Pesto Chicken Salad

Some of my favorite quick and easy family meals are baked chicken breasts, with a variety of different marinades and flavors, and sprinkled with cheese. One that I make often is a pesto chicken bake. A homemade pesto is spread over the chicken breasts and they are topped with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

As I was meal planning and adding pesto chicken to a weeknight dinner, I realized that it would make an amazing salad. For the salad, I baked the chicken breast with the basil pesto and made a dressing by adding white wine vinegar to the pesto.

An additional burst of flavor is the pickled red onions. I don't really like raw onions, so pickled onions are a great way to have onions without them being overly pungent. Add tomatoes (mine were fresh from the garden), mozzarella cheese pearls, mixed greens and pine nuts for a crunch and you have a salad that you will definitely look forward to each day!

PESTO CHICKEN SALAD

Makes: 4 jars

Time: 10 minutes to assemble

Marinade and Dressing Ingredients

- 1 cup fresh basil

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 2 tbsp pine nuts

- 1/3 cup olive oil

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan

- 1/4 cup water

- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar

Salad Ingredients

- 8 cups mixed greens

- 2 chicken breasts

- 8 tbsp (1/2 cup) pickled red onion (see recipe below)

- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

- 4 oz (1/2 cup) small mozzarella cheese pearls

- 8 tbsp (1/2 cup) pine nuts

Directions

1. Use a blender to combine all marinade ingredients except for the white wine vinegar.

2. Place chicken breasts in baking dish and spread about half of the marinade on the chicken. (Reserve the remaining marinade to make the dressing).

3. Let chicken marinate for at least 15 minutes or 2 hours if possible for best results.

4. Bake chicken at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Check internal temperature and return to oven if needed. Chicken needs to be cooked to 165 degrees.

5. Let chicken rest for a few minutes, then cut into cubes.

6. Make dressing by adding white wine vinegar to marinade. Add additional water if needed to thin out a bit. (Thin dressings work best in jarred salads so that they evenly cover all of the salad when jar is shaken.)

7. Layer ingredients in jars - measure and add about 2 tbsp of the dressing to each jar.

8. Add 2 tbsp pickled red onions.

9. Add 1/2 cup tomatoes.

10. Evenly divide the cubed chicken among the jars (about 1/2 cup each).

11. Add 2 tbsp of mozzarella cheese pearls to each jar.

12. Add 2 cups of greens and top with 2 tbsp pine nuts.

13. Place top on jar and tighten.

14. Store in refrigerator and eat within 5 days.

PICKLED ONION RECIPE

Ingredients

- 1 red onion, thinly sliced

- 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

- 1/4 cup water

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tbsp sugar

Directions

- Add vinegar, water, salt and sugar to a small saucepan.

- Mix and heat over medium-high heat until simmering.

- Place onions in a jar and pour hot vinegar mixture over onions.

- Screw on lid and shake until all onions are coated in vinegar.

- Open and press down onions to make sure all are covered in liquid.

- Return lid to jar and let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

- Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Nutrition