Salad with Grilled Chicken is a fresh and healthy meal that can be customized in so many different ways! You’ll find two right here in this post but the options are seriously endless!

It’s like the best of both worlds when you’re digging into one of these Salads with Grilled Chicken! You’ve got the greens with plenty of toppings and you’ve got the perfectly grilled chicken that couldn’t be a better pairing. These salads are easy to make, quick to come together and make a light and refreshing lunch or dinner any time of year. They’re completely customizable, don’t need a fancy dressing and are hearty enough to be a satisfying meal all on their own. Who knew eating greens could be this fun?!

Call it what you want, I’m a salad gal through and through. As weird as it may sound, I used to literally answer “salad” to the ‘what’s your favourite food?!’ question all childhood long. No lie. At that time, it probably had a lot to do with dousing my greens in copious amounts of creamy dressings. Buuuut regardless, I was allllways down for a good salad. And don’t tell me that any salad with grilled chicken ain’t a good salad.

I’ve always hated the phrase ‘who said salads have to be boring?’ Because no one, no one said salads have to be boring. Lol. Salads are like the furthest thing from boring if you ask me. You see, there is SO much you can do with salad. As I got older, I even started making my own creamy dressings (Homemade Ranch, anyone?!).

The point of this post is a few things. First, HELL YES TO FUN, VIBRANT, SIMPLE YET DELICIOUS SALADS. Second, I want to show you that NO, you do not need any fancy ingredients and/or dressings to make greens taste good. That’s why I wanna show you TWO ways to spice up a salad with grilled chicken instead of just one. And lastly, you’re here for the recipes, AM I RIGHT?! And, you just so happen to basically get a 3-in-1 in this post. So, let’s get to it, shall we?

WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE GRILLED CHICKEN SALADS

My aim was to make both of these Salads with Grilled Chicken simple yet flavourful and delicious. Afterall, the grilled chicken itself offers a ton of flavour and depth to the salad so you don’t need a whole array of ingredients to make these salads satisfying and filling. Obviously, both of these salads require a bed of greens to get started. And for that, the options are endless! You can use kale, spinach, arugula, green or red leaf lettuce, romaine or a mixture of any or all of the above.

SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN #1

• Apple: For crunch, flavour and a bit of sweetness. Pairs perfectly well with all the other ingredients. You can use whatever kind of apple you like or already have on hand! PRO TIP: To minimize browning, slice the apples then soak them in a cup of water with a squeeze of lemon juice for 3-5 minutes before adding them to the salad with the rest of the ingredients.
• Red Onion: For crunch, flavour and a bit of zing. Thinly slice them so they don’t overpower the rest of the ingredients. PRO TIP: If you generally find the flavour of onions too strong, you can mellow it out a bit by soaking the sliced onions in water for 20-30 minutes prior to adding them to the salad. I personally skip this step because I enjoy the strong taste the onion has to offer which compliments the rest of the salad…plus, I have no picky kids to feed! Lol But as always, you do you, boo.
• Goat Cheese: This simple ingredient ties the salad together IMHO. It gives the salad a creamy texture and balances out the zing from the onions and the sweetness from the apple.
• Toasted Almonds: Ok, so you miiiiiight classify this one as a fancy ingredient because of the word ‘toasted’. And I don’t blame you. It sounds fancy. But really, it’s the easiest process and will take those almonds (and this salad!) to a whole other level. I’m team toasted when it comes to any nut in most cases however, raw almonds will work just as well here! Learn how to simply Toast your Almonds in the section down below!

SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN #2

• Dried Cranberries: Adds a bit of tart and sweetness to the salad. Also adds a chewy but pleasurable texture when eaten with the rest of the ingredients.
• Mandarin Oranges: For a literal burst of flavour! They’re fresh, juicy and add a delicious element to the salad. These come in a can and are found in the canned fruit and veggie isle of the grocery store. Be sure to drain them from the liquid or syrup before adding them to the salad.
• Carrots: For extra crunch and a pop of colour. I personally love shredding my carrots when it comes to salads but feel free to slice or matchstick them instead.
• Green Onion: Adds a mild onion flavour and a bit of zing to the salad.
• Feta Cheese: Adds a rich, tangy and salty flavour to the salad.

