O'Charley's Restaurant California Chicken Salad Copycat Recipe 🥗

This simple salad is delicious to serve as
a main dish or as part of a brunch,
 shower or holiday buffet.

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced or pressed garlic

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Salad Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon pink Himalayan or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups torn or shredded romaine lettuce

1/2 cup canned mandarin oranges (liquid drained)

1 cup chopped Honeycrisp, Fuji or other apple**

1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup candied pecans***

1/3 cup crumbled bleu cheese

Method:

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a jar or cruet with a lid. Shake to mix and refrigerate until ready to use.

Trim any fat from the chicken and cut the breasts into bite sized chunks.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat for to minutes. Add the chicken, salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook, stirring and turning the chicken pieces frequently, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Set the chicken aside and allow to cool.

Place the lettuce in a large salad bowl. Add the chicken and top with the orange segments, apple, strawberries, cranberries and pecans. Gently toss to mix.

Just before serving, the dressing and cheese may be added. I prefer to serve the dressing and the cheese on the side so that everyone can add how much they prefer on their salad. Makes 4 main dish or 6 side servings.

**The original recipe did not include apple, but I like to add them for extra flavor and crunch. Sprinkle just enough orange juice on the chopped apple and toss to coat. Drain any liquid from the apple. This will keep the fruit from turning brown.

***Candied pecans are very simple to make. Here is a link to a recipe for candied pecans on this blog:

https://carriekitchencreations.blogspot.com/2018/02/favorite-cinnamon-candied-pecans-or.html

Notes: 

A balsamic vinaigrette can be purchased if you do not wish to make the homemade version.

Three cups of  chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken may be used instead of cooking raw chicken.

For a larger gathering, the salad ingredients can be doubled. (The dressing does not need to be doubled.

 O'Charley's Restaurant & Bar is a chain that features delicious Southern dining in a welcoming atmosphere. All entrees come with a free slice of pie on Wednesdays!