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Poached Chicken Salad with Cranberries, Pistachios & Garlic Croutons, plated

Mealime recipe · lives on in MealPot

Poached Chicken Salad with Cranberries, Pistachios & Garlic Croutons

  • 30 min
  • 2–6 servings
  • 604 kcal / serving

A light chicken salad with crisp celery, tart cranberries, and pistachios folded into a creamy yogurt dressing, plus garlic croutons for crunch. It comes together quickly for a satisfying weeknight meal.

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Main-Course Salads

Ingredients

  • 2 stickscelery
  • ¾ lbchicken breasts, boneless skinless
  • ¼ cupdried cranberries
  • 1 clovegarlic
  • 1lemon
  • ¼ cuppistachios, unsalted
  • ½ cupplain Greek yogurt
  • 1 (5 oz) pkgspring mix (mixed greens)
  • 3 sliceswhole grain bread
  • lemons

From the pantry: black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, thyme, dried

Cookware

baking sheet pan · chef's knife · citrus juicer (optional) · colander · cutting board · garlic press (optional) · grater · measuring cups · measuring spoons · medium saucepan · mixing bowls · oven mitts · stirring spoon · tongs · whisk or fork

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the bread into bite-sized pieces, then toss with the minced garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper; spread on a baking sheet and bake 6–8 minutes, tossing once, until golden. Set croutons aside to cool.
  2. Place the chicken in a saucepan and cover with water by about 1 inch. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 8–10 minutes until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool, then shred with two forks.
  3. Wash and dry the celery, trim, and cut into medium dice. Zest the lemon directly into a medium bowl containing the celery.
  4. Roughly chop the pistachios and add them to the celery bowl along with the dried cranberries. Stir in the plain Greek yogurt and the Italian seasoning and thyme, and season lightly with salt if desired. Mix well and set aside.
  5. In another bowl, juice the lemon and whisk in the extra virgin olive oil to make a simple dressing.
  6. Add the mixed greens and the cooled croutons to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat.
  7. Add the shredded chicken to the yogurt mixture and toss to combine, then fold in the celery mixture.
  8. To serve, lay greens on plates and spoon the chicken salad over the top.

Two tips

  • Make ahead: poach the chicken and bake the croutons up to a day in advance and refrigerate separately.
  • Serving idea: keep the salad crisp by adding greens and croutons just before serving and offering extra lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
604 kcal
Protein
55 g
Carbs
46 g
Fat
23 g
Fiber
8 g
Sodium
373 mg

Estimates from the recipe's published nutrition data; they change with the version you pick above.

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Ingredient quantities, timing and nutrition are recorded from the original Mealime recipe ↗ (captured 2026-09-12). Photo: MealPot, an AI-rendered illustration of the finished dish. Description and directions written by MealPot.

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