The best part about both of these Salads with Grilled Chicken is that they can be totally changed up and customized to your own personal liking! Don’t like apple? Use pear instead or omit it completely. Hate Feta Cheese? Use parmesan, blue or bocconcini instead. Swap out the almonds for another nut (walnuts are always a good option!) or seed (I love pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds). Even swap out some of the ingredients from salad #1 to salad #2 and vice versa. The options are endless!

THE DRESSING

So, now that we’ve got those simple ingredients out of the way that make up our two Salads with Grilled Chicken, you may be wondering what dressing we’re going to use to pull these things together. And, well, just when you thought it couldn’t get any simpler…

…would you believe me if I told you all these salads realllllly need in terms of dressing is a little bit of oil and vinegar?! Cause that’s it. That’s all. They’re that simple. It’s that simple. I used a good quality extra virgin olive oil with a splash of balsamic vinegar. While I recommend also using olive oil, you can use white or red vinegar instead of the balsamic, if you prefer.

Of course, if you had another dressing in mind or on hand, you can use that, too! (I REPEAT: Homemade Ranch, ANYONE?!)

HOW TO TOAST ALMONDS FOR SALAD #1 (OR ANY SALAD, REALLY)

Trust me. It’s a game changer. Toasted almonds > Non-Toasted almonds. Heck, I might even say that about any nut. Anyway. It’s up to you whether or not you want to toast these almonds but as you can probably tell by the SOUND OF MY VOICE, you totally should if you have the extra 2.5 minutes that it takes! 🙂

Ok, maybe it’ll take like 5 minutes in total. But, all you gotta do is throw those bad boys in a pan (no oil or anything necessary) and keep shaking ’em up over medium low heat. They’ll begin to brown and ‘toast’ which really brings out their flavour and elevates the taste of mannnny dishes. These salads OBVIOUSLY included.

GRILLED CHICKEN FOR SALAD

Ok, so the Grilled Chicken. Could be a meal all on it’s own. It’s cooked to tender and juicy perfection, it really is the perfect pairing for both of these salads. A sure fire way to add in that extra protein and makes these already delicious salads even more filling. We’ll show those “who said salads have to be boring” people that we’d never say such a thing!

Since the grilled chicken could actually be a whole meal all on it’s own, it does have it’s own post. But don’t worry, it’s easy to follow and it produces perfectly cooked chicken every single time. And yes, it’ll really up your salad game! Click here to find out how to grill perfectly cooked chicken breasts for adding to these salads (and a whole lot of other meals!) Don’t have a grill? Try these Air Fryer Chicken Breasts instead. Don’t like chicken or don’t have any on hand? Try adding shrimp, steak, pork, tofu or tempeh instead!

HOW TO MAKE THESE SALADS WITH GRILLED CHICKEN (KEY TIPS)

• Chop all the salad ingredients into similar, bite size pieces. The last thing you want is for any one ingredient to overpower the rest of the salad. Moreover, you want to be able to get most of the ingredients into a single bite for the best experience so keeping things small and uniform will ensure this happens as often as possible.
• For the love of God, PLEASE dry your lettuce. Ugh. There is NOTHING worse than wet lettuce with ingredients and dressing that don’t stick to it. Invest in a salad spinner if you have to. Just please, whatever you do, don’t serve up wet lettuce!!! It will actually ruin the entire salad!
• Don’t pre-mix the salad with the dressing in advance. Do this right before serving or eating as the greens will wilt and become soggy the longer they sit in the dressing. EXTRA TIP: If you anticipate leftovers, simply set aside some salad and dressing and store them in separate containers. Add the dressing to the salad right before eating.
• Let the chicken cool slightly before adding it to the top of the salad. If it’s too hot, the steam and heat from the chicken will wilt the salad and compromise the freshness of the other ingredients. EXTRA TIP: Leftover chicken is great on these salads!
• MIX THE SALAD BEFORE EATING IT. This may seem trivial but don’t be like my boyfriend and not mix the damn thing before devouring. You want the flavours to mix and mingle so that EVERY bite is a ride into flavourtown. You’re not going to get that by picking off the chicken or eating a spoonful of one ingredient. Ok, maybe from the chicken you will because it’s flavourful AF as it is but you know what I’m sayin’.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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