Description
Indulge your taste buds in the textures and flavors of Crunchy Pesto Chicken Salad. This refreshing cold salad is a celebration of vibrant colors, wholesome vegetables, and succulent chicken, all generously coated in a luscious creamy pesto dressing.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 4–ounces uncooked chopped pancetta
- 1 lb of cooked chicken*
- 16-ounce bag of frozen broccoli
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- 16-ounce bag frozen corn
- 12-ounce bag frozen shelled edamame
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 2 12–ounce bags cole slaw mix*
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta for garnish
For the Dressing
- 1/3 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add chopped cabbage, carrots, green onion and almonds to a large bowl. I like to chop everything into small pieces.
- Heat a large skillet and add pancetta. No need to add oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the fat renders and the meat is crispy.
- Add the broccoli, corn, and edamame to the pan. Drizzle with olive oil, season with oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and cook until the veggies are tender (10 – 12 min). Remove pan from heat.
- While the veggies are cooking, whisk together pesto, sour cream, lemon juice until combined. Add a drizzle of olive oil to make the mixture pourable.
- Add the cooked vegetables and chopped chicken to the cabbage mixture. Just before serving, toss with the creamy pesto dressing and top it with crumbled feta.
Notes
- If you can find multiple types of coleslaw mix/chopped cabbage, I like to mix up the colors
- Use any kind of pre-cooked chicken. I used leftover rotisserie chicken. You could also substitute chopped turkey breast, salmon or shrimp
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. Great for meal prep.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: recipe