Chicken Breast and Canned Bean Salad

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make a salad with chicken breast and beans? Start by gathering all of your ingredients. You can swap the chicken breast for turkey if you like—it pairs just as nicely with everything else. As for the greens, iceberg, butter lettuce, romaine, or a spring mix all work great. Rinse the chicken breasts, pat them dry, and cut them into thin strips or cubes.

2. Step 2:

   

   Drain the beans in a colander and rinse them under cold running water, then give the colander a shake. Let them sit so any excess liquid can drip off.

3. Step 3:

   

   Prep the vegetables. Peel the garlic and onion. If you can, use a red or sweet onion—or even a shallot—since they have a milder flavor that's great in vegetable salads. Rinse the cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, lemon, and everything else under clean water, then pat dry with paper towels.

4. Step 4:

   

   Heat a little vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the chicken, season lightly with salt and ground pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until cooked through. It took me about 10 minutes.

5. Step 5:

   

   Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces by hand, or cut it with a knife. Chop the rest of the vegetables: slice the onion into half-moons or smaller, dice the cucumber, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half or into quarters.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the lettuce and canned beans to a deep salad bowl.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add the cooled chicken breast next.

8. Step 8:

   

   Then add the tomatoes and cucumber.

9. Step 9:

   

   Make the dressing. In a small deep bowl, whisk together vegetable or olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt to taste, a clove of garlic pressed through a garlic press, and ground pepper. If your tomatoes aren't in season, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavor. Whisk everything together thoroughly.

10. Step 10:

    

    Pour the dressing over the salad.

11. Step 11:

    

    Sprinkle finely chopped fresh herbs over the top. Dill, parsley, green onion, and basil all work well.

12. Step 12:

    

    Toss the salad 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This gives it time to soak up the dressing while keeping the cucumber and tomatoes from releasing too much juice and making everything soggy.