Pesto Chicken Salad
Posted: | Categories: Recipes | Tags:chicken salad dairy free gluten-free lunch quick & easy
Pesto Chicken Salad
Melissa Ben-Ishay
I still can’t believe it took me this long to create this incredible chicken salad recipe. I loved it so much that I decided to make it again, this time adding a little basil so it has more of a pesto/Green Goddess vibe. You can use any fresh herbs you have! It adds great fresh flavor that you’ll love. Eat it on toast, in a sandwich, on a chip, in a lettuce wrap…however you eat it, it will be great.
Ingredients
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2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons avocado oil
A few turns of black pepper
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3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
½ teaspoon caper juice
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup basil leaves
¼ cup hummus
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the chicken to a bowl and add the lemon juice, salt, avocado oil, and a few turns of black pepper. Mix well with your hands to get the chicken fully coated.
- Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Remove the chicken from the oven and let cool slightly.
- While the chicken cools, add the olive oil, lemon juice, rice vinegar, capers, caper juice, garlic clove, Dijon mustard, basil, hummus, nutritional yeast, and a few turns of black pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it forms a dressing, then transfer the dressing to a jar.
- Transfer the chicken to the food processor and pulse until it’s shredded. You may need to nudge the chicken with a spatula some so the meat at the bottom doesn’t form a paste.
- Place the chicken into a new mixing bowl and pour some of the dressing over. Mix well to combine, adding more dressing as needed until you reach the texture you want.
- Serve on toast, on a cracker, or on a lettuce wrap.
