Grilled Mediterranean Salad

Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad with a dressing that doubles as a marinade!

This Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad recipe is as close to perfect as you can get! Full of Mediterranean flavors: olives, tomatoes, cucumber, avocados, and chicken for a complete meal in a salad bowl!

Best Chicken Salad Recipe

With all of the salads I post on here, I thought some might be getting sick of these meal-in-a-salad recipes. BUT. It turns out, you guys are wanting MORE of these GIANT salads. Racking my brains for another awesome recipe, what’s better than a fresh, Mediterranean salad with so much flavor you won’t be able to put your forks down? Yes, I sound like an infomercial. No, I don’t care.

This salad REALLY helped me in my weight loss journey. Salads were very difficult at the beginning, but a chicken salad doesn’t need to be boring; just integrate THE punch of flavor that makes you want to keep eating it! PLUS, it’s super easy to make: only 4 steps, and you have a big bowl to save for later.

Ingredients

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• Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. But ypu can use thighs. For breasts, you may want to pound them a bit to tenderize them if you want to.
• Veggies: You’ll need fresh garlic for the chicken marinade and some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and avocados for the salad. 
• Olives: Kalamata olives are best, but if you don’t have them, just use any regular pitted olives you have. 
• Red wine vinegar: You can use white wine vinegar or even regular vinegar if you want to. 

Note: Please see the recipe card for list of full ingredients and measurements.

Optional Additions

You can ALSO top it with some crumbled feta or goat cheese, which I didn’t have at the time, BUT it’s included in the recipe as an option for you to enjoy!

Also, if you want a little crunch, throw in some nuts like toasted almonds, walnuts, or pecans. Even some diced celery and sliced green onion.

I also love scattering fresh herbs like chives or fresh dill right at the end. And if you don’t feel like grilling, shredded rotisserie chicken works just as well!

Salad Dressing

As usual, I always try to create salad recipes that you only need ONE dressing/marinade. A salad that uses one thing for two uses.

This comes from years of making salads that require completely different marinades for chicken or the meat of choice, then drowning it in a completely different tasting dressing, only confusing my brain and taste buds even more.

Why do that when you can create ONE delicious marinade and use it as a dressing? That kind makes more sense.

In a medium bowl, mix the dressing ingredients: olive oil, lemon juice, water, red vinegar, parsley, basil, garlic, oregano, salt, and black pepper. The texture and color are very similar to a chimichurri, but I promise you, it’s not the same!

How To Make Chicken Salad

In a separate bowl, prepare the chicken. Pour half of the dressing mixture over the breasts until they are fully coated, and let them rest for 20 minutes (or up to two hours in the fridge if time allows). Keep the remaining half in the fridge for later.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a grill pan over medium-high heat and start cooking the chicken with the marinade. Grill on both sides until browned and cooked through, when the juices run clear.

Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes so it stays juicy. Slice the grilled chicken and start preparing the salad with simple ingredients. Use lettuce wraps as the base, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, AVOCADOS, pleaseeee, and then add the chicken right on top.

Season with black pepper and a lemon slice. Add the rest of the salad dressing, mix, and enjoy in a large bowl!

What To Serve With Chicken Salad

• Turn it into a sandwich or wrap: Instead of a classic chicken salad, pile the grilled chicken and all the remaining ingredients inside a toasted croissant, warm pita bread, or a crusty baguette for a quick lunch.
• Keep it light and low-carb: Scoop everything straight into crisp lettuce wraps, or serve it alongside a bowl of roasted tomato soup or garlic bread to soak up the extra dressing.
• Make it a bigger spread: If I’m putting this out for a family lunch or weekend BBQ, it goes SOO GOOD next to crispy oven-baked wedges, grilled corn on the cob, or flatbreads.

Replace the dressing with Greek yogurt or even just add it to the side to add more protein and make it a creamy salad.

I don’t love adding extra sauces to my salads, but a drizzle of Dijon or sour cream can create a creamy texture and a twist on the flavor.

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