Blackberry and Cherry Chicken Salad

I love making chicken salad with fruit for sandwiches.  Grapes are more of a traditional fruit but I’ve used many others.  The other day I added blackberries and cherries to the chicken salad and wow, was that delicious!  Blackberries tend to be so seedy I avoid them but I was in the mood for a tasty berry and bought some the other day.  The berries really made the chicken salad pop!

I started with frozen chicken breasts.  I didn’t think ahead for dinner and around noon I decided they weren’t going to magically thaw and be ready to roast soon.  I simply popped the frozen chunk of breasts into a baking dish and put it in a 350°F oven.  After 15 minutes I pried the breasts apart and let them roast until the internal temp was 160°F.  They cooled on the counter while I prepared the fruit and other vegetables.

Dice roasted chicken breasts in 3/4″ sized pieces

When the chicken was about room temp, I diced it into 3/4″ pieces and placed it in a bowl.  I wanted the chicken pieces a bit larger to compliment the fruit and vegetables’ textures.

Place diced chicken, chopped celery, onion and green onion in a bowl

I chopped up some celery, some onion and green onion and added it to the bowl with the chicken.

Add mayo, garlic powder and black pepper

I shook a little garlic powder into the bowl and a good amount of black pepper.  Finally I eyeballed about a cup of mayo.

Stir well

I stirred the chicken salad well and turned to the berries.  They were washed and waiting in the fridge to be used.

Wash blackberries and chop into roughly fourths

The blackberries were so good, sharp and sweet at once.  I chopped them a bit to break them up and added them to the bowl.

Wash cherries, cut in half and remove pits. Roughly chop

The cherries were excellent as well, although they’re a little more work to prepare.  I cut them in half and peeled out the seeds with my fingers.  I chopped them a little more and added them to the bowl as well.

Add berries and more mayo if too dry. Fold in to mix well.

I decided the salad looked a little dry and added another 1/4 cup of mayo to the bowl.  I didn’t want a major amount of dressing, just enough to hold the salad ingredients all together.

Refrigerate until ready to serve

I carefully folded the fruit and mayo into my salad to prevent it from turning wild colors from the juicy fruit. It was ready to spread!

Use bread or buns of choice: mine were Brownberry Sandwich Thins

My bread man P.S. had brought home Brownberry Sandwich Thins.  They’re thinner buns at only 100 calories, great for those who are carb counting!  I made my P.S.’s sandwiches with the multi grain buns and mine with the potato buns.  With less bun we could enjoy the wonderful flavors of the chicken salad that much more!

Blackberry and Cherry Chicken Salad

Did we love it?  Of course!  The moist chicken, tart and tangy blackberries and cherries and crunchy onions and celery came together so well!  They were super flavorful sandwiches you’ll want to have for more than one meal.  We had leftover chicken salad for two more buns that disappeared fast the next day.  I may have eaten them.  Shhh!

It’s also excellent in pita pockets!