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Keeping things fun, easy, and healthy with this Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad. Spicy chicken fingers, breaded in salty pretzel crumbs, oven baked and tossed together with fresh greens, avocado, and crispy bacon. Add a creamy honey mustard dressing and lots of parmesan for a colorful salad that’s anything but boring. This is quick to make and beyond delicious. It’s that salty, spicy pretzel chicken and sweet honey mustard dressing. The combo is hard to beat.
Here is what I have come to learn about myself. I really, really like recipes that remind me of past adventures…usually when I was a kid. Chicken fingers? Yup, I love them. Mac and cheese with the crunchy edges? 100%. Chicken and rice…Dad’s pasta dish? Yep, all some of my favorite recipes, and each from childhood.
And then this salad? While it’s not something I ever ate growing up, it does remind me of the days I’d spend with my family in Florida over spring break. I know I’ve been talking a lot about Florida and spring break this last week, but clearly, I can’t help it. It’s spring break season and geez, I really wish I had some plans to go to Florida. But I don’t, so instead, I’m making recipes that bring back all my favorite memories.
It’s fun…and delicious. Because let’s be real, the foods we ate when we were young were GOOD.
So this salad. When my family traveled to Florida for spring break we’d always stay with my Nonnie and Grandpa. My Nonnie and I were super close, so while mom basked in the sun and my brothers played in the pool with my dad, Nonnie and would sneak off, go do some shopping, then stop in somewhere for lunch.
When I was really young, I’d order chicken fingers nine times out of ten, but my Nonnie always switched up her order depending on where we were eating. Sometimes pasta, sometimes a sandwich, and then sometimes a salad. For some reason, I remember her eating a chicken salad with bacon. I’m feeling like it was a Cheesecake Factory Salad? Yep, that sounds about right.
Anyway, since I’ve been thinking so much about those trips and also trying to put ideas for lunches together, I took Nonnie’s salad and my chicken fingers and I combined the two. And you know? I really, really wish Nonnie was around to give this a taste test, because I think she’d fully approve. The bacon would really seal the deal for her and the pretzel chicken? Well, let’s just say that the salty pretzels would put the salad over the top. This salad has all of her favorite things. Mine too.
The Details…Start with the Chicken
What I love about this fun salad is that for how much it has going on, it’s actually really easy.
Start with the chicken. Finely crush the pretzels into crumbs to bread the chicken. The finely crushed pretzels are key. They flavor the chicken with the perfect amount of salt, which pairs wonderfully
with the sweet and tangy honey mustard dressing. I make the crumbs spicy with a little chili powder, smoked paprika, and cayenne. They are delicious.
Tip? Pulse the pretzels in the food processor to really break them down into a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, just add the pretzels to a ziplock bag, then step on the bag with your feet to finely crush them. Trust me, this works. You can even just use the actual pretzel bag and step on that. It’s what dad used to do when he’d make potato chip chicken when I was a kid. This trick is an oldie but a goodie.
Bake the chicken in the oven until it crisps all over. My secret is to lightly drizzle the chicken with olive oil before it bakes. This helps the coating to really crisp up nicely in the oven. You can’t skip this step, it’s crucial.
While the Chicken is Baking…
Toss the salad and make the dressing. For the salad, I kept it simple, mixed greens, tomatoes, lots of avocados, crispy bacon, and parmesan. Nothing fancy, but always a solid combo when it comes to salad. The avocado plus bacon is a favorite. Totally delicious.
And then the dressing. Hands down this is one of my favorite dressings. It’s extra creamy, sweet, and tangy, but with a kick from some cayenne. The tahini makes it extra creamy and the honey keeps things sweet, which is a nice balance to the spicy. And when you toss it all together with the pretzel chicken?
It is SO GOOD! Crunchy chicken, salty bacon, creamy avocado, and a sweet, creamy, and spicy dressing that really completes the salad and makes every bite special.
So you see? Salads can be delish…and fun!
