This Chopped Harvest Autumn Salad is a delicious celebration of fall flavors! Loaded with dried cranberries, candied pecans, feta cheese, smoky bacon, and tender chicken tenders, it’s a hearty, satisfying salad that’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or your holiday table.

There’s just something about autumn that inspires me to bring a little extra goodness to the table! As the days get cooler and the leaves begin to change, I find myself craving recipes that celebrate the flavors of the season.

This Chopped Harvest Autumn Salad does just that! Years ago I created this recipe for a Fall Ladies Church Luncheon. It was an instant hit! We gobbled till we wobbled . . .and with zero regret!

It combines a wonderful mix of sweet, savory, and tangy flavors with plenty of satisfying crunch in every bite. Toss it all together with my Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing, and you have a salad that’s every bit as welcome at a family dinner as it is on your Thanksgiving table. It’s simple to make, beautiful to serve, and one of those recipes that will steal the show!

This recipe makes four large sized servings with enough leftovers for seconds.

Ingredients

• Romaine Lettuce
• Ocean Spray Dried Cranberries
• Candied Pecans or Walnuts
• Feta Cheese Crumbles
• Bacon Crumbles
• Apples
• Breaded Chicken Tenders
• Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
• Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette

Step-By-Step Instructions

Chop two heads of romaine lettuce. Place your chopped lettuce into a salad spinner, wash, and spin dry. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Baby Arugula with it’s nutty and spicy hints is a great addition to this salad.

Norine’s Pro Tip: This is a great salad to make “ahead”. You can make all the components ahead of time and then throw them all together when your guests arrive.

Preparing and Cooking The Bacon

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook 8 slices of bacon. See my tip below for an easy way to prepare bacon crumbles.

Norine’s Pro Tip: To make bacon pieces, pre-cut the bacon into smaller bite-size pieces using my kitchen scissor. Then fry them off in a skillet. This allows the bacon to cook quickly and with ease.

This really is so much easier than cooking strips of bacon and then trying to crumble them. Cook until the bacon is crispy.

After your bacon pieces are all cooked, place them on a paper towel-lined paper plate to drain.

How To Make Candied Pecans or Walnuts

Candied Pecans are easier to make than you’d think and so delicious in salads!

TIP: I like to make a big batch and then store them in a zip-lock bag to use on salads any time I want. You can store them for up to two months. Please note, to save time, you can buy candied pecans in the grocery store, usually in the produce section or salad topping section.

In a small skillet, place 1/2 cup of sugar (or more if you are making more pecans or walnuts). Over low heat, melt the sugar slowly. DO NOT STIR.

Once the sugar is almost melted, remove the pan from the heat, and add in 1 cup of pecan halves. Using a silicone spatula, stir quickly to coat.

Place the coated pecans on a piece of wax paper or foil, spray with cooking spray and allow to cool completely.

Place cooled candy-coated pecans in a heavy freezer ziploc bag. Use a rolling-pin or meat tenderizer to smash nuts into bite-sized pieces. Store in a plastic bag or airtight container until ready to use.

Preparing Chicken Strips

There are two ways you can prepare the breaded chicken strips for this salad. One is to bake 3–4 breaded frozen chicken breasts, like Tyson’s, in your Air Fryer. You can also use chicken nuggets. Either work well in this salad.

The second, and my personal favorite, is to purchase breaded chicken tenders from your grocer’s service deli.

Chop the breaded chicken tender into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

TIP: Make sure you get all those crispy bits into the salad when you chop the chicken up!

How To Make The Chopped Autumn Salad

Arrange all the ingredients around the bowl on top of the lettuce. Dried Cherry Cranberries, Candied Pecans, Chopped Fresh Apple, Chopped Chicken breast, Bacon Bits, and Feta Cheese in the center.

This makes for a beautiful presentation if you want to “toss” the salad when your guests arrive. This helps keep the salad fresh before adding the dressing.

