Are you a fan of Panera? Do you love their salads? Have you ever wanted to make the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad at home? Now you can!
One of my favorite things to order at Panera has to be their Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. It’s been part of their menu for years and it always seems to fill me up, leave me satisfied, and taste amazing.
Whether it is because of the tartness of the salad dressing, the mix of fruit and nuts in the salad, or the freshness of the greens and chicken, there is something about this salad that just works. And while we may not be able to run to our local Panera to snag this delectable salad right now, that doesn’t mean we have to miss out on one of our favorites.
So, how can we make our own at home version of the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad? Luckily for us, Panera is now selling their Fuji Apple salad dressings in grocery stores (which I was thrilled to find at a Publix).
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At its core, the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad is lettuce greens, red onion, tomatoes, chicken, pecans, and dried apples, which is then drizzled with the Fuji Apple dressing and bits of Gorgonzola crumbled on top. And while that is easy enough to do, especially with guidance from Panera at Home and their recipe for the salad, I went with a slightly different approach to making my own take on this amazing creation.
In fact, besides having the Fuji Apple salad dressing, which is an absolute must for making this salad work at home, my secret ingredient was a bag of Sahale Snacks Maple Pecan Glazed Mix. Instead of needing to find dried apples and toasted pecans separately, the bag of Sahale Snacks gave me everything I needed.
With this Maple Pecans mix we get cinnamon coated pecans, walnuts, dried cherries, and dried apple bits. And while there may be two extra ingredients than we would normally find in Panera’s Fuji Apple Chicken Salad, it does work splendidly.
In order to make my own take on this salad (to feed 2 people) you need:
- 6 cups of mixed greens (we chose Spring Mix for our greens)
- 1/4 cup of chopped red onion (you can do more or less depending on your preference)
- 6 oz. of cooked chicken broken into pieces (we used pieces from a rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 cup of Sahale Snacks Maple Pecans Mix
- 1/4 cup of Fuji Apple dressing (more if you like)
- Gorgonzola crumbles to top it with
While you can mix all of this in a large mixing bowl and then separate between both people, I did mine in more of a layered fashion with the lettuce first, then the onion pieces tossed in, followed by the chicken and the Sahale Snacks mix. I then poured my dressing on top and added the cheese crumbles.
You can make your Fuji Apple Chicken Salad however it is easier for you, and add or subtract ingredients to make the salad your own.
For me, this is a chance to enjoy the flavors of Panera’s iconic salad without having to leave home to do it. And hopefully you can find the Fuji Apple dressing in a store near you, because this is the one ingredient you absolutely have to have to make this work.
What do you think of this take on the classic Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera? Have you found this salad dressing in a store near you? Let us know what you think in the comments.