Popcorn Chicken Salad Recipe (Healthy Popcorn Chicken Bowl)

This baked popcorn chicken salad bowl contains tender chicken bites that are breaded and seasoned. After baking the chicken to crisp perfection, I’ve piled it high atop a bowl of baby greens and mustardy microgreens. Fresh radish slices, sunflower seeds, tangy feta, and a zingy honey mustard dressing are the finishing touches on this healthier popcorn chicken salad recipe. So easy and delicious!

This popcorn chicken and vegetable salad is a healthy way to enjoy popcorn chicken. Typically, popcorn chicken is battered or breaded and then fried. Here, I’ve cut the need for added oils by baking the breaded chicken instead.

Additionally, fried or baked popcorn chicken is often served with other fried foods (like french fries), plus a sugary dip. When you put popcorn chicken in a salad instead, you’ve got a much healthier substitute for takeout popcorn chicken.

Please don’t misunderstand me, though. What you are getting is not a copycat recipe of the popcorn chicken at KFC or another purveyor of chicken. I’m hoping that you and your family find this recipe to be delicious in its own right.

This popcorn chicken salad bowl is great to take to work or for school lunch. It makes a great meal prep (as long as you keep the salad dressing separate until serving time).

Jump to:

• 📋 Popcorn Chicken Salad Calories
• 🥗 Popcorn Chicken Salad Ingredients
• 💡 How to Cook Popcorn Chicken
• 🔪 How do you make popcorn chicken salad?
• 🌡️ How to Store Popcorn Chicken Salad
• 🐔 Is popcorn chicken healthy?
• 🥬 What goes well with popcorn chicken?
• 💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
• FAQs
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Other Salad Ideas with Chicken
• The Disclaimer…
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

📋 Popcorn Chicken Salad Calories

What are the calories in popcorn chicken salad? One serving of my popcorn chicken salad recipe has 492 calories, 28.6 grams net carbs, and 26.4 grams of protein. Nutrition information for your salad depends on the brand of popcorn chicken and type of salad dressing you use.

🥗 Popcorn Chicken Salad Ingredients

What do you need to make popcorn chicken salad? Here is your shopping list:

• Cooked popcorn chicken
• Baby lettuce mix
• Microgreens
• Cucumber
• Roasted red pepper strips
• Radishes
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Scallions
• Toasted sunflower seeds (no shell)
• Honey mustard dressing

Specific quantities of ingredients are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

I used Tyson popcorn chicken Any’tizers for this recipe, but your favorite brand of popcorn chicken will also work. Homemade popcorn chicken from scratch is also a great choice here.

My microgreens mix in this salad contains various spicy red and green mustard leaves. If you cannot find microgreens in your local stores, I highly recommend growing your own. They grow fast- it takes only about two weeks for them to get to maturity.

Another option is to use sprouts in place of the microgreens. Check out this post for easy directions on how to grow broccoli sprouts.

The kitchen equipment you need for this salad includes:

• Baking sheet or air fryer (to cook the popcorn chicken)
• Good knife
• Large salad containers

I recommend getting salad bowls with separate lidded dressing cups to make transport easy. If you do a lot of meal prepping, you’ll find you use them often.

💡 How to Cook Popcorn Chicken

First up, you need to cook 1 lb (454 grams) of frozen popcorn chicken. You can follow my directions for frozen popcorn chicken in air fryer, or do one of these:

Frozen Popcorn Chicken in Ninja Foodi

Preheat the Ninja Foodi to 400F (200C). Put the frozen popcorn chicken in the air fryer basket. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping (or shaking) the chicken halfway through cooking time.

Cooked popcorn chicken will reach a minimum safe internal temp of 165F (74C). Use a meat thermometer to check. IMHO, this is the best way to cook popcorn chicken, because it’s fast and crisps up nicely.

Cook Frozen Popcorn Chicken in Oven

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Place the frozen popcorn chicken on a baking sheet. Bake popcorn chicken for 15-20 minutes until safe temp of 165F (74C) is reached.

Cook Frozen Popcorn Chicken in Microwave

Put the frozen popcorn chicken on a microwave safe plate. (You may need to cook it in batches.)

Microwave 9 pieces at a time for 2.5-3 minutes on high. Let the chicken rest for 1-2 minutes before adding to salads. Note: this is my least favorite way to cook popcorn chicken, as it doesn’t crisp up as much.

🔪 How do you make popcorn chicken salad?

Here are the steps to make a tasty popcorn chicken salad:

1. Cook the popcorn chicken using the directions on the packaging (or the instructions above).

2. Chop the cucumber, thinly slice the radishes and scallions, and cut the roasted red peppers into strips.

3. Divide the baby lettuce between four salad bowls or meal prep containers.

4. Top each salad container with ¼ each of the baked popcorn chicken, microgreens, cucumber, roasted red pepper, scallions, radish, feta, and sunflower seeds.

5. Drizzle the salads with honey mustard salad dressing right before eating. Enjoy!

🌡️ How to Store Popcorn Chicken Salad

You can keep popcorn chicken salad in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Keep the salad dressing in a separate container until right before serving.

🐔 Is popcorn chicken healthy?

"Healthy” always depends on what your individual needs are. If you’re looking for the most nutrient-dense option, roasted chicken without breading may be a better choice. Popcorn chicken tends to contain a lot of white flour that doesn’t add a lot nutritionally to foods.

🥬 What goes well with popcorn chicken?

Wondering what to have with popcorn chicken? There are lots of different spins you can put on a salad with popcorn chicken.

For example, you could make a Buffalo popcorn chicken salad by using buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Or how about a Chinese chicken salad with mandarin oranges and chow mein noodles? You could even substitute the popcorn chicken for air fryer chicken nuggets.

Here are some other foods to add to popcorn chicken salad:

• Red cabbage
• Shredded carrots
• Edamame
• Pickled jalapenos
• Banana peppers
• Teriyaki sauce
• Caesar dressing

💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian

This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). Salads that include a lot of non-starchy veggies are a great way to get a low-calorie, high-volume meal! If you need a higher energy meal, switch to whole milk feta.

I used to make a version of popcorn chicken salad that included all kinds of goodies like blue cheese, whole grain croutons, and homemade crispy onions. (Scrumptious and so rich!) Adding any of those to your salad is another easy and tasty way to boost calories if you have higher energy needs.

Normally, I place foods with white flour (such as popcorn chicken) in level 3. However, I’m using this recipe as an example that what the whole meal looks like is more important than an individual food. (And honestly, what the whole day, week, month, etc looks like is even more important than one meal.)

If you serve popcorn chicken as most do, with fries or tater tots and sugary BBQ sauce or ketchup, you’re getting a low volume meal for the calories. By adding a bunch of fresh veggies instead of fries, we’re making a big, nutritious meal for under 500 calories.

If you enjoy popcorn chicken but have a weight loss goal, putting it on a salad may be a smart move. High volume salads with adequate protein may help you feel full on fewer calories, helping you maintain the calorie deficit you need for weight loss. If you don’t feel like a salad, another option is to choose low-oil side dishes packed with non-starchy vegetables.

FAQs

👩🏻‍🍳 Other Salad Ideas with Chicken

Here are a few more salads with chicken you may enjoy:

• Chick-Fil-A Southwest Chicken Salad
• Healthy Chicken Salad in Air Fryer
• Orange Chicken Salad with Strawberries
• Chicken Salad with Apples and Pecans

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The Disclaimer…

All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.

The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.

For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!

📖 Recipe

This popcorn chicken salad recipe is an update from 2020 with new photos, recipe tweaks, more nutrition info, and a new recipe video. Happy eating!