I love chicken salad.  In addition to soup, it’s my favorite way to use plain leftover (roasted, grilled, poached) chicken.

Today I decided to make a simple salad. I lightened traditional chicken salad by adding lots of vegetables and making a dressing out of lemon juice and olive oil. I stilled used a little bit of mayo for flavor.

Chicken Salad with Almonds, Apples, and Dried Cranberries

2 cups of diced chicken
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 apple, chopped
handful of dried cranberries
handful of slivered almonds
juice of 1 lemon
2 T olive oil
3 T mayo
kosher salt
black pepper
spinach

Combine the chicken, celery, apple, cranberries, and almonds in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

In a smaller bowl, combine the lemon, olive oil, and mayo. Pour the dressing over the dry ingredients, and gently combine.

Serve over a bed of spinach leaves or make a sandwich–I made one for Paco with roasted red peppers and avocado.  Enjoy!