In Florida, it can be pretty difficult to tell when it’s fall. So I like to let my salads do the talking. This ginger chicken salad is one of my favorite salads to have when the autumn season rolls around.

It’s actually inspired by a salad a friend posted on Instagram that she bought at Trader Joe’s. That salad was also actually vegan, but since I am not, I added chicken. If you are vegan, you can add tempeh or tofu, or just add more veggies to it!

The combination of carrots, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds screams “harvest season” to me, so it’s a no brainer that they are added here. Cooled cooked quinoa joins the party to amp up the nutrition factor, while providing a nice nutty flavor to the salad.

For the protein on my salad, I use shredded soy ginger marinated chicken. I love to whip this up in my instant pot, because it’s just so easy to do. You can even use frozen chicken if you have it on hand, and because the instant pot is a pressure cooker, you don’t *need* to marinate it to get a punch of flavor!

Speaking of easy, the carrot ginger miso salad dressing I use for this salad can be made in the jar of a blender. Talk about simple!

Ginger Chicken Salad Recipe

When harvest season rolls around, this salad is perfect to highlight fall flavors! This recipe is for one salad, but you can double or triple as you like to meal prep for the week or serve multiple people!

Ingredients:

Handful of spring mix lettuce blend
1-2 oz of carrot ginger miso salad dressing
¼ cup cooked and cooled quinoa
4-5 oz shredded chicken (I like to use soy ginger marinated chicken cooked in my Instant Pot!)
¼ cup dried cranberries, I like using the lower sugar craisins brand!
¼ cup shredded carrots
small handful of pumpkin seeds

Instructions: