Salad with Roasted Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Shallots

This main course salad is filling and scrumptious. Brimming with grilled shallots, sweet potatoes, and roasted chicken, the salad will fill you up and satisfy with its deep flavors. To cut down on prep time and make salad assembly a snap, purchase a roasted chicken from the deli.

Serves 4

1 whole skinless, bone-in chicken breast, about 14 ounces or roasted chicken from deli

1/2 tsp (10 ml) ground ginger

Kosher salt

4 Tbsp (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp (30 ml) unsalted butter

2 medium yams, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes, about 2 cups (480 ml)

8 shallots (same size), peeled and halved lengthwise or quartered if large

Mixed greens

2 Tbsp (30 ml) apple cider or apple vinegar

1 Tbsp (15 ml) fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub breast side with ginger and salt. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the oil and butter. Place chicken in skillet, breast side down; cook until breast side begins to turn golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Turn chicken over. Add yam and shallots to skillet; turn to coat in oil/butter. Transfer skillet to oven. Roast chicken and vegetables, turning vegetables at least once, until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through, 20–25 minutes. While chicken roasts, wash, spin dry, and put salad greens in serving bowl; set aside.
3. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and vegetables to a plate. Add apple vinegar or cider to skillet; cook over medium-high heat, scraping up brown bits from bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in remaining olive oil and thyme. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cut chicken into ½-inch slices. Add chicken and vegetables to greens. Toss with warm vinaigrette and serve.

More Recipes You'll Love

• Greek Salad
• Spicy Chicken Salad
• Creamy Cilantro No Potato Salad

Salad with roasted chicken, sweet potato, and shallots is a warm autumn salad that eats like a main course. Everything roasts in one ovenproof skillet — ginger-rubbed chicken breast, caramelized yam cubes, and sweet shallots — then the pan becomes the vinaigrette. Warm cider dressing over greens with sliced chicken on top is exactly what a cold evening needs.

Pro Tips

• Sear the chicken breast-side down before roasting. Those three or four minutes of browning give you golden skin and the brown bits that make the pan dressing taste roasted.
• Turn the yam and shallots at least once during roasting so the cubes color evenly instead of scorching on one side.
• Make the dressing right in the hot skillet. The apple cider deglazes every caramelized bit off the bottom — that is the flavor you would lose if you mixed the vinaigrette in a bowl.
• Deli roast chicken works in a pinch: skip the sear and warm the meat gently in the skillet with the vegetables for the last five minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use boneless chicken breast instead?

Yes, though the bone-in breast keeps the meat far juicier during roasting. If you go boneless, pull it from the oven a few minutes earlier to keep it from drying out.

What greens work best in this salad?

Something sturdy like romaine, spinach, or a spring mix that holds up against the warm dressing. Delicate herbs-only greens wilt instantly under the hot vinaigrette.

Can I roast the vegetables ahead of time?

You can roast the yam and shallots earlier in the day and rewarm them in the skillet before dressing. Roast the chicken the same day you serve it for the best texture.

Recipe Card

Stav Kogan

Salad with Roasted Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Shallots

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Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1 whole skinless, bone-in chicken breast, about 14 ounces or roasted chicken from deli
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 medium yams, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes, about 2 cups
• 8 shallots (same size), peeled and halved lengthwise or quartered if large

Method

 

1. Mixed greens
2. 2 Tbsp apple cider or apple vinegar
3. 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub breast side with ginger and salt.
6. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and butter.
7. Place chicken in skillet, breast side down; cook until breast side begins to turn golden brown, about 3-4 minutes.
8. Turn chicken over.
9. Add yam and shallots to skillet; turn to coat in oil/butter.
10. Transfer skillet to oven.
11. Roast chicken and vegetables, turning vegetables at least once, until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through, 20–25 minutes.
12. While chicken roasts, wash, spin dry, and put salad greens in serving bowl; set aside.
13. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and vegetables to a plate.
14. Add apple vinegar or cider to skillet; cook over medium-high heat, scraping up brown bits from bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon.
15. Remove from heat.
16. Whisk in remaining olive oil and thyme. Salt and pepper to taste.
17. Cut chicken into ½-inch slices.
18. Add chicken and vegetables to greens.
19. Toss with warm vinaigrette and serve.

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