 1/2 small sweet onion thin sliced and halved
    • 1/2 cup mango cubed
    • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
    • For the dressing
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
    • 1 Tablespoon Sour cream
    • 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
    • 2 1/2 teaspoons Cider vinegar
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Place flour on a plate and then dredge chicken breast to lightly coat with the flour. Salt and pepper the chicken.
    • Heat a fry pa over medium high heat, add oil and when oil is hot, add chicken and sauté over medium heat until golden on each side and cooked through. About 6 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and tent with foil 5 minutes.
    • Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until blended.
    • Slice the chicken breasts. Build your salad with the greens, the warm chicken, arrange strawberries and mango over the top, sprinkle with sliced almonds and drizzle with the dressing.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 974kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 77g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 494mg | Potassium: 724mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 58.7mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2.4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @lannisam or tag #CookingOnTheRanch!

    Strawberry Chicken Salad … It’s What’s for Dinner.

    More Salad and Dressing Recipes

    • Easy Hearts of Palm Salad With Avocado
    • Winter Fresh Citrus Salad with Grapefruit
    • Avocado Mango Salad with Blue Cheese
    • Lamb Kebab Salad with Arugula and Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Chris says

      April 27, 2010 at 6:48 pm

      Ahhhh you should have made a strawberry vinaigrette to go on top!

      Awesome salad, the chicken looks perfectly cooked. Yum!

      Reply
    2. Nancy aka Spicie Foodie says

      April 25, 2010 at 2:53 pm

      What a beautiful salad both aesthetically pleasing and I’m sure my tummy would be very pleased! By the way, I like the name it’s really cute to go with a really cute looking salad.

      Reply
    3. Zia Liz says

      April 25, 2010 at 2:17 am

      Mmmmmm… I agree on the fresh strawberries. Nothing like getting them fresh from the farmer.

      Reply
    4. Barbara @ VinoLuciStyle says

      April 24, 2010 at 4:52 pm

      A woman after my own heart; I love salads with fruit lately much more than ‘regular’ salads. Getting good strawberries is much easier than getting good tomatoes and I think that’s what has driven me in that direction.

      I’m a balsamic vinegar freak; it would be another good quick dressing mixed with some olive oil and a squeeze of lemon or orange juice. Now I’m hungry!

      Reply
    5. Joanne says

      April 24, 2010 at 10:37 am

      Floods of strawberries are the only kinds of floods that I like! This salad looks delicious. I love the sound of that dressing.

      Reply
    6. Reeni says

      April 24, 2010 at 3:18 pm

      This is just the type of salad I love! Filled with a wide array of fresh ingredients and sweet and savory flavors! Delicious!

      Reply
    7. buffalo dick says

      April 24, 2010 at 11:27 am

      Looks and sounds refreshing and tasty!

      Reply
    8. Pam says

      April 24, 2010 at 2:01 am

      Bookmarking!

      Reply
    9. DebinHawaii says

      April 24, 2010 at 7:45 am

      Gorgeous salad! Love the combination of the chicken and strawberries–looks so colorful and delicious. Want to send it to Souper Sundays? 😉

      Reply
    10. Kristi Rimkus says

      April 24, 2010 at 3:10 am

      Colorful and nutritious. Love it!

      Reply
    11. Noble Pig says

      April 23, 2010 at 11:15 pm

      Mother nature has lost her mind, that’s all I’m sayin’. And the salad looks amazing!!

      Reply
    12. Vickie says

      April 23, 2010 at 10:10 pm

      Beautiful! That is a beautiful salad and thanks for sharing how you use toasted sesame oil. (got some and can’t figure out what to do with it)

      I hear you about being ruined on strawberries. Last year we had a great crop – so sweet and flavorful that I had a hard time getting a full colander to the house. Amazing how good they are when they’re picked ripe.

      And I’m lmao at the weather down there. I’m still trying to get used to springtime in the mountains and find that it’s so unpredictable, I just have to roll with it. Glad we don’t have tornadoes in the mix – I’ don’t miss those at all.

      Reply
    13. doggybloggy says

      April 23, 2010 at 9:22 pm

      I feel healthy just looking at this – mmmmmmmm

      Reply
    14. justine says

      April 23, 2010 at 8:51 pm

      No eyes are rolled here! Only a stomach rumbling!

      Reply
    15. larry says

      April 23, 2010 at 7:02 pm

      It is becoming salad season and I’m very impressed with your creation and I know Bev will love it. The strawberry farm up the road is estimating berries by the 28th and they are so good

      Reply

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    I'm Lea Ann, Welcome to my Colorado kitchen. I'm a Culinary School Grad with a passion to inspire you to cook as often as you can. Here you'll find Wild West Colorado inspired recipes along some Southwestern and Mexican food favorites. I also share some special recipes from school along pro cooking tips. If you're an adventurous cook looking to spice up your meal plans, you'll find plenty of reliable, approachable, easy to follow recipes.

    More about me →

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