I can't believe it's not Arby's chicken salad
I remember the first time I fell in love with chicken salad.
It was in an Arby's drive-thru, believe it or not.
I recall sitting in the passenger seat, my knees propped up on the dashboard, as I gave the sandwich a critical eye.
Arby's recipe features red grapes, pecans, grilled chicken, chopped celery and apples — ingredients I had never seen in chicken salad before.
I took one bite and devoured it like there was no tomorrow.
The sandwich was hearty and flavorful, served with lettuce on two thick slices of honey wheat bread.
I was never a fan of roast beef, but after that day, Arby's and I were buddies. I found myself frequenting the fast food eatery, with only one menu item in mind (okay, okay, I would order a small curly fry as well).
Life was going great, that is, until the day everything changed.
On this particular day, I drove across town to grab the usual. I waited my turn in the drive-thru and eagerly pulled up to the speaker box to place my order. But instead of hearing, "Sure, drive to the third window," I heard, "Sorry, we aren't offering that right now."
Excuse me?
Turns out, Arby's only offers its mind-blowing pecan chicken salad a few months out of the year.
I ordered a large curly fry to soften the blow, but I was devastated. How was I going to wait months before getting my hands on another one of those sandwiches?
Luckily, I was able to pick up the pieces. A few years have past since that day and I can confidently say I am no longer obsessed.
However, I still get a craving. Of course, the latest occurred during the restaurant's "chicken salad offseason."
This time instead of sulking, I took to the Internet.
I found a recipe that gives Arby's a run for its money. I've been on a health kick lately, so I even threw in a secret ingredient to slash some calories.
Talk about a delicious victory.
I Can't Believe it's not Arby's Chicken Salad:
Recipe adapted from CopyKat Recipes
2 1/2 cups of grilled chicken breast cut into small pieces
1 cup of diced red apple
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup of grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of lemon juice (juice of one small lemon)
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium-sized bowl, add the diced apples and one tablespoon of lemon juice. Mix well. This will help keep the apples from turning brown.
Next, add chicken, sliced grapes, diced celery and pecans. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt (if the mixture is too dry, you can add another 1/4 cup). Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until everything is evenly coated.
Allow flavors to marry in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving.
Serve on your choice of bread, or in a wrap with a few slices of green leaf lettuce.
Enjoy.
You can also bring this salad to the next level by toasting the pecans in a skillet on medium-high heat just until they become fragrant. Allow the pecans to cool completely before preparing the chicken salad.
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