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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.
It’s 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 (I buy the 50 pound bags from Costco), chocolate chips , peanut butter, basically anything that won’t 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 don’t 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.
CONGRATS!!
You have been featured at The DIY Dreamer!! Come on over and grab your featured button, you deserve it! http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/features-62/
Don’t forget to swing by this evening to link up to the next From Dream To Reality party!
Thank you and thanks so much for featuring me!
Mmmmm…. That looks so tasty! Reminds me of this recipe we use from Rachel Ray that has pretzel crusted chicken dipped in this cheesy mustard sauce. But this is healthier. 🙂
Cheesy Mustard sauce! Yum! Hope you like this!
This looks wonderful and so pretty! I love pecan chicken, and pretzel crusted chicken sounds like an amazing substitute. Yum! I will have to give it a try.
Thank you and let me know if you do give it a try!
You take beautiful pics! PInned. Thanks for linking up to MM~ Paula
Aw thank you!
This looks amazing! Saw it over at Marvelous Mondays and had to stop over! This is going on my must-try list. Photos are stunning! Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful week!
Thank you! I hope you love it!
That looks fabulous! Quick thinking and a really good turn out! Consider linking it up with me on Wow Us Wednesday 🙂 I would love it!
Thank you!
This recipe was featured in Krafty Cards etc.’s Recipe Round-up. View it at: http://kraftycardsetc.blogspot.com/2013/04/recipe-round-up.html. Thanks for the inspiration!
Maria
Krafty Cards etc.
Thank you so much for featuring me!
This sounds so good, I love pretzels! I’ve had a pecan crusted chicken salad, but never pretzel. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, I hope you love it!
This salad looks amazing! I would love for you to link it up @ http://ahandfulofeverything.blogspot.com/2013/04/great-idea-thursday-1.html! Krista @ A Handful of Everything
Thank you!
I definitely need to try this yummy recipe this weekend!
You’ve been featured today at Love Grows Wild:
http://www.lovegrowswild.com/2013/04/12-projects-for-home-10-recipes-to-try.html
xoxo Liz
Let me know if you do and thank you so much for featuring me!
Most definitely not a boring salad. In fact, it’s the most fun salad I think I’ve ever seen.
Visiting from Foodie Friday.
Fun salad are the best!
This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you!
Beautiful, delicious and appetizing. I am salivating
Yes! Thats my goal!
I love to make a big salad for dinner in the summer and I think my kids might actually eat this one! I’d love it if you linked this recipe up to this week’s Iron Chef Mom: Strawberry Battle! http://growingupgabel.com/iron-chef-mom-strawberry-battle/
Thanks!! I hope you give this try!
I made this for dinner last night and we loved it! I liked the addition of smoked paprika to the honey mustard dressing and using pretzels as a coating. Who would have thought to use crushed pretzels instead of pecans or cornflakes, or panko and so forth. Well, obviously you did, lol. Plus, the additional whole pretzels baked in the sauce was brilliant! I have friends coming to visit Thursday evening, and I will be making this again for them. Thanks so much for the recipe, hon. I enjoy your blog.
YEAH! I am so happy you made this and loved!! Thanks so much for letting me know and thank you for you nice words! I hope you friends love the salad as much as you did! Thanks so much for reading!