Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta

This Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta is packed to the brim with satisfying and hearty textures, colours, and flavours! You’ll have this exciting winter salad on repeat all season long.

This is it! This Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta is the last recipe of 2019! I can’t believe we’ve hit the end of December already. I feel like this year has flown by.

Let’s just have a little recap for fun’s sake:

• We made a total of 35 recipes this year, including these super popular Sugar-free Flapjacks, stunning Refined Sugar Free Carrot Cake, and the much-loved vegan Frozen Margarita Tart!
• We learned how refined flour and sugar are made and why it’s probably best to avoid them in my ongoing #BakeItDown series.
• Our Summer Fruit Desserts month theme and giveaway in June celebrated summer fruit in the best way and resulted in these cute Strawberry Shortcake Cookie Cups and mouth-watering Apricot Upside Down Cake.
• I quit my corporate job in August to pursue this entrepreneur/freelance life full time!
• We made some pretty freaking awesome cakes together.
• We successfully ventured into video tutorials on IGTV!
• And we detoxed and reset our pantries (and mindsets) right before the holiday baking season as part of the first round of the Pantry Reset Challenge!

Can you believe we did ALL of that? I am so excited for 2020 and all the new things I have planned for you. I can’t wait to share and connect with you more in the New Year!

But for now, let’s talk about this Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad, because oh my GOD is this salad the most incredible winter warmer I have ever eaten!

I don’t know about you, but I really hate boring salads. You know when you order a side salad in a restaurant and they bring you out a little bowl of leaves, maybe a couple of chopped cukes and a square of bell pepper? Then they drench the sucker in a sickly, oily dressing that just makes you gag? Yeah, that right there, is a massive pet peeve for me.

If I’m going to eat a salad, it had better be BANGING. I want textures, I want colours, I want an explosion of contrasting and complementary flavours, and, by god, I want a salad dressing that isn’t too oily, too sweet, or too vinegary. You feel me?

This Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta is the answer to all my salad prayers. It has everything I love: pops of sweet, juicy pomegranate jewels, creamy, nutty pine nuts, salty feta, peppery salad leaves, protein-packed roasted chicken, and hearty grains.

It’s got flavour and textures coming out the ying-yang, and the contrasting warm and cold elements are unexpected and delicious. But the thing I love most of all? The silky smooth, sweet yet tart pomegranate balsamic dressing. To die for!

Who said salads in the winter had to be boring?!

How to make the best warm pomegranate chicken salad

Let’s level-up your winter salad game this season and make the BEST Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad. Here’s how (full details are in the recipe card below):

Combine your pomegranate balsamic dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake, shake, shake!

Warm through your grains and shredded chicken over a medium heat and then add to a bowl along with the salad greens.

Mix together with the pomegranate seeds, toasted pine nuts, and feta cheese.

Dress with half the dressing (or to your taste) and serve immediately!

A few tips for making a perfect warm chicken salad

Use a mixture of salad leaves for flavour variety, colour, and texture. One of the keys to a great salad is mixing up your greens, so make sure you use at least three kinds. For this salad, I prefer a combination of more peppery greens like rocket, spinach, and watercress, but use whatever you like!

To make this salad in a flash, use meat from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. These babies save my life during the weekdays. They’re prepared using minimal ingredients, and as long as you remove the skin (where sometimes a brown sugar rub is hiding), perfectly refined sugar free, healthy, and natural. Saves a heap of time!

DIY your own grains for this pomegranate chicken salad. Use whatever you have on hand. I love using freekeh for this recipe because I think it adds a nice chewy texture. However, I’ve also used brown basmati rice and quinoa – both equally delicious!

When shopping for a pomegranate, pay attention to the weight. Weigh a few different ones in your hands. Generally, the ones that feel heavier than they should for their size are the most flavourful and fresh.

Feta cheese is best for this salad, because it gives it a nice hit of salt and creaminess. If you can’t get a hold of feta (or dislike it), you could try halloumi or goat cheese.

Looking for more healthy dinner recipes?

• Maple Miso Salmon Stir Fry
• Sweet Potato Crust Quiche

If you make this recipe, let me know by snapping a picture and tagging me on Instagram @naturallysweet_kitchen. I love seeing your creations and sharing them in my Stories. Or let me know you love this Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad by leaving a comment and rating below!

Happy holidays!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta

This Warm Pomegranate Chicken Salad with Grains & Feta is packed to the brim with satisfying and hearty textures, colours, and flavours! It's the perfect winter salad main for two or side for four.

Category Healthy Dinners, Salad

Cuisine American, British, Mediterranean

Keyword pomegranate chicken salad, warm chicken salad, warm chicken salad with feta

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Author Amanda | Naturally Sweet Kitchen

Ingredients

Pomegranate Balsamic Dressing

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp pomegranate juice see notes
• 2 tsp pure maple syrup
• Pinch dried thyme
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Warm Chicken Salad

• 250 g cooked grains see notes
• 250 g shredded cooked rotisserie chicken
• 80 g mixed peppery salad leaves see notes
• ½ pomegranate seeds only
• 40 g crumbled feta cheese
• 1 ½ tbsp pine nuts toasted

Method

Pomegranate Balsamic Dressing

1. In a small jar, combine the vinegar, pomegranate juice, maple syrup, thyme, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Screw on the lid and shake well until fully combined and silky smooth.

Warm Chicken Salad

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm through the shredded rotisserie chicken and grains.
2. Pop the grains and chicken into a large salad bowl along with the mixed leaves, pomegranate seeds, feta, and toasted pine nuts.
3. Pour over half of the dressing and toss to coat. Add more dressing to your taste.
4. Serve immediately.

Recipe Video

Notes

• For the salad pictured here, I used cooked freekeh. You can also use brown basmati rice, quinoa, farro, or whatever you have on hand.
• I love a combination of rocket, spinach, and watercress for this recipe. You can use whatever salad leaves you prefer, just make sure there’s a mixture for added flavour and texture.
• To extract the juice, squeeze the second half of the pomegranate into a bowl and measure out 1 tablespoon for the dressing.
• Extra dressing will keep sealed in the jar and refrigerated for up to 1 week.