Looking for other spring salad recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Chickpea Salad
Lastly, if you make this Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 819 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 pound boneless chicken tenders
- 1 cup finely crushed salted pretzel twists
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
- 6 cups mixed greens
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
- 1-2 avocados, diced
- 4 slices cooked thick cut bacon, crumbled
Honey Mustard Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Combine the pretzels, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. 3. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, pressing to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.4. To make the salad. Combine the greens, tomatoes, parmesan, avocados, and bacon in a salad bowl.5. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.6. Toss the chicken in with the salad. Add a little of the dressing. Enjoy!
Great recipe, especially for out of the box chicken tendies.
BUT-
It doesn’t really need to specify thick cut bac-y, regular bac-y does just fine since you’re crumbling it.
It doesn’t really need to specify “pretzel twists”, as you are crumbling the pretzels, so normal pretzels do just fine. Especially if you are a typical husband going food shopping and end up spending 15 extra minutes trying to find gosh darn “Pretzel twists” and end up buying these gross “butter flavored twists” as those are the only twists you can find, and your wife gets mad, but then luckily you find an open bag of pretzels sitting in the back of your pantry about to go stale anyways and you save the day and all is well.
.. so yea, great chicken tendies, probably wont make the salad again.
Hey Gabriel,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I’m glad the chicken tenders were enjoyed! xTieghan
I’m laughing at this because I am guessing you did the same exact thing that I did. In my head I thought a Twist was what is actually a braid and that was hard to find. But a Twist is actually the standard pretzel shape.
Love this salad! Just a question – how long the dressing is good in the fridge?
Hey Mary,
Happy Saturday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! I would say the dressing is good for a few weeks in the fridge. xTieghan
This is to die for!! The whole recipe is phenomenal but the dressing is what takes this to the next level. The dressing is better than any I have had at any restaurant. Still have yet to make a HBH recipe that I don’t like!
Hey Susie,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed and I really appreciate you giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
As big fans of the Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken Fingers, we LOVED this salad! It was as delicious as it was beautiful AND easy to throw together on a weeknight. Will definitely be making this again!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Friday! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious salad!! I made it for dinner and it was amazing, especially the dressing and chicken tenders. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Jenn,
So so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxTieghan
Is this recipe spicy at all? If so what should I not add/cut back on?
Hey Kailey,
This recipe is not spicy. I hope you love the salad, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Simple to make! So delicious. Can’t wait to make it again.
Hey Amy,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made this for dinner tonight after staring at this recipe for 2 weeks! This was an absolute delight for dinner. Every element of this salad was delicious and the chicken tenders are so freakin good! Cannot wait to have this again for lunch tomorrow!
Hey Tamara,
Awesome!! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
This was delicious! My husband said it was some of my best work — which is high praise for a salad in a house where magic cookies are also on the table. Love the tahini in the dressing. Thanks for the recipe, Tieghan!
Hey there,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was delicious! My husband said it was some of my best work… which is high praise for a salad. The tahini in the salad dressing is bomb. Thanks, Tieghan!
Hey Kaelan,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
“The only thing that could make this better is if it were Chik-fil-A nuggets on top”
– my husband (this is high praise ?)
Hey Laura,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was so good! My family really liked it! Thank you?
Hey Missy,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This recipe was really easy to put together and DELICIOUS! I made the chicken & dressing as part of my meal prep for the week for lunches. The homemade honey mustard dressing was better than any store bought dressing in my opinion. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hey Erin,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was so easy and delicious! We sped up timing on this to make it weeknight friendly by cooking the chicken in our air fryer at 400 degrees. Took about 8 minutes and in a total of 15 we had dinner on the table. My 18 month old loved the pretzel coating, he may never eat a chicken nugget if these are the alternative! Dressing was so good I might need to make another batch to use on greens throughout the week!
Hey Erin,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend:) xxTieghan
This was SO GOOD! The honey mustard pretzel chicken tenders recipe was my favorite ever. So now adding that goodness in a salad is AMAZING. And easier, since you’re using a honey mustard dressing instead of dredging each chicken piece through it’s own honey mustard. These fingers are obviously a little crispier so they won’t get soggy in the salad. But I LOVE them on their own. I made a whole extra plate of them. Thank you again for your amazingly creative recipes!! I get bored so easy with food, but never on your site!
Hey Alyssa,
Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! xxTieghan