Jackfruit "Chicken" Salad (Vegan-Friendly, GF)

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#vegan #glutenfree #savory #lunch #dinner #snack #mealprep

Hack your meal prep with this quick, easy jackfruit “chicken” salad that comes together in a matter of minutes. “Hack”-fruit it, if you will. Okay, sorry, I’ll see myself out.

Have you ever had jackfruit before? It’s a massive fruit that has popped up recently in many plant-based, western dishes. It’s been used extensively in Asia for centuries. From its stringy, dense texture, it tends to be an ideal substitute for meat dishes like pulled pork, tuna fish, and this healthy jackfruit “chicken” salad.

Now, this salad looks like chicken, it has the texture of chicken, but I intentionally did NOT try to make this taste like chicken. Don’t get me wrong, chicken is delicious. I just prefer my meat to taste like meat and my plants to taste like, well, plants. Crazy, right?

Even though jackfruit alone is fairly low in protein, this recipe is still full of muscle-building goodness from the Greek yogurt and tahini used to replace the usual mayonnaise found in traditional chicken salad. The recipe can also easily be made vegan by substituting the yogurt for your favorite vegan yogurt or vegan mayonnaise.

This salad is also a great meal-prep option. I find it tastes best after a few days in the fridge after the flavors have had time to marinate. It also couldn’t be easier to make. Just drain your jackfruit, throw in your chopped veggies, and pour the dressing over it all. Done! Toss a scoop of it into a lunch container with a couple of slices of toast, veggie sticks, or lettuce cups. You’ll have a nutritious lunch ready for you in no time. It also means you can skip the hassle of trying to figure out if that dark spot in the overpriced, cafeteria chicken salad is a raisin or the fly you saw buzzing around it earlier. Yuck.

So grab some jackfruit and hack-fruit your lunch for the week!

If you make this recipe or any others on my blog, tag me in a photo on Instagram @figisisters . I would love to see your recreation!

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Recipe:

Makes about 4-5 servings

Ingredients:

1 14 oz Can - Young Jackfruit in Brine*

1 rib - Celery - chopped

Quarter - Red Onion - Diced

22 g - Dried Cherries

1 ½ tsp - Salt

Juice of Half a Small Lemon

Dressing

170 g - Full Fat Greek Yogurt - Sub greek-style vegan yogurt if vegan

28 g - Tahini

10 g - Dijon Mustard

2 tsp - Salt - plus more to taste

1 tsp - Black Pepper

¼ tbsp - Fresh Dill - Finely Chopped

Instructions:

Drain and Rinse jackfruit.

Optional step*: Remove tough core from jackfruit pieces. Coarsely shred core pieces.

Wrap jackfruit in a clean dish towel and squeeze out excess water.

Add jackfruit, celery, red onion, dried cherries, salt, and lemon juice to a bowl. Mix until well combined. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix together yogurt, tahini, mustard, salt, black pepper, and dill.

Pour yogurt mixture over jackfruit and stir until well incorporated.

Pour mixture to an air-tight container and allow to chill for at least 2 hours*.

Serve on top of toast, on salad, stuffed in a pita, with crackers, or wrapped in a butter lettuce leaf.

*Notes:

- Make sure your jackfruit is in brine NOT syrup.

- Removing the core jackfruit is optional, but the texture comes out more like shredded chicken

- The longer this recipe sits, the better the flavors become, making it a great option for meal prep.

Want to meal-prep something sweet for breakfast along with this jackfruit "chicken" salad? Why not make protein pancakes?

#vegan #glutenfree #savory #lunch #dinner #snack