Greek Chicken Salad
This Greek Chicken Salad is light and healthy salad made with all the wonderful Greek flavors and easy homemade dressing. The whole salad will take you 30 minutes to put together and it makes for a light and filling summer meal.
GREEK CHICKEN SALAD
This is one of my favorite salads of all time and it’s a go-to quick salad in my family.
I have no idea how it started and why it’s a go-to salad now but this is the salad that mom and I make as a side to just about any meal. It’s also a salad that we usually make for holiday dinners. It could be because it’s so simple to put together but holds a whole lot of flavor in it. It really does make a great quick side dish without meat or a lunch/dinner salad just by adding chicken.
Chicken is just as much of a star in this recipe as all other flavorful ingredients. You want to get as much flavor into the chicken as possible and cook it either on stove-top or on the grill.
Lemon herb vinaigrette is the perfect dressing for this summer favorite dish. It’s flavorful, refreshing, and light just like the whole salad. This Greek Chicken Salad will definitely be your favorite meal of the season.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE CHICKEN
Like I mentioned, getting more flavor into the chicken is the key to this salad bursting with more flavor. I always make another separate batch of the dressing and use it as a marinade for the chicken. Marinate it for about 20 minutes and then cook it. It will make all the difference in the taste of chicken.
You can use chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs for this salad. I love using dark meat because of how juicy and tender it is. When you have a little extra time, try my Greek Chicken and use it in this salad. Cook it on the stove or on the grill.
If you prefer breast meat, go for it, it will also be delicious.
It’s easy to sear the chicken in the pan on stove-top but if you want to add a little extra smokey flavor and char, definitely use the grill. Grilled Greek chicken will be amazing in the salad.
INGREDIENTS IN THIS SALAD
Chicken – use chicken breast or thigh meat, marinade it, and cook it either on stove-top or on the grill.
Vegetables – get some lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell peppers, and olives. For the best tasting salad, use the best produce and cut vegetables right before making the salad.
Feta cheese – get feta cheese block and crumble it for the salad. Feta off the block always tastes so much better than pre-crumbled and packaged one.
Lemon Herb Vinaigrette – this light and aromatic vinaigrette is perfect to bring all the ingredients together.
MORE REFRESHING SALADS TO MAKE
Balsamic Strawberry Chicken Salad
Strawberry Balsamic Salmon Salad
If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @willcookforsmiles and #willcookforsmiles so I can see all the things you tried!
Connect with Will Cook For Smiles!
Be sure to click below and follow me on my social media, so you never miss a recipe.
Don’t forget to sign up for email, so you won’t miss any new recipes.
Greek Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp fresh minced cilantro
- salt
- black pepper
Lemon Herb Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves grated or pressed
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh minced cilantro
- Salt
- black pepper
Salad:
- 1 head of Romaine lettuce
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1/2-1 small red onion
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 cup black olives pitted
- 1 cup Feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Combine chicken with the marinade ingredients in a zip-top bag, close it, and gently shake to mix. Let chicken marinade for 15-20 minutes.
- Preheat the pan to medium and cook chicken breast in a lightly greased pan with a little bit of the marinade but not all of it. (Discard remaining marinade and the bag.)
- Cook until fully done and golden brown on both sides. Set aside until cooled enough to be handled.
- In a small bowl, combine ingredients for dressing. Whisk well and press a few times with the fork to get cilantro and garlic flavors infused into dressing. Set side.
- Slice peppers, cucumber, and onions thinly and cut tomatoes in half.
- Tear or cut lettuce and divide among 2 or 4 large plates.
- Divide remaining salad ingredients among the plates.
- Thinly slice cooked chicken breasts and add it on top of the salads.
- Dress salads with the vinaigrette right before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on January 14, 2015. Updated June, 2020.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
This salad was absolutely perfect! I made it tonight for my family. My husband (who is super picky) loved it and even my three year old daughter ate it up. I can never get her to eat anything! The chicken was amazing with great flavor and the dressing was the perfect balance of nice and light with a little zing. I did it as a meal with some rustic whole grain garlic bread on the side. Perfect for an easy summer dinner. 🙂
I’m so happy that your family loved the salad! Thank you so much, Shannon!!
This is one totally awesome salad, Lyuba! The chicken looks perfect, too!
Thank you so much, Julie!
Love this! Greek Salad is one of my all time favorites and then add the chicken–oh my.
Thank you so much, Teresa!