Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad Copycat Recipe
Rating
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Varies
- 2 large or 3 small Chicken Breasts
- Red Apple
- Green Apple
- Lemon Pepper (to taste)
- Olive Oil
- Mixed Salad Greens
- Fresh Spinach
- 3 oz. Blue Cheese
- 2-3 Tbs Roasted Pecans
- Generously seasons all chicken breasts with lemon pepper. Coat with olive oil. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400*. Preheat a well-seasoned , cast iron grill pan while the oven is heating.
- Place chicken on grill pan or other cookware to bake. Bake until golden on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.
- The pecans can be roasted in the oven while the chicken cooks. Just make a foil pouch to heat them in. It should only take 5-8 minutes to roast the pecans. Sometimes I even use the warming "burner" on my stovetop to roast seeds and nuts using foil pouches.
- While the chicken is cooking, core, slice, and cube the apples. Prep the salad greens, and gather the other ingredients.
- Cut the chicken into bite-size cubes.
- Layering the Salad:
- Salad Greens and Spinach go in the bowl first.
- Chicken goes on next.
- Spread out the red and green apples, about ½ of each color per salad..
- Fill in gaps with the roasted pecans.
- Sprinkle on the blue cheese and dried cranberries.
- Serve and Enjoy!
After creating and falling in love with my Wendy’s Strawberry Fields Chicken Salad copycat recipe, I decided to try another one. This time, I opted for the Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad. This is how it’s described on their website: A perfect mix of peak-season red and green apples, real blue cheese crumbles, sweet cranberries and roasted pecans, and topped with a warm, grilled chicken breast. They use a viniagrette dressing, but I don’t care for it so I choose whatever is handy in my fridge.
My Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad Copycat Recipe is a mix of red and green apples, blue cheese , dried
cranberries, roasted pecans, and topped with a warm, grilled chicken breast. Although I liked the Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, it isn’t my favorite. I think it’s the red apples. I really like green apples, but red apples don’t rank nearly as high on my list. Yellow apples don’t even make it on the list!
Will I make my Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad copycat recipe again? Probably, but I probably wouldn’t buy it at the restaurant again. I’m more of a savory than a sweet eater, so I think that is why the Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad just didn’t float my boat like the Wendy’s Strawberry Fields Chicken Salad did.
Have you tried them? What’s your favorite? Let me know what you like better about one compared to the other.
What is the Brand of the blue cheese, that is use in the Wendy’s salad (Apple, pecan, chicken)
The brand does not matter. You can use whatever you have locally, your favorite brand, etc.
Thanks so much for sharing this!! I love this salad so much but I KNEW there was a way to recreate it at home. I made the chicken per your instructions, and my family ( husband, mom in law and 5 yr old ) LOVED IT!! The chicken was juicy, done, and oh so tasty! I didn’t care for the salad dressing recipe, maybe too much olive oil? But we ended up not using any dressing of any kind. Once again, thanks so much for sharing this!