If you do decide to serve the salad in this manner, with full presentation, be sure you can actually toss the salad and keep it in the bowl! Not flying across the room into your guests’ faces like I did! You don’t want to look like the Swedish Chef on Sesame Street! (I have to say though . . .I think I nailed the likeness! Sigh . . . Sorry Ladies! )

Salad Dressing Instructions

The dressing for this salad is AMAZING and SUPER easy! I’m not exaggerating! It’s 3/4 a cup of Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed dressing to 1/4 cup of Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette. Easy Peasy and Ohhhh SO GOOD!!

I only used about a 1/2 cup of dressing on my entire salad, and we all agreed it was plenty. Save the extra for next time! (I know you are going to be making this again! It’s JUST THAT GOOD!)

Poor the dressing over the salad. Using tongs or salad utensils, mix the salad and salad dressing together until everything is evenly coated.

Recipe Wrap-up!

This is the type of salad you go “out” to lunch to order! It’s packed with so many awesome autumn flavors. It’s a flavorful explosion of happiness in your mouth!

The sweetness of the dried cranberries and fresh sweet autumn apples, the crunch of the candied pecans, the tart from the feta cheese, and the rustic, robust, smoky flavor of the bacon. Throw in the tender crispy chicken and top it off with the sweet full-flavored poppy-seed balsamic dressing and . . .WOW! A salad that will impress the best!

I love to serve this salad with my Pumpkin Buttermilk Biscuits. It’s the perfect Autumn Pairing.

I think this salad was good enough to have tossed in your face! I hope my guest thought so too!

I hope you’ll love this salad as much as we did. You could even make this the day after Thanksgiving and use some of that leftover Turkey! What a great light lunch to have the day after.

Other Favorite Salad Recipes

• Grilled Salmon and Peach Salad
• B.L.T. Salad with Fresh Basil Dressing
• Raspberry Pecan Feta Cheese Salad with Raspberry Dressing
• Caesar Salad Wedge Salad with Dressing
• Shrimp Pasta Caesar Salad

Thanks for stopping by my Nest! Thank you for your comments, encouragement, follows, shares and pins! YOU make my day brighter! Hugs!

Printable Recipe Card

Chopped Autumn Harvest Salad

A delightfully delicious chopped salad packed with all the wonderful ingredients Fall has to offer and topped with an amazingly flavorful creamy poppy seed balsamic dressing! This one will have you coming back for more!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings 4 -6 servings

Calories 558 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 heads of Romaine Lettuce chopped, washed, and dried
• 1 1/4 cups dried cherry flavored Ocean Spray Cranberries
• 1 cup candied pecans
• 1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
• 1 large Jonagold Apple washed, cored, and chopped
• 8 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled
• 3-4 Tyson breaded Chicken Tenders baked, cooled and chopped

Dressing

• 3/4 cup Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
• 1/4 cup Kraft Balsamic Vinaigrette

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl combine chopped lettuce, apples pieces, bacon, candied pecans, dried cherry cranberries, chicken, and feta cheese. Toss with Creamy Poppy Seed Balsamic Dressing. Serve immediately.

Candied Pecans

• Place 1/2 cup sugar into a small skillet over low heat. DO NOT STIR. Wait until almost all the sugar has melted and is golden in color. Remove pan from heat. Stir in 1 cup of Pecan halves. Once coated place on wax paper or tin foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray. When cool place in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. Store in air tight container or plastic zip lock bag.

Salad Dressing

• In a small bowl mix together both types of salad dressings until well blended. Store in Refrigerator until ready to use.

Notes

Please note that you can buy candied pecans in our grocery store by the salad section and you can also use Real Bacon Bits if you prefer.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 558kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 16gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 945mgFiber: 8gSugar: 42g

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Meet the Author

Hi! I’m Norine, the cook, baker, and recipe creator behind Norine’s Nest. I love sharing and creating recipes that invite family, friends, and neighbors to gather around the dinner table. Sharing good food and creating memories with those we love brings me happiness. Thanks for stopping by my Nest!

About Norine