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Home » Healthy Recipes » Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad

March 21, 2019 by Danielle Green 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad is a healthy dinner salad recipe full of flavor and crunch with toasted almonds, feta, rotisserie chicken and a light apple cider vinaigrette. Meal prep the salad in a jar for an easy lunch!

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad dinner recipeCranberry Farro Chicken Salad

Farro is an ancient whole grain, much like barley and wheat berries. It has a nice chewy texture when cooked and adds a great texture and boost of fiber to salads. This Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad is a fantastic winter dinner salad featuring the grain along with almonds, feta, rotisserie chicken, dried cranberries and a Light Apple Cider Vinaigrette. It is a hearty and healthy recipe that will fill you up and leave you satisfied!

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad with apple cider vinaigrette poured over plate

Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad

Farro isn’t a pantry staple for me but it was recently included in one of my meal delivery kit recipes and I enjoyed it so much I purchased some more to use with various recipes. You can soak farro to speed up the cooking time, but I am not one to plan ahead that much, so I just spend the extra 10-15 minutes cooking it on the stovetop.

I always have to have a crunch of some sort on a salad. Whether it is tortilla strips on a Southwest Cobb Salad, wonton strips on a Sesame Asian Chicken Salad or the classic croutons on an Italian salad. I think crunch is an integral part of a well balanced salad.

With this Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad we get some crunch from the sliced almonds and a great chewy texture from the farro that you don’t find in most salads. It is different from the texture you get from the tender rotisserie chicken. In addition to texture, it adds some flavor when you cook it in some chicken broth for a bit of saltiness along with it’s naturally nutty flavor. If you don’t have farro on hand, Barley or even quinoa would make a great substitute.

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad in a jar

Meal Prep Salads

My new favorite thing to do with healthy salads is to prep enough ingredients to make a couple salads and meal prep a salad in jar for lunch the next day. This Creamy Greek Chicken Salad is the perfect example! Even though I don’t have to go to my 9-5 job anymore, it doesn’t mean that I always have time and energy to make a healthy lunch when I am wrangling the twins. When I have some salad in jar recipes prepped in the refrigerator, I am far more likely to choose a healthy lunch instead of something convenient and pre-packaged.Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad served on plate

Not every salad makes for a great salad in a jar, but the ingredients in this Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad are perfect to layer in a quart mason jar. You typically want to start with the dressing and layer the meat on top of it. Follow the meat by the heartiest vegetables like cucumbers or in this case a grain like farro. The first few ingredients that go over the dressing should be able to stand up to absorbing some of the dressing and not becoming soggy. I followed the farro with the dried cranberries and feta.

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad with apple cider vinaigrette

Healthy Salad in a Jar

Once the dressing is clear out of sight in the jar, you can start adding the more delicate vegetables and ingredients like almonds and green onions in this salad. If the almonds were to come into contact with the dressing in the jar they would be mushy and no good. The last thing you want to the jar should be the greens. They are the most delicate ingredient and by leaving them until the end, you can stuff them down to add lots of lettuce to the salad. You will have to really push them down to pack them in or you will be left with a salad that is unbalance with not enough greens.

Store your salad in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days depending on how fresh the produce you added was to start with. Toss one in your bag for an easy and healthy lunch at work or enjoy it at home while your children throw their lunch off their trays like I do! 😉

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad served for dinner

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad with apple cider vinaigrette
Print Recipe
5 from 5 votes

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad

Cranberry Farro Chicken Salad is a healthy dinner salad recipe full of flavor and crunch with toasted almonds, feta, rotisserie chicken and a light apple cider vinaigrette. Meal prep the salad in a jar for an easy lunch!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Dinner, Entree, Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 2
Calories: 826kcal

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c. pearled farro
  • 2/3 c. chicken broth
  • 6 c. mixed greens
  • 1/2 c. cooked chicken cubed
  • 1/4 c. dried cranberries
  • 1/4 c. toasted almonds
  • 2 oz. crumbled feta or goat cheese
  • 1/2 c. light apple cider vinaigrette

Instructions

  • To a small saucepan over high heat, add the farro and chicken broth along with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 25 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow to cool. 
  • Divide the remaining ingredients among two bowls and toss with vinaigrette. Top each bowl with the cooled farro and serve. 

Nutrition

Calories: 826kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 1773mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 8250IU | Vitamin C: 170.2mg | Calcium: 330mg | Iron: 7.7mg

More Cranberry Salads!

Roasted Squash & Cranberry Salad - Krafted Koch - A flavorful harvest salad loaded with roasted butternut squash, creamy goat cheese and dried cranberries for a meatless meal that will satisfy all your senses!

Roasted Squash & Cranberry Salad

Spiralized Apple Cranberry Salad is an easy and healthy recipe made with crunchy apples, cranberries, pecans and goat cheese all tossed in a light Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing. This salad makes for a a deliciously easy side dish or vegetarian entree you will love!

Spiralized Apple Cranberry Salad

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Filed Under: Chicken Dishes, Healthy Recipes, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Lunch Idea, Main Dishes, Meal Prep, Salads


This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Comments

  1. Julie Evink says

    March 25, 2019 at 11:37 am

    5 stars
    My favorite pasta salad has dried cranberries in it and I couldn’t wait to try this lighter salad similar to it. It was AMAZING!

    Reply
  2. Coleen Koehl says

    March 25, 2019 at 11:38 am

    5 stars
    My husband loves salads and I needed to switch it up and tried this one. We BOTH loved it! Going on my short list.

    Reply
  3. Melissa Howell says

    March 25, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    5 stars
    I also always have to have some crunch to my salad! I’ve never tried farro before, but it looks amazing in this salad!

    Reply
  4. Malinda Linnebur says

    April 19, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    5 stars
    I love it when I can prep healthy and flavorful salads! Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  5. Alisha Ross says

    February 3, 2020 at 12:25 am

    5 stars
    Love this recipe! We use it quite often. I double the carrots and celery and add minced onion flakes to it and use Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice. After a couple hours check it to see if it needs a little bit more water added.

    Reply

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