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This Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad packs a punch with a dressing that doubles as a marinade!
This simple salad recipe is as close to perfect as you can get! Full of Mediterranean flavours, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, avocados, and chicken, it really is a complete meal in a salad bowl. And if you’re craving something warm and crispy instead of fresh and herby, these crispy sweet chilli garlic chicken strips are another delicious way to enjoy bold garlic flavours with a completely different texture.
Why This Recipe Works
With all of the salads I post on here, like my delicious Chicken Shawarma Salad, and Honey Mustard Chicken Salad, I thought some readers might be getting sick of these ‘whole meal salad’ recipes, and even recipes like a fresh lemon quinoa salad topped with balsamic chicken that turn a simple bowl into something completely satisfying. BUT. It turns out, you guys are wanting MORE of these GIANT salads.
So of course, I got cracking in the kitchen, trying out new salad recipes, and what’s better than a fresh, Mediterranean salad with so much flavour, you won’t be able to put your forks down?
Ingredients
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. If you’re using chicken 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.
- Lemon juice: For the marinade and for the salad dressing.
- Red wine vinegar: For a bit of tanginess.You can use white wine vinegar or even regular vinegar if you want to.
- Seasonings: To season, I just used some salt and cracked pepper.
- Herbs: I used a mix of fresh and dried herbs for that aroma and freshness. Dried basil and dried oregano, and a bit of fresh parsley.
- Olive oil: Ideally extra virgin.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
How To Make
- Prepare the marinade: In a large jug, add the ingredients for the marinade- the minced garlic, herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, seasonings and vinegar. Whisk together and pour half of the marinade in a bowl.
- Marinate chicken: Using the bowl, add the chicken and let it rest for about 15-30 minutes, or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator. (the longer the better, it’ll help soak in)
- Grill chicken: Heat oil on a grill pan and grill the chicken on medium heat for a few minutes on each side until completely cooked through and slightly charred.
- Assemble and serve: Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, slice and then add to the salad bowl with the veggies. Top with the marinade aka dressing, toss and serve!
Enjoy this hearty chicken salad on its own, or pair it with a simple veggie side dish of your choice. I love sticking to the classics- my Buttery Sauteed Green Beans and Honey Roasted Carrots or if you want a soup, try my Creamy Pumpkin Soup. Sometimes, I also like to team it up with my Crispy Garlic Baked Potato Wedges, which are seriously addictive! For a more authentic Mediterranean flavor, try my Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes.
Recipe FAQ’s
Veggies like kale, arugula, grilled zucchini and baby spinach can be excellent additions to the salad.
Check the internal temperature of the chicken using a meat thermometer if you want to be sure. Otherwise, you can just slice the chicken, and if it doesn’t have any pink in the center and the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked and ready to be used.
Watch Me Make It
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Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Marinade/Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- cracked pepper to taste
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thigh fillets or chicken breasts
Salad:
- 4 cups Romaine lettuce or Cos lettuce leaves, washed and dried
- 1 cucumber large, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 red onion sliced
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives or black olives, sliced – optional
- 2 lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
- Whisk together all of the marinade/dressing ingredients in a large jug. Pour out half of the marinade into a large, shallow dish. Refrigerate the remaining marinade to use as the dressing later.
- Add the chicken to the marinade in the bowl; marinade chicken for 15-30 minutes (or up to two hours in the refrigerator if time allows). While waiting for the chicken, prepare all of the salad ingredients and mix in a large salad bowl.
- Once chicken is ready, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a grill pan or a grill plate over medium-high heat. Grill chicken on both sides until browned and completely cooked through.
- Allow chicken to rest for 5 minutes; slice and arrange over salad. Drizzle salad with the remaining UNTOUCHED dressing. Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey Karina!
That’s drooling definitely gonna try this! Thanks for sharing.
The chicken is marinating as we speak! I’m also doing the salad portion of the recipe, but I prefer a bit thicker of a dressing so I added about a tbsp+1/2 of mayo, a 1/2 tsp of honey and 1 egg yolk. A small taste test yielded great results and I’m excited since I don’t normally nail dressings… I too made double the recipe for the marinade to give a bigger amount for the dressing in the end! Super excited to eat dinner tonight!
This is such a delicious and tasty salad! Tastes just like Greek chicken salad from the Coney Island restaurant but even better! Making the salad ahead of time is very helpful.
This is so refreshing! My husband loved it and he’s hard to please with a salad as the entree. Perfect blend of flavors. My only addition would be feta. Thank you!
Can you let this marinate overnight?
Absolutely
I absolutely loved this salad and chicken! Definitely going to add it to my summer dinner rotation. Dressing/marinade is delish! The best part is it’s so easy.
Any recommendations on how to bake the chicken? We got rained out
Excelente!!! Thank you, thank you for sharing, my whole family loved it!
By the way pretty name, like my sister ☺
Glad to hear it! Thank you!
Excellent salad! Loved the chicken marinade!!
Absolutely delicious!! Added this to our weekly meal rotation we love it so much! We’re dressing hogs so I always double the dressing/marinade and put the extra in a container to keep throughout the next few days.