Maybe it's the south in me, but I love me some chicken salad. And I don't mean chicken... on a salad. I mean actual chicken salad; shredded chicken combined with all sorts of wonderfulness to make for a perfectly sweet, salty, crunchy, soft, simply-complex bite.
The first time I ever saw chicken salad stuffed into a tomato was at this place I worked in the summer while I was in college, Stone Werks Big Rock Grille in San Antonio Texas. They had this wonderful salad that mainly consisted of a stuffed tomato that you could get loaded with either chicken or tuna salad. It was simple and also ended up being one of my favorite dishes at the place with the more rich chicken salad being brightened up with the citrus of the tomato. Yum!
I've got this favorite turkey salad that I used as the base for this chicken salad; basically swapping out the turkey for chicken. I also ended up changing some of the spices and flavorings just a tad to go along with this beautiful local red tomato that I got my hands on.
Now, you know that I'm a heavy handed salad dresser, but honestly I didn't dress my lettuce here. I know, can you believe it? Instead, I ate the lettuce along with the chicken salad and tomato. I was perfectly okay with it too with how moist and flavorful the chicken salad is. So, if you decided to drop your stuffed tomato over some chopped lettuce, don't worry about the dressing!
This stuffed tomato is something that would be easy to make ahead for a few days worth of lunches. Just be sure to keep it cold between being packed and when it's time to eat. Plus, you can always use up leftover chicken breast from dinner the night before (as I often do) to make this chicken salad. I've left this recipe easily halved or doubled in case you have more or less chicken on hand to use up.
All in all this is definitely one of my favorite lunches.
Healthified Chicken Salad Stuffed Tomato
TheSkinnyFork.com
The Skinny:
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 Stuffed Tomato • Calories: 332.4 • Fat: 12.4 g • Carb: 18 g • Fiber: 1.2 g • Protein: 27.2 g • Sugar: 13.3 g • Sodium: 545.5 mg
Ingredients:
2 C. Cooked & Shredded Chicken Breast
1/2 C. Dried Cranberries
1/4 C. Light Mayo
1/4 C. Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt
1/4 C. Chopped Nuts (I used pine nuts, but almost any nut will work!)
1/4 C. Chopped Apple
2 Green Onions, Sliced
1 Lemon, Juiced
1/4 Tsp. Dried Dill
Salt & Pepper to Taste
4 Medium Tomatoes
Directions:
In a large bow, combine the 2 C. Cooked & Shredded Chicken Breast, 1/2 C. Dried Cranberries, 1/4 C. Light Mayo, 1/4 C. Plain Fat Free Greek Yogurt, 1/4 C. Chopped Nuts, 1/4 C. Chopped Apple, 2 Green Onions, 1 Lemon Juice and Zest, and 1/4 Tsp. Dill.
Season with Salt & Pepper to Taste.
Slice the tomatoes into segments without going all the way through. Remove the pulp from the middle and stuff with the chicken salad, divided evenly among the tomatoes. (I had about 1/3-1/2 C. of the chicken salad for each serving.)
Enjoy right away!
