An ode to one of our favorite dishes at since-shuttered Sawyer in Seattle, there’s something about this fall salad with rotisserie chicken and cornbread croutons that feels cozy and autumnal. While not exclusively seasonal, the cornbread + nuts + chicken combo feels very reminiscent of the classic flavors in a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It’s also a fall-time menu workhorse in that it checks all the boxes of a self-contained complete meal (carby croutons: check, protein-packed pulled chicken: check, veg greens: check) with minimal effort and a fairly short ingredient list for when holiday-ing doesn’t leave time for much else. Plus, it’s an excellent salad for entertaining and can easily be scaled up or down. Seriously, what’s not to love here.

fall salad with Rotisserie Chicken & Cornbread Croutons

How to Make Fall Salad with Cornbread Croutons

  • Start with the cornbread. Mix up a classic Jiffy cornbread mix and crouton-ify it by cubing it and popping it back into the oven for a minute. No extra dishes required.
  • Make the vinaigrette. It sounds time-consuming, we promise it’s so, so doable. Throw all the vinaigrette ingredients into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until smooth.
  • Layer and serve. Layer the greens with the dates, almonds, and chicken, followed by the crumbled goat cheese, all topped with those delicious croutons you just made. Drizzle with dressing and serve. Rave reviews to follow.

Tips for a Memorable Fall Salad

This fall salad has an insane amount of flavors and textures going on and really does seem to hit all the high notes with relatively few ingredients. Top tips for pulling it off:

  1. Don’t overmix or overcook the cornbread. Tough, burned cornbread is never tasty, even in crouton form.
  2. Spring for fresh herbs. They are the heart and soul of the dressing and are mandatory to provide that bright, herby wake-up call that every salad needs.
  3. Avoid overmixing the goat cheese into the greens. A light crumble on top with a gentle toss at the end will keep those adorable little pieces intact instead of turning them into lettuce glue, which is not ideal.

What to Serve with Fall Salad with Cornbread Croutons

Though this salad can absolutely hold its own as a lighter full meal situation, it’s also equally comfortable serving a supporting role alongside other staples for The Big Meal. For a smaller get-together, it pairs wonderfully with our Thanksgiving Chicken. Or go for a lovely soup + salad situation and serve it with Pumpkin Chili. Coziness nearly guaranteed.

More Cozy Fall Recipes

Fall Salad with Rotisserie Chicken & Cornbread Croutons

5 from 1 vote
Brooke Eliason
Print
Servings: 6 servings
Total Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate

Ingredients 

Cornbread Croutons

  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 8.5-ounce package Jiffy cornbread mix
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup water

Herb Vinaigrette

  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons honey
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
  • ⅓ cup fresh mint, loosely packed
  • kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Salad

  • 8 oz. mixed greens
  • 2 cups pulled rotisserie chicken
  • 8 dates, pitted and cut into thin strips
  • ½ cup salted & roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
  • 4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

Cornbread Croutons

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using your hands or a piece of parchment paper, spread the butter on the bottom and sides of a quarter sheet pan and set aside. In a medium-sized bowl mix the cornbread mix, egg, and water together. Batter may be lumpy.
  • Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Cut into squares, place back on the baking sheet, and return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Herb Vinaigrette

  • In a blender or using a glass measuring cup and an immersion blender, blend together all vinaigrette ingredients including the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, thyme & mint leaves, and salt & pepper until smooth. Taste and add additional salt if needed and set aside.

Salad

  • Assemble salad by placing the mixed greens in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle on the rotisserie chicken, dates, and almonds. Gently toss the salad then sprinkle on the goat cheese and half of the cornbread croutons (save the other half for a rainy day or for a snack). Drizzle with the herb vinaigrette (you might not need all of it) and serve immediately.

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