Pesto Chicken Salad
I've been making a quick pesto chicken salad for easy lunches during my Whole30. With a little adjusting, I created a new pesto recipe, a variation from the one in my cookbook, with all raw ingredients (the pesto in my cookbook is partially cooked), and with Whole30 compliant ingredients.
One way I've used this chicken salad is by stuffing Swiss chard wraps. To make, remove the hard stem down the middle and boil for 30 seconds to soften the Swiss chard. Let cool a few seconds, layer 3 evenly to make a long wrap surface, and roll up like a burrito! Stuff it with avocado, compliant bacon, chicken salad and homemade ranch. Or you can top a bed of romaine with it, and throw a bunch of other goodies on top like I did here - whatever you like on your salad!
Ingredients
- 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I buy the large package from our grocery store, approx. 4 lbs.)
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup Spinach Pesto
- 1/2 cup Mayo
Notes:
- On my Whole30, I make my own mayo. A compliant brand is Primal Kitchen.
- This recipe can easily be halved for a smaller portion, but the amount made here makes enough to feed our family of 4 for a week.
- Adjust the amount of pesto and mayo to your liking. I like mine more creamy.
- The pesto recipe makes more than what you will need for the chicken salad. Freeze the rest in an ice cube tray then transfer to a plastic bag for easily using in the future.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Line a large baking sheet with foil. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place chicken on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
- Let the chicken thighs cool, then chop up with a large chef knife. You can also pull apart with your fingers, but I find chopping to be much faster and less messy.
- Mix in pesto and mayo and store in the refridgerator for up to 1 week.
