Blackened Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing

When you read the recipe title "Blackened Chicken" does Cajun food automatically come to mind? Do you also think of super spicy food full of cayenne and peppers? I know I definitely did but *GASP...I was wrong! Blackened meat (seafood, beef, chicken) was actually invented in the '80s by Chef Paul Prudhomme who had a restaurant in New Orleans. It caught on as a Cajun food craze but is in no way authentic. Neither is SUPER spicy food like so many of us think (I love interesting bits of food information like this.)

Whether authentic or not, this recipe for Blackened Chicken over salad is AMAZING. It was my first taste of "blackened" anything and I was in love. The flavors of the chicken with the sweet and tangy dressing is a great combination. I can't quote the source since this recipe is all over the internet as "Applebee's Low-Fat Blackened Chicken Salad" (try a google search), but I will say that I did make some changes to the original recipe. My husband and I found the amount of Dijon COMPLETELY overwhelming...so overwhelming that the mustard fumes were burning the insides of our noses. The flavors of the chicken are so good that you definitely don't want to overshadow it with the dressing.

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Serves 4

Chicken & Marinade:

3 chicken breasts or 5-6 thighs, boneless and skinless
3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Spice Mix:

1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp paprika (regular or smoked)

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

Salad:

Lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup shredded red cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 large diced tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp Dijon mustard (or for a more toned down flavor use regular mustard)

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp vinegar

1/8 tsp paprika (regular or smoked)

Mix together the marinade ingredients. Place the chicken in a large resealable bag or plastic container and pour the marinade over the top. Marinate the chicken at least 4 hours or overnight.

In a small bowl or plastic container, mix together the spice mix. When the chicken has marinated, sprinkle the seasoning liberally on both sides of the chicken.
In a frying pan over high heat melt a couple tablespoons of butter and sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side. At this point you can either transfer to a bbq heated to medium-high or place the chicken on a pan under the broiler. It takes at least 10 minutes or so to no longer be pink in the middle, but just check it to make sure.

While the chicken is finished cooking, chop all the salad ingredients. Place the dressing components in a resealable jar and shake to combine. When the chicken has finished cooking, let rest for about 5 minutes and then cut chicken crosswise into strips. Toss the dressing with the salad, dish onto plates and serve chicken over top.

Click here for printable version of Blackened Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing
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THE RESULTS?
LOOOOOOOVED this. I'm not going to lie to you...I actually made this a couple weeks ago and never got a chance to post it until now. I'm still thinking about it and will probably make it again very soon. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure if our Dijon is just a super strong brand but the dressing was burning the inside of our noses. I only added the dressing to our portions the night we ate it and there were leftovers for the next day. The next day I made it with half the amount of Dijon and it was MUCH better. It still had a good amount of kick, but it wasn't overwhelming. But try it before you pour it over your salad...you may be less of a wuss than I.