Recipes/ Soups & Salads

R is for: Rosemary Chicken Salad Cups

My original plan was to share with you one of my favorite summer recipes for grilling chicken. But here’s the thing. It’s not my recipe. I found it on one of the very first food blogs I ever started reading, Kalyn’s Kitchen. I discovered her site when I did the South Beach Diet years ago and I still like to get her updates.

Anyways, it’s a recipe that calls for a marinade of Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and rosemary (among a few other things). I love it. Like many recipes, I have altered it over the years to suit my tastes. For example, I started using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, I often omit the celery seed if I don’t have any and I sometimes add a little honey. You should totally check it out.

But this recipe is not for the Rosemary Dijon Chicken….it’s for a *chicken salad* you can make with the leftovers (or with any leftover chicken for that matter), and more importantly it includes an adorable way of displaying it.

My leftovers only resulted in a little over a cup of cooked chicken. Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd or have a lot of chicken to use up.

As for what to put in the chicken salad…well, this is a very subjective thing. I love the Chicken Salad with Dried Cherries that I posted in the third week of this blog’s existence. But I decided to go with what I had on hand, so I did a combo of rosemary, grapes, green onions, toasted almonds, Dijon mustard, Lemonaise and nonfat Greek yogurt. I seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

But you know me. I couldn’t stop there. I just had to do some cutesy way of displaying it. I spotted a couple of pears laying on my counter and thought they would make *perfect* vessels for the chicken salad. The amount of salad I made would fill 4-5 large pears or apples.

To make the cups, be sure to have a bowl of water mixed with lemon juice on hand (this will help prevent browning). Cut the top off the pears or apples. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the exposed portion. Using a melon baller, quickly hollow out the pear and place in the bowl of lemon water. If fruit does not sit upright, cut off a small portion on the bottom as well (and coat with lemon juice).

When ready to serve, scoop chicken salad into the “cups” and place on a platter lined with butter lettuce and garnish with a rosemary sprig. (Wouldn’t these be perfect for a bridal or baby shower?!?) Who knew leftovers could be so fun?

Rosemary Chicken Salad Cups

by Jaymee Sire
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Keywords: salad gluten-free low-carb chicken rosemary

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Ingredients (4-5 cups)
  • 1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more sprigs for garnish
  • 3/4 cup seedless grapes, halved
  • 1-2 green onions, chopped (depending on taste)
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (divided use)
  • 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 heaping tablespoon Lemonaise (or light mayo)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 4-5 large pears or apples
  • 3-4 lemons
  • water
  • butter lettuce
Instructions

  1. Mix together yogurt, Lemonaise, Dijon mustard, and rosemary. Add chicken, grapes, green onions and half of the almonds. Stir until combined. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper (to taste).
  2. Add the juice from 3.5 lemons to a large bowl of cold water. Cut the top off the pears or apples. Squeeze a little lemon juice on the exposed portion from the remaining half lemon. Using a melon baller, quickly hollow out the pear and place in the bowl of lemon water. If fruit does not sit upright, cut off a small portion on the bottom as well (and coat with lemon juice).
  3. When ready to serve, scoop chicken salad into the “cups” and place on a platter lined with butter lettuce and garnish with a small sprig of rosemary. Top with remaining almonds and serve!
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  • Anonymous
    August 17, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    I'm making this over the weekend. Love chicken salad, especially when you don't need lots of mayo so my husband(he hates mayo) might actually eat it. Thanks for the idea!
    -Laura O'Sullivan

  • Holly
    August 24, 2012 at 5:06 am

    holy wow, those look amazing!