Quick Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken
Crisp raw cabbage, cold apple cubes, and grilled chicken strips in a honey-mustard dressing scattered with chopped nuts. Every fork gets a different crunch.
The dressing is barely two ingredients worth of effort: olive oil whisked with honey, mustard, and a crack of pepper. It coats the cabbage without drowning it. The nuts go in twice: half mixed through for texture, half scattered on top for that last-second bite.
40g of protein and 13g of fiber in a five-minute assembly. Serve it with toasted whole wheat bread and the whole plate clears 740 calories without a single pan touching the stove.
Ingredients
- apple 1
- mixed nuts, unsalted 1 ounce
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- honey 0.5 tablespoon
- yellow mustard 0.5 teaspoon
- cabbage, shredded 5 ounces
- grilled chicken strips 3 ounces
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
Method
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Cut the apple into cubes and chop the nuts finely.
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For the dressing, mix the oil with honey, mustard, pepper and salt.
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In a bowl, mix the cabbage with the apple, half of the nuts and the dressing.
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Place the grilled chicken on top of the cabbage salad. Finish by sprinkling the remaining chopped nuts over the salad and serve with the (toasted) bread.
Toss the cabbage with the dressing first and let it sit for a minute while you cut the apple. The mustard coats the shreds and takes the raw edge off without making anything soggy. If you are eating later, pack the dressed cabbage in a sealed container and keep the nuts separate until you eat.
Behind this recipe
Can I use a different type of nut?
Any nut works. Walnuts, almonds, and pecans all bring a similar crunch. The macros shift slightly (walnuts add more omega-3 fats, almonds add slightly more fiber) but the texture and overall balance of the salad stay the same.
Why do the nuts go in twice?
Half the nuts get mixed into the dressing-coated salad, where they soften just slightly and blend into the overall texture. The other half go on top at the end, staying dry and crunchy. Same ingredient, two completely different textures. It is a small step that makes the salad noticeably more interesting to eat.
Can I meal prep this salad?
The dressed cabbage holds up well for several hours in a sealed container. The dressing actually improves the texture over time by softening the raw cabbage slightly. Add the nuts right before eating, not before storing. They go soggy in a wet salad.
What can I use instead of grilled chicken?
Turkey strips, canned tuna, or smoked salmon all work without changing the preparation. Tofu cubes or canned chickpeas work for a meat-free version with a similar texture. The macros will shift: tuna drops the fat significantly, chickpeas increase the carbs.
