In the mood for something fresh, light, and full of flavor? This is what you’re looking for. This is not your typical lettuce-y chicken salad. This grilled chicken summer salad is unlike any other and I’m sure you’ll love it too.
Why You Will Love This Salad
I’ve been making this chicken salad for at least the past 8 years. And I wish I would’ve come up with it sooner.
I don’t use artichokes much in my recipes, and I admittedly have never cooked a fresh artichoke. I have only ever used canned artichokes. But they go beautifully in this recipe and are such a simple ingredient to use since you can add them straight from the can.
Everything pairs so well. And the freshness of all the vegetables really shines through, making it a perfect cold chicken salad to eat on hot summer days.
One thing I need to mention is that this is a cold chicken salad. If cooking the chicken specifically for this recipe, you certainly don’t need to wait until the chicken cools to eat it though. Using up any leftover chicken from the day before makes this a breeze to prepare as well.
Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Summer Salad
The ingredients are fairly simple. You’ll likely have a lot of these things already in your fridge or pantry. I usually have everything on hand with the exception of the canned artichoke hearts.
What you’ll need for the salad:
- Skinless chicken breast
- Carrots
- Celery
- Green onion (scallions)
- Canned artichoke hearts in water
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- Kalamata olives
What you’ll need for the vinaigrette:
- Balsamic vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Sugar substitute (I use Stevia here)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Pretty basic and oh so fresh!
You can eat this as a main entrée or a side dish. And it’s a wonderful and healthy dish to pass at a summer barbecue or potluck.
How To Make Grilled Chicken Summer Salad
It’s as simple as cutting, mixing, and combining.
The instructions are super simple for this recipe, despite having two parts to it: 1) the salad and 2) the vinaigrette.
The hardest part is cutting up the fresh veggies and whisking the vinaigrette. Otherwise, smooth sailing and happy eating.
If you use pre-cut carrots and celery than BOOM, even better. Also, I like to cut the tomatoes and olives in half, but feel free to leave them whole if that’s what you prefer. Just remember to get olives WITHOUT pits so you don’t break a tooth.
Read the “Notes” section for more tips and variations to try as well.
Grilled Chicken Summer Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 2 cups chicken breast meat skinless, cooked and diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 1 large celery stalk diced
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1 can small artichoke hearts in water drained and chopped into ½” pieces
- ½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 2 Tbsp. kalamata olives pitted, coarsely chopped
Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- ¼ tsp. sugar substitute (try stevia or monk fruit)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
- Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and pour over salad ingredients. Toss to combine.
- Alternatively, you may shake all vinaigrette ingredients in an air-tight container to mix.
- Eat it up!
Video
Notes
- Use any type of chicken for this recipe- baked, broiled, grilled, boiled. The total time is based off of using already cooked chicken, so if using raw chicken, add on about 15-20 minutes of cooking time.
- Try adding some feta cheese for a more “Mediterranean” taste. (This brilliant idea courtesy of my husband).
- This dressing is so delicious and totally makes this dish! It goes well on green salads too.
470 calories, 27 gm fat, 4 gm sat. fat, 25 gm carbohydrate, 32 gm protein, 1.6 gm fiber, 475 mg sodium, 72 mg cholesterol
For more healthy recipes, visit the recipe section. Or for something else yummy and good enough to share at a summer get-together, try my Best Kale Salad Ever.
Share with me: Have you tried this recipe? What do you think? Anything you like to add to it?
Kiran Campbell is a registered dietitian and entrepreneur with 13 years of experience. She has a degree in psychology as well as dietetics. She is also a proud member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ and its Cardiovascular Health and Well-being Dietetics Practice Group among others. Kiran proudly presents and promotes the most up-to-date, science-based nutrition information on all things heart-related. She aims to serve not only individuals with heart disease, but also those wanting to protect against it. Learn more about Kiran by visiting her About Page.