Pittsburgh Chicken Salad

French fries on a salad might sound crazy at first, but this Pittsburgh chicken salad will have you seeing things in a whole new light! Juicy chicken, crispy fries, crunchy veggies, and a drizzle of ranch dressing makes this salad a regional favorite for good reason.

🥗 What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Pittsburgh chicken salad is such a fun and delicious take on a traditional salad. What could be better than fries in a salad?! Salads have never been this tasty! Smoky grilled chicken, warm crispy fries, fresh cool veggies, and ranch dressing…talk about an incredible bowl of flavor!
• This salad is ready in less than 30 minutes, even less time if you’re using pre-cooked or leftover chicken. Place the lettuce in the bowl, then top with crispy french fries, cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced chicken and cheese. It’s such a great way to have a quick, hearty and satisfying lunch or light dinner.
• You can totally customize this Pittsburgh chicken salad! Avocado slices, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, blue cheese, or nuts would be delicious additions. Not a fan of ranch dressing? Honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette would be delicious substitutions. Even the pickiest of eaters will love this delicious salad!

👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

• Busy? You don’t have to grill the chicken! Frozen, grilled chicken breasts are super handy for busy weeks. Just take one out of the freezer, pop it in the oven, and you’re good to go! Or, if you have any leftover chicken from last night’s dinner, toss it onto this delicious Pittsburg chicken salad!
• Don’t want to heat up the oven? Pull out the air fryer! We’ve got a perfect recipe for cooking frozen french fries in the air fryer. It’s quick, and the results are deliciously crisp every time.

🥘 More Delicious Recipes We Love

• Jerk Salmon with Mango Salsa
• Salmon Wellington
• Hibachi Steak with Fried Rice and Vegetables
• Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
• Air Fryer Salmon
• Creamy Dijon Chicken
• Easy, Crispy Chicken Patties
• Air Fryer Quesadilla
• Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
• Mango Habanero Wings
• Lemon Pepper Pasta
• Best Ever Tuna Noodle Casserole (Just Like Mom Made!)

Recipe By: Sam Guarnieri

Pittsburgh Chicken Salad

Prep 15 minutes minutes

Cook 5 minutes minutes

Total 20 minutes minutes

This regional classic puts a fun spin on a basic chicken salad. French fries, ranch dressing, juicy chicken, and cheddar cheese on a bed of romaine with fresh veggies. What's not to love?

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2 salads

Cook Mode(toggle on to prevent screen dimming)

Equipment

• grill pan
• Cutting board
• Paper towels
• internal meat thermometer
• 2 Serving bowls

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• ▢ 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast approximately 8 ounces
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Salad

• ▢ 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• ▢ ½ cup cucumber slices
• ▢ ¼ cup halved grape tomatoes
• ▢ ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ▢ 1 cup fully-cooked french fries crispy preferred
• ▢ ranch dressing

Instructions

For the Chicken

• Place 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast on cutting board. Pat chicken completely dry on all sides with paper towels, then season chicken generously on all sides with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
  
• Place grill pan on stovetop over medium-high heat. Place seasoned chicken breast on grill pan and grill 3 to 5 minutes. Flip chicken breast over and grill approximately 3 minutes on other side, or until internal meat thermometer inserted into thickest section of chicken breast reads 160° Fahrenheit.
  
• Once temperature is reached, remove chicken from grill pan and set aside to rest 5 minutes.

For the Salad

• While chicken rests, divide 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce evenly between 2 serving bowls.
• Divide ½ cup cucumber slices, ¼ cup halved grape tomatoes, and ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese evenly between bowls.
• When chicken has rested 5 minutes, slice chicken breast and divide slices evenly between bowls.
• Divide 1 cup fully-cooked french fries evenly between bowls and finish salads with drizzle of ranch dressing. Serve immediately.

• French Fries: You’re welcome to use homemade fries for your salad if you want, but frozen french fries keep things super easy in my opinion. Standard cut fries cooked until crispy work best here since they’ll hold up better to the ranch and the moisture in the veggies, but you can use any kind of fries you like.
• Make it Dairy Free: Use a vegan cheddar cheese alternative and a dairy-free ranch dressing like our dairy-free dump ranch.

 

This recipe yields 1 very large salad or 2 smaller salads. The number of servings will depend entirely on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1saladCalories: 445calProtein: 20gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 743mgPotassium: 934mgTotal Carbs: 39gFiber: 7gSugar: 2gNet Carbs: 32gVitamin A: 4431IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 135mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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