Ultimate chicken salad recipe

Name: Ultimate chicken salad
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1½ tsp smoked paprika; 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled; 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked; 3 chicken breasts; 1 large echalion shallot, thinly sliced into rounds; 4 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar; 80g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped, plus 5 tbsp oil from the jar; 1 tbsp Dijon mustard; 1 avocado, diced; ½ cucumber, cut into half-moons; 200g cherry tomatoes, halved; 170g pack classic crispy salad leaves; 20g fresh basil, leaves picked; 20g Parmesan, shaved

Recipe developer Saskia Sidey says: "Lightly pickling the shallots for the base of the dressing makes the sharpness less intense. The chicken has a crazy umami hit: a crumbled vegetable stock cube is a quick hack to take seasoning to the next level."

See method

Serves 6
20 mins to prepare and 10 mins to cook
302 calories / serving

Healthy

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Tesco Smoked Paprika 48G
Any 4 for 3 Clubcard Price - Cheapest Product Free - Selected Cooking Ingredients
Offer valid for delivery from 29/09/2026 until 26/10/2026
1½ tsp smoked paprika
£1.00
£20.83/kg
Tesco Vegetable Stock Cubes 10 Pack 100g
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
£1.00
£10.00/kg
Tesco Fresh Cut Thyme 20G
2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
£0.50
£25.00/kg
Tesco British Chicken Breast Fillets 650G
This product's currently out of stock
3 chicken breasts
Tesco Finest Echalion Shallots 400G
1 large echalion shallot, thinly sliced into rounds
£1.55
£3.88/kg
Tesco Red Wine Vinegar 350Ml
4 tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
£1.55
£4.43/litre
Polli Sliced Sundried Tomatoes in Oil 190g
80g sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped, plus 5 tbsp oil from the jar
£2.45
£24.50/kg DR.WT
Tesco Dijon Mustard 185G
Aldi Price Match
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
£0.45
£2.43/kg
Tesco Ripe & Ready Avocado
1 avocado, diced
£0.69
£0.69/each
Tesco Whole Cucumber Each
Aldi Price Match
½ cucumber, cut into half-moons
£0.99
£0.99/each
Nightingale Farms Cherry Tomatoes 250G
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
£0.62
£2.48/kg
Tesco Sweet & Crunchy Salad 250G
Aldi Price Match
170g pack classic crispy salad leaves
£0.78
£3.12/kg
Tesco Fresh Cut Basil 30G
Aldi Price Match
20g fresh basil, leaves picked
£0.50
£16.67/kg
Tesco Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese 200 G
20g Parmesan, shaved
£4.00
£20.00/kg

Method

Mix the paprika, crumbled stock and thyme in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken, then cover and set aside for at least 10 mins, or overnight in the fridge.
Put the shallots in a bowl with the vinegar, season with salt and scrunch well with your hands to mix. Set aside to lightly pickle.
Heat 1 tbsp sundried tomato oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts for 3-4 mins until golden, then fl ip and cook for a further 3-4 mins until cooked through. Set aside to rest. Splash 2 tbsp water into the pan, scraping up all the bits; reserve the liquid. Thinly slice the chicken.
Pour the vinegar and pickled shallots into a large bowl (or a container if making for a picnic). Add 4 tbsp sundried tomato oil with the mustard and reserved chicken pan juices; stir well to combine and season with pepper.
Layer up the salad starting with the avocado, sundried tomatoes, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, followed by the chicken, lettuce, basil leaves and Parmesan on top. Toss everything together when ready to serve.