Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad

What's in the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad?

At 590 calories per serving, the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad represents about 30% of a 2,000-calorie daily intake. On the macronutrient side, roughly 27% of those calories come from protein, 50% from fat, and 27% from carbohydrates — a profile typical of Applebee's's Salad section. Sodium is often the line to watch with sit-down chain entrees, and this dish delivers 990mg, or about 43% of the FDA's daily reference value. If you're watching salt, pairing the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad with a side salad (dressing on the side) and water rather than a sweetened beverage is the standard mitigation. Like most items at Applebee's, the dish is built for shareable portions and is plated at restaurant scale rather than a strict single serving. Boxing half of it before you start is one of the simplest ways to bring the per-meal calorie load down meaningfully without giving up the experience.

How this fits a 2,000-calorie day

One serving of the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad supplies 590 calories, which represents roughly 30% of a 2,000-calorie reference day. That is a moderate restaurant-portion meal — generous compared to a home-cooked plate but not at the upper end of the chain's menu. A side salad or a smaller appetizer can round it out without pushing the day over budget.

The macronutrient split lands at roughly 26% protein, 26% carbohydrate and 48% fat by calorie share — a useful frame because raw gram counts often understate how much of a dish's energy actually comes from fat. Protein delivery is meaningful here at 40g per serving, which can keep satiety high relative to carb-heavy or fat-heavy alternatives.

Sodium clocks in at 990mg, or about 43% of the FDA's 2,300mg daily reference value. That is on the higher end for a single restaurant serving. It still fits a normal day if other meals are light, but two restaurant meals in a row at this sodium level will add up quickly.

Allergen profile

Milk

The Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad is flagged for Milk in the chain's posted allergen panel. The dairy component is most often in the sauce, the cheese topping or the butter used to finish the plate; an unsauced or sauce-on-the-side preparation can sometimes reduce — but rarely eliminate — the exposure. Cross-contact in a shared kitchen is always possible, so when in doubt, ask the floor manager.

How it stacks up against the casual-dining category

Across the 33 Salad entries we track in this category — averaging 609 calories and 1,222mg sodium per serving — the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad at Applebee's sits roughly 3% lighter than the category average. It also delivers 232mg less sodium than the typical Salad item we list, which is the more useful number if you're cross-shopping menus on the way to a reservation.

For direct cross-shopping, here are the closest Salad matches we track at competing chains:

Ordering strategy

If the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad is the entrée you want, the highest-leverage adjustments are usually the ones that change the surrounding meal rather than the dish itself. Because the entrée itself is moderate, you have headroom for an appetizer or a starter side without dropping into restrictive territory — useful for a longer dinner where the goal is to stretch the meal rather than minimize it. Sauces, dressings and finishing oils are routinely the largest hidden source of calories on a casual-dining plate; getting them on the side gives you direct portion control without changing the dish you actually want to eat.

Ingredients summary

Grilled chicken, mixed greens, strawberries, gorgonzola, balsamic

The bottom line

The Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad from Applebee's is a moderate entry on the chain's menu at 590 calories and 990mg of sodium per serving. Protein delivery is strong, which is the dish's most useful nutritional feature. Anyone tracking sodium specifically — including most people on blood-pressure medication — should weigh this dish against the chain's lower-sodium options on the same menu before committing.