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I Know. Typical, salad on Monday.
But this is so not your typical salad.
And it is most definitely not boring.
For starters, the honey mustard pretzel crusted chicken.
Itโs the bomb. Who knew coating chicken in honey mustard and then covering them in pretzels would be so good?
To be honest this salad was originally going to involve pecan crusted chicken, but then I realized I had about seven pecans left. Seven pecans just was not gonna cut it.
I was SO frustrated. I never run out of anything. See, my mom and I have this problem. We STOCK up. Nuts, chips, flour (Iย buy the 50 pound bags from Costco), chocolate chips , peanut butter, basically anything that wonโt go bad we have back ups for and then probably some back ups for those back ups. Yes, I am well aware that the whole 2012, Mayan prediction, end of civilization as we know it, already passed (thank goodness), we just like to stock up. Hey we have a big family!.
I promise though, we only stock up on food. I hate clutter and basically anything that has no use to me just taking up space. It bugs me along with white plastic, but that is a whole other story. And really if I told you about that today you really would consider reporting me to an insane asylum.
So the pecans were NOT happening. I was not about to go outside in the blowing snow and freeze my butt off just for pecans. So I switched gears and it was probably the best thing I could have done.
Roasted Honey Mustard pretzels are delicious!
Seriously, I am new to this whole honey mustard concept but am now in love. Whoa!
Basically, this salad is really simple.
Coat the chicken, whisk together the dressing, toss the pretzels with a few tablespoons of the dressing, roast the pretzels to crisp deliciousness, toss together some lettuce, spinach, strawberries (unexpected, but SO good in this) and avocado. Divvy up the greens, top with some sliced chicken, honey roasted pretzels, gorgonzola cheese and a generous drizzle of honey mustard dressing. Done!
Oh, and really guys donโt skip the strawberries. The strawberries with the honey mustard flavors gives the most amazing sweet and tangy combo. Plus, it is totally healthy! It is awesome.
Honey Mustard Pretzel Crusted Chicken Salad with Spicy Honey Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
Pretzel Crusted Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders (or 2 large breast, cut into tenders)
- 1 1/4 cups crushed thin pretzel twists
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Honey Mustard Dressing
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 lime, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon pepper
For the Salad
- 2 cups tiny twist pretzels, for the honey mustard roasted pretzel-croutons
- 4-6 cup bib lettuce, or a mix of lettuce and spinach
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 large avocado, diced
- 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the honey, mustard, egg white and whisk well. Toss the chicken in the honey mustard and set aside. Place the pretzels in a sealable plastic bag, seal, and finely crush through the bag with a meat mallet or other heavy utensil (or just carefully step on the bag). Spread the mixture out on a large plate or in a large dish. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Remove one piece of chicken at a time from the mustard. Place in the pretzels crumb bag and use your fist to pound the pretzels onto the chicken. Place on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken. Mist the tops of the pretzel crusted chicken with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through baking, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the oven and serve with the salad.
- While the chicken cooks combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Whisk well and adjust seasoning to taste.
- Remove a few tablespoons (I think I used around three) of the dressing and place in a medium size mixing bowl. Toss the whole pretzels with the dressing an place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Place in the oven with chicken for 10-15 minutes or until the pretzels have turned golden brown, flipping halfway through (don't forget about them, they can burn quickly). Remove from the oven, let cool 5 minutes and then transfer to a bowl.
- In a large bowl toss the lettuce, spinach, strawberries and avocado together. Plate the salad and top each plate with a sliced piece of chicken, roasted honey mustard pretzels and feta cheese. Drizzle with more dressing.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Monday salad never tasted so good! Seriously, I am not joking.
I’d never tried to make my own chicken tenders before, but you convinced me and boy do I have no regrets!!! This recipe is the bomb. And sooooo easy to make!!! I used Dotty’s original pretzels and my whole family loved it. I will have to double the recipe next time because leftover chicken tenders is not wrong! Thank you Tieghan!
Hey there,
Fantastic!! ๐ด๐ I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Any idea of protein, carbs, and fat totals for this recipe?
Hey Denning,
So sorry, I am only able to provide an estimated calorie count. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
DELICIOUS! My husband said “add this one to the rotation, it’s a keeper” and he is not wrong! We used Goldfish Pretzels vs pretzel twists and they were the perfect “crouton!” This chicken is also phenomenal on its own. Def a keeper!
Oh that is so amazing! I am so glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you Kristen! Thank you so much! xTieghan
wow, it looks so amazing, my husband and son definitely love this. thanks for the recipe.
I hope they do love it! Thank you!
When do you use the tsp. of seasoned salt for the chicken? I see it in the ingredient list, but not in the cooking instructions…
Mix it in with the pretzels. Hope you love this!
Loving this so much! Honey mustard dressing on top of salads with chicken – pretty much a staple in my diet. Thanks for linking to this on my post!
Thanks Sally!! I always think your diet is cookies and sprinkles and peanut butter with pretzels, but I guess you have to eat other stuff as well!! LOL
Now that is a fantastic idea – pretzel crusted chicken! Sounds absolutely delish.
I’d be thrilled if you’d link up at this week’s Off the Hook!
Thank you, Lauren!
Looks great!
I would love for you to link up this – and your other salad recipes – at Empty Your Archive. We have a special focus this week on salads, Alice @ Mums Make Lists x<
Thank you!
Thanks for coming to (link) party with me… Come and share again today at Super Saturday http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com ๐ Have a wonderful day. xoxo~ Ruthie
Yummy! Come join the link party @ Share it With Us Saturdays on Great Tastes Tuesdays! The party starts Friday @ 8:30 p.m. Mountain time and runs all weekend. Donโt miss out! I would love to have you! http://greatastestuesdays.blogspot.com/2013/04/document.html
Thank You!
This looks amazing! Wow. I have never seen anything like it and i want to try it so much. Come visit me over at my blog!
Thank you!