This simple and tasty Greek Chicken Salad is packed with flavor, protein and veggies. The marinade doubles as a dressing and the salad is dairy free, Whole30 compliant and paleo. It’s filling enough for a meal and the leftovers save well for lunch the next day.
A big salad that’s filling enough – and flavorful enough – to be called a meal is one of my favorite parts of Spring and Summer.
This Greek Chicken Salad totally fulfills all my salad goals. To start, the marinade is probably the best I’ve had for chicken!
I generally shy away from chicken breasts because they can obviously be boring, dry, and lacking flavor. This marinade met my expectations when it comes to flavor!
For the rest of the salad, I went “all out” while avoiding the feta cheese.
Yes, I do sort of miss it, but will lots of kalamata olives, delicious dressing and avocados, there’s a lot going on with this salad that makes up for the lack of cheese.
What You Need to Make this Paleo Greek Chicken Salad
This salad is definitely packed with goodies! I divided the recipe into what you need for the chicken and marinade/dressing and the remaining salad ingredients.
Here’s everything you’ll need to prepare the salad:
Marinade/Dressing:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- olive oil or avocado oil
- Finely grated zest of one lemon
- freshly squeezed lemon juice
- red wine vinegar
- garlic, minced
- dried oregano (or Balanced Bites Greek Seasoning Blend)
- fine sea salt
- cracked black pepper
Salad:
- hearts of romaine
- cucumbers
- cherry tomatoes
- green bell pepper
- red onion
- pitted and sliced Kalamata olives
- avocado
- Lemon wedges, for garnish
How to Make this Greek Chicken Salad
The first step is to marinate the chicken. Luckily this chicken doesn’t need to marinate for long for maximum flavor!
In a large bowl, whisk together all the marinade/dressing ingredients to blend, then separate out half to use as the dressing. Set the dressing aside until you’re ready to serve the salad. You can put it in a mason jar with a lid so you can shake it to blend.
Place the chicken in the large bowl with the remaining marinade and turn to coat on all sides. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have the time, in the refrigerator.
Meanwhile, prepare the veggies for the salad and arrange them in a large serving bowl, leaving out the avocados until just before serving so it doesn’t brown.
Once the chicken has marinated, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a little oil, then sprinkle the skillet with a bit of sea salt. Gently shake excess marinade from the chicken, leaving a coating for flavor, and arrange in the hot skillet. Discard any remaining marinade at this time.
Cook the chicken about 5-6 minutes per side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. You might need to adjust the heat to avoid burning the outside.
Once done, remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest while you slice the avocados and arrange in the serving bowl with the rest of the salad.
Slice the chicken and arrange it around the salad, then drizzle all over with the saved dressing (shake or mix the dressing first) and toss as desired. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.
Tips for Flavorful Grilled or Pan Fried Chicken Breasts
I find that for boneless skinless chicken breasts to stay juicy, a good marinade is key. The chicken should marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours if you have the time.
More tips for flavorful, juicy chicken:
- Leave a little marinade on the chicken when grilling or pan frying – you don’t need to shake it all off.
- Make sure the grill or skillet is hot enough to get a nice crust on the outside of the chicken, but not so hot that the outside burns quickly. You might need to adjust the heat a bit to get this right.
- Chicken is ready when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F – any longer and it will dry out. Taking its temperature is more reliable than going by time, since the thickness of the breasts will vary as well as the heat source.
- Let the chicken sit for at least 5 minutes after it’s done before slicing it. Slice it with a very sharp knife so it slices quickly and without squeezing out lots of juices.
I hope you’re ready for a filling, healthy, super tasty salad that’s sure to become a go-to! It’s the perfect way to welcome Spring!
Grab your ingredients because it’s time to cook – let’s go!
Greek Chicken Salad {Paleo, Whole30}
Greek Chicken Salad {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Ingredients
Chicken + Marinade/Dressing:
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
- 1/3 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- Finely grated zest of one lemon
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice about the juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano or Balanced Bites Greek Seasoning Blend
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Salad:
- 2 hearts of romaine washed and roughly chopped
- 2 med/large cucumbers quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 medium green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives
- 1 large avocado (or 2 small ones) sliced
- Lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, whisk together all the marinade/dressing ingredients to blend, then separate out half to use as the dressing. Set the dressing aside until ready to serve the salad. You can put it in a mason jar with a lid so you can shake it to blend.
-
Place the chicken in the large bowl with the remaining marinade and turn to coat on all sides. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have the time, in the refrigerator.
-
Meanwhile, prepare the veggies for the salad and arrange them in a large serving bowl, leaving out the avocados until just before serving so it doesn’t brown.
-
Once the chicken has marinated, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a little oil, then sprinkle the skillet with a bit of sea salt. Gently shake excess marinade from the chicken, leaving a coating for flavor, and arrange in the hot skillet. Discard any remaining marinade at this time.
-
Cook the chicken about 5-6 minutes per side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. You might need to adjust the heat to avoid burning the outside. Once done, remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest while you slice the avocados and arrange in the serving bowl with the rest of the salad. Slice the chicken and arrange it around the salad, then drizzle all over with the saved dressing (shake or mix the dressing first) and toss as desired. Serve with lemon wedges if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Want More Paleo and Whole30 Salad Recipes? Try One of These!
Crispy Chicken Salad with “Honey” Mustard
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Came together quickly for a weeknight dinner! Chicken was great.
I made this for dinner last night — marinated the chicken for 30 minutes, then popped it in my electric pressure cooker (a really old version of instant pot🤣). I didn’t grill the chicken in the cast iron because it was still mostly frozen, but I am going to try that soon! The flavor was soooooo good! I sliced it and put it on a bed of greens w/ radish, cucumber, goat cheese, blueberries, blackberries, and bacon.
Delicious! I didn’t even miss the feta 🙂
the perfect lunch
I got a lot of good information in this post. Keep doing it!