In this delicious summer chicken salad recipe, juicy fennel root and cooling cilantro are the perfect antidote to the season’s heat. This good-for-you salad cools down the body and supports optimal digestion.

When you eat seasonally, you take advantage of what’s available in the garden or market. You also provide dishes that suit your body’s needs at each time of year. For example, heavier foods insulate the body in winter, while summer salads keep us cool when the weather turns hot. Here are some of the benefits of the ingredients in our summer chicken salad recipe…

Fennel Root

Bright-tasting, crunchy, and juicy, fennel bulb is a refreshing and cooling summer food. You may have heard of the benefits of fennel seeds for digestive support. The fresh root (or bulb) is also a good source of nutrients including vitamin C, potassium, and manganese.

Cilantro

Cilantro is the young leaves of the coriander plant. This delicious green herb is nothing short of a healing ally. It’s best used raw, and I love minced cilantro in salads like this summer chicken salad recipe. Whereas many spices are warming and heating to the body, cilantro is cooling. Cilantro calms excess heat and can relieve nausea. Like coriander seeds, fresh cilantro aids digestion and helps with gas, bloating, and upset stomachs.

Parsley

Alongside fennel and cilantro, parsley is a carminative herb. Carminative herbs help increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the digestive tract. They increase the nutrient absorption rate of your food and help to reduce gas, bloating, constipation, and digestive upset. An overall tonic for health and wellness, parsley is full of chlorophyll, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, and magnesium.

Summer Chicken Salad Recipe

You can eat this crunchy chicken salad as it is, or you can create a summer meal by wrapping the salad and a handful of fresh herbs and sprouts into lettuce or kale leaves. This is also a great dish for using your Salad Seed Sprinkle! By adding the Salad Sprinkle to your summer chicken salad recipe, you add even more nutrients and flavor alongside carminative herbs to support your digestion.

Ready to seriously herbify your kitchen pantry? Check out My Herbal Kitchen

Print Recipe

Fennel Chicken Salad

Author: Kami McBride

Ingredients

Salad

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded fennel root
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 scallions, finely chopped
3 tbsp finely grated fresh burdock root
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp black pepper

Dressing

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2-3 tbsp honey
3 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp powdered juniper berry
1/2 tsp salt

For serving

Lettuce, kale, or cabbage leaves, for serving (optional)
Salad Sprinkle, for garnishing (optional)
Fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, mint, and bean sprouts, for garnishing (optional)

Instructions

Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl or a jar and mix well.
To serve, drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix well.
If desired, serve with lettuce, kale, or cabbage leaves, Salad Sprinkle, fresh herbs, and bean sprouts.

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I’d love to hear from you! Does your family have any go-to summertime recipes? What are your favorite herbs for salads? Share in the comments!