Greek Chicken Salad
This Greek chicken salad has all the Greek flavors of lemon, oregano, mint, and garlic with all the toppings you’d find in a classic Greek salad such as tomatoes, feta, cucumber, and onion with an extra addition of kalamata olives and peperoncinis. The dressing works two-fold, as the main dressing to flavor this salad and as a marinade for the chicken. This salad makes a full meal but feel free to serve it with flatbread.
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Ingredients Needed To Make This Greek Chicken Salad
For the dressing, you’ll need:
Olive oil – Extra virgin olive oil is always the best, especially, when using to make dressings, vinaigrettes, or for drizzling.
White wine vinegar – A few others you may use are: champagne, red wine, or rice vinegar.
Lemons – First, zest the lemons, then, squeeze the juice out from them.
Garlic – I use 3 cloves for this dressing, you may increase or decrease the amount of garlic cloves to your liking.
Herbs – Traditional herbs, such as, oregano, mint, and parsley, are used here. Fresh herbs always deliver the freshest flavors, but, feel free to use dried if that is what you have on hand. Use about a tablespoon of each dried herb in replacement for the fresh one.
Salt and pepper
For the salad, you’ll need:
Lettuce – Romaine will always be my go-to, hands down! Something about the way it crunches. Iceberg, red leaf, or even a spring mix of greens will work.
Tomatoes – halved cherry or grape work wonderfully. If using larger tomatoes, you may need to slice and/or dice them into smaller pieces.
Cucumber – English or Persian cucumber can be used. If using another variety, especially one with a thicker peel, remove the peel before using.
Kalamata olives – Olives happen to very popular in Greek salads and cuisine, in particular, but, feel free to leave the olives out if you’re not a fan.
Feta cheese – Pick up a block of Feta cheese, not the crumbled stuff. Crumbling the cheese yourself has the best flavor.
Peperoncini – This Greek salad topping may come off as a little strange to you. When we were in Santorini, about half of the Greek salads that were served to us had peperoncinis in them, they weren’t sliced like in this recipe but rather whole.
Red onion
Steps To Make This Greek Chicken Salad
Make the dressing. The dressing can be made by hand without the need for a food processor or blender. I typically like to make dressings in the blender because it’s the quickest, easiest, and most convenient way for me. It can also be made ahead of time, the day of is always the freshest, but it can be made 1 to 2 days before.
To make the dressing by hand, finely chop all the herbs and mince the garlic. Then, whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl or shake them up in a mason jar. The consistency of making the dressing by hand vs. a blender or food processor will be slightly less creamy and more chunky in texture, but not to worry, the flavors will all still be there.
To make the dressing in a food processor, throw in the garlic and herbs and process until they are finely chopped. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and process for 30-60 more seconds until you get a creamy dressing.
To make the dressing in a blender, throw all of the ingredients in the blender and blend for about 15-30 seconds.
Marinate the chicken. The halved chicken breasts will need a quick 30 minutes of marinading in the dressing. They can also be marinated a day ahead of time but no longer, otherwise, the acidity in the lemon juice will make the chicken tough. While the chicken is marinating, the rest of the salad can be prepared.
Cook the chicken. The chicken breasts can be grilled on an outdoor grill (my preferred method), on an indoor grilling pan, or a regular skillet. Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and let the chicken rest for a few minutes after cooking to let the juices set in before slicing it. Since the chicken is halved lengthwise, the cooking time is a bit quicker than the regular whole piece of chicken breast. Cook the chicken about 5-7 minutes per side. Use medium heat for the stove top and medium/high heat for the outdoor grill.
Assemble the salad. I love to use a large platter and lay out the lettuce first and then the rest of the ingredients. This is a great way get a good visual of all of the toppings. Then, drizzle the salad dressing right on top.
If you love this salad, I bet you’ll love these too:
Southwest Chipotle Chopped Salad
Mixed Green Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette
BBQ Steak Salad With Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
If you make this Greek Chicken Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I’d love to hear what you think about it, or better yet, see what you’re cooking! Tag me on Instagram, @fettysfoodblog with your creation.
Greek Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For The Dressing
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 sprigs oregano
- 3 sprigs mint
- 4 sprigs parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
For The Salad
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into half, lengthwise
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
- 12 oz cherry tomatoes, cut into half
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup English or Persian cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup kalamata olives, pitted
- ⅓ cup crumbled Feta cheese
- ⅓ cup peperoncini, sliced
Instructions
- Combine all of dressing ingredients in a blender and blend for about 15-30 seconds. See other methods to make dressing below in recipe notes.
- Place the chicken breasts in a bowl or resealable plastic bag with ¼ cup of the dressing. Toss to coat. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Store remaining dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Heat an outdoor grill to medium/high heat.
- Place the chicken on the grill and grill for 5-7 minutes per side, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken registers 165 degrees F. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Assemble the salad by laying out romaine on a large platter/bowl. Top with cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers, kalamata olives, Feta cheese, and peperoncinis.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.
