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Keeping it healthy today with my loaded Greek Chicken Chopped Salad with Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette. Pan-seared Greek chicken tossed together with greens, chickpeas, tomatoes, avocado, feta cheese, cucumbers, and the most deliciously addicting creamy, lemony tahini vinaigrette. It doesn’t get more delicious than this loaded greek salad. It’s simple to toss together, extra colorful, super flavorful, yummy, and even healthy too. The perfect dinner to serve any night of the week from now through summertime.
Monday salad…but the good kind…the loaded kind. I mean, there’s a lot happening with this salad. It’s definitely not your average boring Monday salad. You guys know I don’t do those. I’ve been holding onto this salad for a couple weeks, but it finely feels like the right time to share. For a while, I was really in full-on comfort food mode, as “quarantined life” is very different, and left most of us craving the comfort foods we’d typically enjoy during the fall and winter months.
Thing is…quarantined life is lasting waaay longer than any of us ever expected. Now that the weather is really starting to turn warm and Memorial Day is (shockingly) just one week from today, I’m moving on into summer food mode. And I am so excited about it.
Enter this salad. It’s summertime food, perfect for Monday, perfect for Memorial Day. It’s all-around pretty darn delicious. Plus, there’s feta cheese, homemade croutons, and the best marinated Greek chicken. All the very delicious spring/summer ingredients.
Jumping into details…the chicken.
I marinated this chicken in quite possibly one of my favorite marinades. It’s a combination of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, smoked paprika (which is not really Greek…but it’s good), fresh oregano, shallots (the secret!), garlic, and lots of lemon (always so much lemon). Now, when I say marinate, I really just mean toss the chicken in this mix and let it sit while you get everything else for the bowls together. I’m not sure about you guys, but I can never plan ahead enough to cook a recipe requiring a long marinating time.
It almost never happens…
So, I do a quick marinate. It works.
While the chicken is marinating, toss the salad.
For the salad, you can really use a mix of whatever salad-like ingredients you love most. But you should start with a base of chopped romaine. You could add some Tuscan kale or arugula if you’d like. But I think you need at least a little romaine for a nice refreshing crunch.
And for my toss-ins, I, of course, used my favorite Greek or Greek(lish) ingredients… chickpeas, kalamata olives, cucumbers, lots of fresh cherry tomatoes, and plenty of fresh basil and dill.
Oh, and then avocado too.
And feta cheese. So Much Feta Cheese.
Onto the vinaigrette, I went with something a little different. I made a creamy lemon tahini vinaigrette using tahini, honey, mustard, and vinegar. This makes for an extra creamy, and tangy vinaigrette. It’s become one of my go-to vinaigrettes for weeknight salads.
Once the salad is tossed and the vinaigrette is put together, make the chicken. You can pan-sear it or grill it, but I just did a quick pan sear. Either option is great!
Now, toss everything together in a big salad bowl, and dinner (or lunch) is done. Love a big dinner style salad, especially this time of year.
Now, do a little meal prepping…
The added bonus about this recipe is that it’s so great for weekday meal prep. I recommend making this on a Sunday or Monday night and doubling the recipe. Then simply use the leftovers to make lunch or dinner bowls to enjoy throughout the week!
Cook everything at once…get multiple meals…love that!
Here is what I will note, this recipe has ingredients…many of them. Don’t let this scare you away. I know we all love a less than ten ingredient recipe, but salads are different. Start with this flavorful marinated Greek chicken and pile on. Everything comes together relatively quickly and nothing is the least bit difficult.
And most importantly? This is truly one of those salads you will be excited to eat. It’s full of color, flavor, texture, the best chicken, croutons, and plenty of feta cheese.
So excited to be sharing this recipe with you guys. It’s one of those dishes I hope you’ll enjoy making all spring and summer long.
Looking for other spring/summer salads? Here are my favorites from year’s past.
Grilled Balsamic Chicken Cobb Salad
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Chickpea Salad
Greek Watermelon Feta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
watch the how to video:
Lastly, if you make this Greek chicken chopped Salad with lemon tahini vinaigrette, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Greek Chicken Chopped Salad with Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette.
