When you’re looking for a light and healthy dinner or a great lunch option, this crispy chicken and arugula salad recipe is exactly what you need.
When it comes to salads, I’m super picky. If it’s not the right texture/flavor/ingredient combination, I just cannot bring myself to like it. It’s a joke with my in-laws, they always give me a hard time about not liking salads, so if I do eat one, they all comment and KNOW I really enjoyed it. It may have something to do with the fact that I like certain leafier, more flavorful greens (like in this spinach salad with soft boiled eggs, bacon and a mustard vinaigrette) but it wasn’t until I ate an arugula salad dressed with lemon and parmesan cheese shavings that I knew I needed to recreate it at home.
What ingredients do I need for crispy chicken and arugula salad?
For the breaded chicken:
- Egg
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic salt
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken breasts
- Bread crumbs
- Olive oil
For the salad:
- Arugula
- Parmesan cheese
- Lemon
The first time I loved arugula with parmesan was when I got a pork schnitzel dish with arugula, parmesan and then a lemon wedge on the side. Everything together was delicious, but I wanted to make it at home with a few modifications – mainly, to make it into a salad with chicken and more arugula. The end result was absolutely amazing, a crispy chicken and arugula salad recipe that I am going to be eating all summer long!
To make the chicken, you can either buy thin chicken breasts, or buy regular chicken breasts and pound them to be thinner, then coat them and fry them and serve the crispy chicken with arugula and saved parmesan and squeeze a lemon wedge over the arugula as dressing…YUM!!!
Other recipes you might enjoy that are similar to this salad:
- 5 Ingredient Pesto Chicken Salad Bagel Sandwiches
- Baked BBQ Chicken and Avocado Salad
- Spinach Salad & Dressing Recipe
Crispy Chicken and Arugula Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1 pound chicken breasts thinly sliced , 4-6 chicken pieces, buy either thinly sliced or cut and pound chicken breasts into thinner breasts pieces
- 1 cup panko bread crumb
- 1 pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying
For the salad
- 6-8 cups arugula
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shaved
- 1 lemon sliced into 8 wedges
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine egg, Dijon mustard, garlic salt, salt and pepper and stir, then add chicken and let marinate for 1/2 an hour, or up to overnight in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap.
- In another shallow bowl combine panko bread crumbs and pinch of salt and pepper.
- Pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into a large skillet over high heat for 1 minute.
- Dredge chicken through bread crumb mixture and pat on breadcrumbs to make sure both sides are covered, then put into the heated oil in the skillet. Repeat with chicken, adding it to the skillet to fry (do not over-crowd the skillet, fry the chicken in batches if you need to.) Turn the heat down to medium-high, and cook for 3-4 minutes until a golden brown crust forms, then flip the chicken and cook for another 3 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown.
- Remove chicken from skillet and put on a place on a plate until all the chicken is done cooking.
- To assemble the salads, put 1 1/2 to 2 cups arugula in a bowl, sprinkle 1/8-1/4 of a cup (2 generous pinches) of shaved Parmesan cheese on top of the arugula, squeeze one lemon wedge over the salad, and place one lemon wedge on the side of the plate and place one chicken breast on top and serve!
Nicole says
I’m going to try this out tonight for dinner! Thanks so much for sharing.
Sweetphi says
I think you’ll love it!
Sheri says
This sounds so good…I’m looking for some healthier choices in my diet, as I’m trying to loose 100 pounds, 50 gone as of now…I’m thinking of making this using grilled chicken.
Sweetphi says
Congrats on the weight loss and best of luck moving forward. This would be great with grilled chicken!
Nicole says
This was delicious! The salad is so simple and divine, and I added Parmesan to the panko and it really helped keep the chicken most and the panko from burning. 10/10 will make again!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, I’m so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this! I love the added parmesan to the panko!!
Little Cooking Tips says
Panos has been bugging me to try this one out the moment he shared it on G+:):):) AWESOME, delicious meal dear Phi! Plus it’s super easy to prepare. Thanx so much for another quick, awesome dinner idea!
xoxoxo
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Mirella, I think you and Panos would love this one. Funny thing is, after I made this salad, we went out to dinner, and there was a restaurant that had a similar salad and Nick got it, and he said this one was better, so I hope you enjoy 🙂
Shawnna Griffin says
hey girl- this looks so tasty! I’m picky about salads to! Hope your doing good!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much – funny thing about this salad is that my husband and I went to dinner last night and they had something exactly like this on the menu lol! And I’m doing good… time is ticking until my due date, I cannot wait, so excited!
Jessica says
I’m craving this delicious salad – looks perfect for Summer! Yay almost June
1st! I bet it will be your best June EVER! 😉
Sweetphi says
This salad is totally perfect for summer. Yesterday my husband and I went to Carrabbas, and they seriously had a dish EXACTLY like this on the menu, it was so cute, he said that he liked my version better lol. I cannot wait – June 21st is creeping up fast 🙂
Stewart Harding says
Great blog my friend 🙂
Sweetphi says
Thank you – so glad you stopped by 🙂
Sues says
Any way to make chicken breast more exciting, I am SO in. This looks delicious!
Sweetphi says
I’m right there with you – any way to make chicken more exciting – especially with a crispy crunchy crust – I’m in 🙂 Hope you enjoy this salad 🙂