Wake up your tastebuds with this Cranberry Vinaigrette Winter Salad recipe. A crisp mix of winter veggies, chicken, and walnuts is covered in a delightful vinaigrette with a spicy kick thanks to the secret ingredient!
My name is Teri and I blog at Buy This Cook That. We love to prepare + share homemade recipes + ideas with busy food lovers. Our favorite recipes are Southern classics with a twist.
Get ready to dig in to this bold Winter Salad with Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette. A combination of fresh bitter greens, shaved Brussel sprouts, and warm sweet potato spirals is paired with tender grilled chicken, green onions, and crunchy walnuts.
The flavors and textures of this Cranberry Vinaigrette Winter Salad are amazing. Every bite is a surprise. Use your favorite greens. For me, I wanted a bitter undertone to pair with the sweet potatoes and the tart and smoky Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette. I picked a red lettuce variety. For extra flavor and color, sprinkle some fresh Brussel sprouts.
Although you can certainly make your Winter Salad strictly vegetarian, I topped mine with protein-packed tender grilled chicken slices. My favorite bite? A forkful of greens, chicken, sweet potato, and the zesty homemade vinaigrette. (Get the two-minute recipe at the bottom of this post.)
Isn’t the bold color of this vinaigrette gorgeous?
The crunch comes from the fresh sprouts, slightly warmed sweet potato spirals, green onions, and walnuts. The bitter greens pair with the slightly bitter smokiness of the chipotle peppers. Then you get the tangy sweetness from the cranberries in the vinaigrette.
Winter Salad with Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette
I am partial to my combination for this winter salad, but you can totally make it your own. Here are more ideas:
- Use marinated grilled steak with grilled red peppers instead of chicken and sweet potatoes.
- Instead of cranberry in the vinaigrette, use pomegranate.
- Don’t like bitter greens? No worries. Use your favorite combination of salad making faves.
- Replace the shaved Brussel sprouts with finely sliced red cabbage.
- Not a fan of walnuts? How about slivered almonds for the crunch this winter salad needs?
If you love this recipe, I bet you’ll love our Basil Butter Sweet Corn and Boom Boom Stuffed Mushrooms too!
Ingredients
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 2-3 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
- 1/2 cup shaved Brussel sprouts
- 1/2 cup sweet potato spirals, warmed slightly
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1-2 green onions
- Handful of fresh cranberries (can substitute canned or frozen)
- 1 canned chipotle pepper
- 1/4 cup oil (salad oil or light olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white granulated sugar or honey
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- In a blender (or using a hand held blender), pulse all vinaigrette ingredients until smooth. Let rest 15 minutes for the flavors to develop.
- Arrange the salad greens, chicken, and toppings as desired. Serve with the prepared Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette.
Notes
Home Chef Tip #1 - If you aren't a fan of vinaigrette, turn your dressing into a Cranberry Chipotle Ranch by blending the cranberries and chipotle with sour cream, a splash of milk and dry ranch seasoning mix.
Home Chef Tip #2 - Use a hand held immersion blender to make this dressing easy.
Home Chef Tip #3 - Any spiral or sliced vegetables will work in place of the sweet potatoes.
We hope you love this Winter Salad with Cranberry Chipotle Vinaigrette from SoFabFood Home Chef, Teri from Buy This, Cook That, as much as we do. If you love this delightful recipe, stop by our Salad Section to find more like it. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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