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 960 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
Greek Lemon Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano)
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- red pepper flakes, kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 cup finely torn ciabatta bread
Salad
- 6 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- feta cheese, fresh herbs, mixed olives, and diced avocado, for serving
Tahini Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 juice of 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, paprika, oregano, shallots, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, crushed red pepper flakes, and a large pinch of salt. Marinate for 15 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.2. Meanwhile, make the croutons. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the bread and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden and toasted all over, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt. Slide bread crumbs onto a plate. Wipe the skillet clean. 3. Make the salad. Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl, gently tossing to combine. 4. To make the vinaigrette. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or measuring cup and shake (or whisk) until completely smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Thin the vinaigrette as needed with 2-3 tablespoons water. 5. Heat the same skillet use for the croutons over medium high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. 6. To the salad, add the chicken, croutons, and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Gently toss to combine. Once the salad has been tossed, serve immediately,
Notes
To Grill the Chicken: Set your grill, grill pan or skillet to medium-high heat. Take skewers and thread the chicken pieces on. Grill the skewers until lightly charred and cooked through, turning them occasionally throughout cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes total.
This post was originally published on May 18, 2020
Wonderful, Prep time was a bit longer, as I like
To clean as I go! However, my suggestion would be to prep
Everything ahead of time, & your good to go!
Excellent recipe!
Love that! Thank you so much Doreen! xTieghan
The chicken is amazing, the salad is amazing, but the dressing isn’t for me. I would probably substitute for a regular balsamic vinaigrette
Thank you so much Lauren! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Another great meal! My kids loved it!
Thank you Jenna! xTieghan
So perfect on a hot summer day! The grilled chicken is wonderful and the tahini in the dressing is an unexpectedly delish twist.
Yes!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Sandra! xTieghan
Hello! Do you think I could sub the chicken for chickpeas (marinate them and then fry in pan)?
Hey Tori,
Yes I think that would be a great idea! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Loved it! Could the chicken be roasted in the oven instead of pan-fried? If so, what temperature do you recommend and for how long?
Hey Lama,
Yes that would work, I would do 350 for 20-25 minutes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I only made the lemon tahini dressing, but yowee, it was delicious on some cold leftovers (supermarket rotisserie chicken with cooked zucchini and eggplant).
Thank you so much Julie!! I am really glad this turned out well for you! xTieghan
Made this for dinner tonight. It was awesome! If a salad is going to be a meal it needs lots of toppings and this was perfect!
Thank you so much Molly! xTieghan
The perfect dinner salad on a warm day! My husband was a huge fan too. The flavors come together perfectly and the chicken marinade is a new favorite! I can’t believe how much flavor it got in such a short amount of time. Ma
Thank you so much Jenna! xTieghan
Made this last week, it was SO good. The chicken marinade is great and the chicken came out well flavored and tender (I pan sauteed it). Will be making it again this week!
Thank you so much Jess! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
The Tahini dressing is so delicious! Thank you for making our salads interesting and yummy!!!…btw this is another recipe that is in our weeknight dinner rotation.
Love that!! Thank you so much for trying this one, Kristina! xTieghan
The flavors are delicious! I will definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much Sue!! That is really amazing to hear! xTieghan
This was SUCH A good salad, totally packed with flavor! It’s worth chopping the lettuce in small strips so you can get a balance of flavors in each bite 🙂 I did put kalamata olives in but found that they overpowered the other flavors too much so I don’t recommend that. I DO recommend adding avocado. Overall, easy to make and easy to inhale 🙂
I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Jen! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
This was so good! Even my 5 year old and super picky 7 year old loved it! Wondering how long the extra dressing will stay good for in the fridge? Too delicious to throw it away!
Hey Courtney,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I would say the dressing is good for 2 weeks in the fridge. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I admit! I am a salad snob who makes salads A LOT! This salad has got to be one of THEE BEST greek salads ever! All the flavors melded together perfectly.
Thank you so much! I am really glad this turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan