A little known fact about me is that I went to a local community college my first semester of college, where I played on the school's tennis team. Feeling unfulfilled with the way life was going I dropped out of school and worked at Panera full-time making salads while I saved enough money to transfer out to school in Utah. So you could say I know a thing or twelve about making a Panera salad.
Panera has ridiculously strict rules about their salad making though. For instance, the small greek salad can only have three black olives in it, and if you give a customer a fourth or fifth olive and the manager finds out, you will 100% be reprimanded for those two olives. Luckily when you make Panera at home, you can add all the toppings you want and no one will ever know.
Panera Fuji Apple Salad:
Panera's Fuji apple salad comes together with spring mix salad, Panera Fuji Apple Dressing, apple chips, cooked chicken breast, gorgonzola cheese, red onion, tomato, and pecans. It is serisouly a delicious salad combination. Even my husband who is more picky about vegetables than me gladly ate almost this entire bowl while I was cooking dinner.
Panera Fuji Apple Dressing:
Panera's Fuji Apple Dressing is hard to replicate. There are a lot of copycat recipes online but as an old Panera employee I can tell you that none of these recipes are even close. A little secret though: you can purchase the actual fuji apple dressing right at your local Target. I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is widely available nationwide because Utah doesn't even have a Panera, but they still carry the dressing in our Target stores. It's right in the produce section by the bagged carrots and other refrigerated dressings. Pick up a bottle the next time you're there and save yourself the grief of making a homemade dressing that won't even come close to the real thing.
Apple Crisp Chips:
Panera Fuji Apple Salad Recipe Tips:
- I've provided measurements in the recipe but they really don't have to be exact. Add more or less of whatever you feel like. It's mostly just a sprinkle of all the toppings, so play with them and use the amounts you like.
- I purchased both my apple chips and salad dressing at Target, you may be able to purchase similar varieties elsewhere.
- I used honey roasted pecans because they're delicious.
- I almost never cook my own chicken. Purchase a rotisserie chicken and chop some meat off of it for this recipe. You can use the leftover chicken in so many different recipes throughout the week.
- The serving of this salad is large because the recipe is intended for this to serve as a full meal. If you're preparing it as a side dish for a family meal, it would likely make about four side dish servings.
Panera Fuji Apple Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mixed Greens Salad Mix
- 2 tbsp Fuji Apple Dressing
- 5 Apple Chips
- 1/3 cup Chicken Breast, cooked and chopped
- 2 tsbp Gorgonzola Cheese
- 4 slices Red Onion
- 1/4 cup Tomato, Diced
- 2 tbsp Pecans, toasted
Instructions
- Wash, prep, and cut all of your ingredients.
- Gently toss together all of your ingredients. If eating as one meal, serve immediately, or divide among four plates for a family dinner side dish.
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