Wendy’s has a long-established pattern of breaking my heart. They’ll introduce something new, and me being the perfect-always-cook-at-home-from-scratch food blogger that I am (ha!), I will discover it and fall in love with it, only to have it yanked away from me a few painful months later. Those Greek and Caesar pitas from when I was in high school. The Summer Berry Salad (yes, I do know they still have it, but it’s not the same as the one they had 5 years ago. Please stop messing with delightful things.) The Pretzel Burger (I don’t normally or frequently eat fast food burgers, but I liked knowing this was there. Until it wasn’t.) And possibly the most painful of all, the Southwest Taco Salad Let’s all take a minute for the Wendy’s Southwest Taco Salad.
So this summer, they’ve introduced a salad that I really like (although, if I’m being honest, there are things about it that I don’t like…more on that in a minute), but I am under no delusion that it will be here much past Labor Day. I’m telling you: trust issues. So I figured I could make my own version (my bank account thanks me). And, since it’s something I could eat every day and be happy, it’s something I could also make in salad jars and keep handy in the fridge. I bring you the Wendy’s Copycat Mediterranean Power Salad.
This is really, super easy. And there’s not a reason in the world you couldn’t just make this in a bowl instead of in jars. In addition to 4-ish cups of the greens of your choice (I like a crunchy romaine blend, but you could mix whatever you like in there), you’ll need some drained and rinsed Great Northern Beans and Garbanzo beans, 2-3 slices of red onion, 3 ounces of chopped, cooked chicken breast, 2 tablespoons of feta, 2 tablespoons of quinoa (I actually used Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice), and a small handful of tomatoes. And two tablespoons of garlic or roasted red pepper hummus (just your favorite store brand, although we do have a recipe for roasted red pepper hummus that’s quite tasty.)
Remember when I said there were a few things I didn’t love about the Wendy’s salad? I don’t love the hummus they use, and they also have some kind of jarred chopped roasted red pepper salad (it tastes kind of pickled.) I don’t like that, either. But those are easy fixes–swap out the pepper stuff for fresh tomatoes (or chopped fresh colored peppers) and use a hummus I like better. Bam.
So if you’re making these in jars, grab a wide-mouth quart-sized jar and place the chopped chicken in the bottom. then layer the onions, quinoa, tomatoes (in the form of a smiley face, please! It’s the only way.), and lettuce.
I didn’t put the hummus or dressing in there because I didn’t want to risk things getting funky in my jars, so I grabbed a package of those portion cups with lids from the paper plate area of the grocery store and put the hummus in one…
and two tablespoons of light balsamic dressing in the other (I was shooting for about 4 grams of fat/60 calories per 2 tablespoons.) You could absolutely make your own dressing if you’d like. Right now, I can barely keep my kids in clean clothes, so bottled dressing it is.
Press the hummus and dressing cups down into the salad jar and then top with the lid and refrigerate for up to 5-7 days! Or eat it right away.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 346
Fat: 12
Saturated Fat: 2
Protein: 33
Carbs: 24
Fiber: 5
Sugars: 9
WW Smart Points: 9
Wendy’s Copycat Mediterranean Power Salad
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Description
This healthy salad can easily be made ahead of time in salad jars for quick and easy lunches!
Ingredients
- 3 ounces chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons Great Northern Beans
- 2 tablespoons garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- 2 tablespoons cooked quinoa or quinoa/brown rice blend
- 2–3 slices red onion
- 2 tablespoons crumbled feta
- 1 small handful grape or cherry tomatoes
- 4-ish cups crunchy greens (or something like romaine mixed with spinach)
- 2 tablespoons hummus
- 2 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette
Instructions
- If making jars, multiply quantities by the number of jars you’d like to make. Add chicken first to the bottom of a wide-mouthed quart-size jar. Layer remaining ingredients, ending with the lettuce. Store hummus and dressing separately in single-serve containers (but they can be stored in the jars if you have enough room.
- If making a single salad, place lettuce in a salad bowl and add ingredients, including hummus and dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition Information
- Calories: 346
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 2
- Protein: 33
- Carbs: 24
- Fiber: 5
- Sugars: 9
- WW Smart Points: 9
- Prep Time: 10
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
Questions & Reviews
I love this salad at Wendy’s. High protein, low calories… there is an orange sauce on it…. what is that? I did not see that as part of your receipe. Any thoughts? I like a wet salad, so I really like whatever that is they put in it… then I can skip the dressing all together! Thanks
Nevermind ! It’s the hummus! I just don’t think of hummus as creamy…..
Yum! Your narrative and pictures show Garbanzo beans but they are not included in the recipe. Are they included in the nutritional information? Thanks!
They are included in the nutritional info–I’ll fix the recipe asap. 🙂
Can I just tell you, I was discussing those chicken Caesar pita things in Friday at work! We ordered out and a co-worker ordered one from a local coffee shop and when I saw it all I could think was how good and cheap this things were I’m college (guess I’m older than you). They were less than $5. Hers was like $12! I’m going to make my own I guess
Oh my goodness!!! I loved those pita salads!!!! I actually think about them often. I was in college and I’d use all my money to eat there.
LOVED Wendy’s Southwest Taco Salad! I was waiting for you to mention it! Why do they take away the things we love?! ?
Kate, do you use rotisserie chicken or did you cook it yourself? I don’t know if it’s just me but every time I cook chicken the leftovers the next day taste bad, like not fresh at all. Rotisserie chicken leftovers taste fine to me though. Maybe I over cook the chicken? I don’t know haha
I totally used rotisserie chicken here. I’ve had grilled chicken handle the leftover treatment well, but any other way and it kind of tastes/smells fishy. ?
i NEED to try the whole salad in a jar thing. what a perfect salad to start with. but before i do, i would love to hear the specifics of the {exact} jars you use. brand, size, etc. do you just use the canning jar lids? i have {never been used} canning jars but i don’t think they are wide mouthed.
Just regular quart Mason or Ball jars are perfect! You’d actually be hard-pressed to find jars that size that *aren’t* wide-mouth, so you’ll be fine! Really, it’s just for storage, so you can’t mess it up, promise. 🙂
Where are the napkins from, please? ??
World Market!! ?
I miss Wendy’s flatbread grilled chicken sandwiches
Fantastic protein-packed salad – perfect for a work day meal that’ll keep me going for hours. Great idea to grab a container from the market.
Oh my goodness you are so right about Wendy’s!! What was so good about those Chicken Caesar pitas years ago? I was so heart-broken…. 🙁 Maybe sometime you can make a copycat of those?? please?
I have no idea, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten over it. ?
You are so my food twinsie Kate! I had one of these this summer and keep looking online for a copycat recipe. Literally yesterday I thought ‘oh well, I’ll just make my own’. Now I’ve got your infinitely better recipe. Thanks!