Za'atar Crunch Salad

Your new favorite salad is here

Hi, friends. I make a lot of salads chez moi. Cold salads and warm salads, salads with everything finely chopped up into tiny pieces and ones with big, lazy, barely torn-up leaves. Pasta salads and grain salads and side salads galore! For lunch and for dinner and for some times in between.

But trust me when I say that today’s salad might be my best one yet.

I’m calling it the za’atar crunch salad, and it’s basically a mayo-less, celery-forward chicken salad that oh-so-fresh, crunchy, and refreshing. It’s filling but won’t weigh you down, and can easily be scaled down to feed just one or up to feed a crowd for dinner or to meal prep. Plus, cooking is minimal (or nonexistent, if you go with rotisserie chicken meat) and prep is just a matter of chopping and combining.

And because it’s served cold, it’s ideal for those days when it’s just a *little* too warm to cook, which will be here before we know it.

I’ve made this on repeat for lunch as I tested and tweaked the recipe, making sure the dressing was the perfect balance of savory and sweet and the salad had the ideal amount of each topping, and I never once got sick of it. In fact, I think every single time I made it, it left me wanting it even more. Denis says it’s one of my best recipes yet. I can’t wait for you to try it.

Tell me more

Like all good salads, this one would be nothing without the dressing. And this dressing!! It’s a sweet and savory mix of za’atar, honey, extra virgin olive oil, and more, that makes your mouth water and your heart fill with joy. It’s just the right consistency to perfectly coat every single chopped ingredient we’re working with — celery, chicken, olives, and dried apricots to name a few.

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I’m big on celery salads, as I think celery is just so so underrated. It adds so much satisfying crunch and clean, herbaceous flavor. Plus we all seem to have celery just hanging around in the fridge since it’s so cheap and readily available. Why use it stalk by stalk when you can use up a whole bunch and give it the spotlight it really deserves?

TL;DR: How we’re elevating the everyday

Making lunchtime a delicious breeze with a preppable chicken salad that feels fresh and new thanks to an unexpected combination of ingredients and flavors that will make your taste buds sing with delight.

Before we begin

• As far as the chicken here goes, you have two options: cook some up using your preferred method at home, or pick up a rotisserie chicken to cut down on cooking time. I love a rotisserie chicken, but I am including directions for my go-to chicken breast method because it’s just so easy and results in a juicy, moist breast every time.

• You can also use a can of tuna or other tinned fish, freshly cooked salmon, or tofu here if you want to switch it up. It would even be good with some steak or pork.

• If you don’t like celery (I know it can be divisive sometimes), cucumber or fennel would be my top choices to use as a substitute.

• Because we’re not adding in any greens or easily-wilting veggies, this keeps beautifully in the fridge. The celery will release some water as it sits, but you can just give it a quick stir to reincorporate all of that.

• The dressing recipe makes a big portion. Start with about half when you’re dressing the salad. If you plan to serve it immediately, you can add more dressing till it’s coated to your preference, or if you plan to eat it throughout the week you can lightly dress it then add more dressing every time you eat it so it doesn’t get too soggy or watery.

• If you love this recipe, you might also love my fall crunch salad and my winter crunch salad, or my newsletter on seven really good things you can make with a rotisserie chicken.

• Make it easier: rotisserie chicken cuts the cooking time down to basically nothing. You can opt for pre-chopped celery (I see this in the produce section of a lot of grocery stores) and olive tapenade (slightly different than just chopped up olives, but will give you the same salinity) to reduce the amount you’ll need to chop.

The recipe

Serves: 4 very generous portions of salad, with dressing to spare

Ready in: 20-ish (or less, if you’re fast with a knife)