Easy 15 Minute Chicken Salad!

If you're skeptical of so-called "15 minute recipes", I don't blame you. I've never been a fan of speeding through things, and prefer to take my time - especially in the kitchen.

That said, I've been watching a lot of Ethan Chlebowski, who's done quite a few videos about making meals with a timer running. Naturally I can only handle so much inspiration before trying something myself, so here we are.

This recipe will get you a simple but very tasty chicken salad that makes 2-3 servings. You can throw in extras if you have them, which is just smart cooking - and yes, it actually takes just 15 minutes! Here's the time breakdown I ended up with:

• I portioned the water and started heating it to a boil, which took about a minute.

• Pulled out the chicken and shallots and cut to shape, which took about 4 minutes (I used a painfully small cutting board or this would be ever faster!)

• Pulled out the remaining ingredients and waited until the 7 minute mark, then started cooking the chicken

• Made the dressing while the chicken boiled

• Added the shallot during the last minute of boiling, then drained everything

After draining the chicken and shallot at the 4 minute mark, I set the strainer in front of a fan I had blowing away the shallot's allium eye poison.

I cleaned things up until the 1 minute mark, then added the mostly-cooled colander concoction to the dressing along with crushed mixed nuts for texture. I felt so triumphant that I took a maybe-too-candid picture of the aftermath.

I was surprised how well the process turned out! The bit of chicken I sampled just before dressing wasn't raw, but wasn't overcooked and rubbery. The shallots were equally nice without an off-putting bite to them, and the dressing was simple but flavorful.

I expected to go over by at least a minute or two, but I had some time to spare! You could probably make this in 10 minutes by using as little water as possible for boiling, and maybe some onion you diced for lunch yesterday. Oh, and don't use the world's smallest cutting board.

If you want to take on the challenge yourself, you can find the ingredients below. You can also follow me On Pinterest or Wix, or check out more of my recipes below!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup mayo

1/2 Tbsp* whole milk or milk substitute

1 shallot

1/3 tsp all-purpose seasoning

Salted water, for boiling**

Other additions, as desired***

PREPARATION

Fill a medium sauce pan with salted water and bring to a boil. While it's heating, cut the chicken into small chunks. Also finely dice the shallot.

Boil the chicken in salted water for 3 minutes. While it's cooking, mix the mayo, milk and all-purpose seasoning in a medium bowl.

After 2 minutes of boiling, add the shallots and boil everything together for the final minute. Thoroughly drain the chicken and shallot.

Let cool slightly if you have time, then add to the dressing. Add any extras you want and mix until just combined, then serve.

NOTES

* You can leave out the milk, but I find a mayo-only dressing a bit "goopy". I added a bit too much milk so the dressing was kinda thin, but that's just a me problem at the end of the day.

** If you want this done ASAP, use just enough water to boil the chicken.

*** I threw in a small handful of chopped nuts, but some fresh herbs would be great too!