Picnic Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard

Whenever I visit a new place, the first thing on my agenda is to scope out the food situation. I could spend hours reading trip advisor and google reviews. My first trip to Costa Rica a few years ago was no different and that is how I ended up in PicNic Cafe almost every day of my first visit. PicNic has become my favorite place for breakfast, lunch or coffee and it is usually the first stop when I pick someone up from the airport. Although I have worked my way through most of their menu, there is one item that I go back to over and over….their Bonita Salad. It even had it brought to the hotel for lunch on my wedding day!

I wish I could take you with me to PicNic and share a cup of coffee and a fresh crossant, but for now, I’ll share a little PicNic with you. This salad is inspired by that incredible Bonita salad with crunchy pecans, salty cheese, and perfectly creamy dressing. With summer just around the corner, salads like this one make a frequent appearance on my weekly menu. It makes the perfect lunch or dinner without heating up the kitchen. Grab a good loaf of bread, make some iced tea and mix up this salad good enough for company.

To make this sweet and salty salad, here is what you need…

Picnic Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard

Fresh, crunchy, sweet and savory salad with a delicious creamy dressing

Servings 4

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

Salad

• 8 cups mixed lettuce
• 1 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shaved
• 1 medium green apple, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, thinly sliced

Creamy Honey Mustard

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

 

• To toast the pecans, add the nuts to a small skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly, 2-3 minutes, until the pecans are aromatic and shiny. Remove from heat and allow to cool
• While the pecans are cooling, whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
• In a large bowl layer lettuce, garbanzo beans, parmesan, apple, dill, pecans and chicken.
• Top with the Creamy Honey Mustard dressing. Toss to serve. Enjoy!

Notes

• We recommend our Best Baked Chicken as the perfect chicken for this salad. You can find the recipe here. 
• Refrigerate the Creamy Honey Mustard for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, honey mustard, kale, pecans, salad