Strawberry Chicken Salad topped with sliced red onions, diced avocado, and roughly chopped walnuts. The chicken is cooked in the same simple balsamic vinaigrette that is used to dress the salad making for an easy, healthy, and delicious summer recipe! Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Paleo

Is it weird that I thought of this strawberry chicken salad recipe while working on recipe for my vegan cookbook? Whoops!

I think I just wanted an excuse to make this vinaigrette again and chicken seemed like just the thing.

So far the hardest part about writing a cookbook is that fact that I can’t post ay of the recipes! I’ve currently got 69 out of 75 recipes and I’m dying to share them all here. Boo.

Until then – how about some salad?

How to Make this: Strawberry Chicken Salad

The Vinaigrette + Chicken Prep

First things first: make the balsamic vinaigrette.

Simply add all of the ingredients needed for the vinaigrette together in a small cup or bowl and whisk together until well mixed. If you’re mixing it all together in a small jar I recommend just screwing on the lid and shaking to combine.

Once mixed, set the dressing aside for a moment while you move on to prep your chicken breasts. Using a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the chicken in half lengthwise so that you end up with four thin chicken pieces instead of two fat ones. Season each side of chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Moving back to the vinaigrette – give it a quite whisk and add two tablespoons to a large skillet or pan and warm over a medium-high heat. When the pan and dressing is hot, add the chicken and cook on each side for about 4-5 minutes until cooked through. The vinaigrette will form a glaze on the chicken that should brown nicely. Make sure to stir around the chicken every so often to keep from burning.

Once the chicken has cooked, remove it from the heat. Chop the chicken into bite sized chunks and then set aside while you prep the remaining salad.

Salad Assembly

At this point all that’s left is to put it all together. Add your salad greens to a large bowl and top with the slices strawberries, onions, avocado, chicken and walnuts.

Toss everything together to evenly mix and then pour the remaining vinaigrette all over the top of everything. Toss once more to fully coat everything in dressing. I recommend finishing off the salad with another sprinkling of freshly grated black pepper and maybe a pinch of salt and that’s it!

Additional Salad Tips + F.A.Q.’s

How long will this salad keep?

• This salad is best enjoyed within the first 1-2 days. Any time beyond that and the leafy greens will be soggy and the avocado too sad to enjoy.

How can I meal prep with this salad?

• If you’d like to enjoy this salad for longer periods of time I recommend prepping all of the different components separately and then combining just before you’re ready to enjoy. The chicken and vinaigrette can made and prepped in advance and kept for a few days.
• Wait to add the avocado and dressing until just before serving for optimal freshness.

Use leftover grilled chicken

• Instead of prepping the chicken specifically from this recipe you can always use leftover grilled or even roast chicken.

Mix up the nuts and seeds

• Instead of walnuts you can use other types of nuts and seeds: chopped almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, pepitas, etc. Whatever you have on hand or prefer would do!

Use a Balsamic Glaze

• Make your own homemade balsamic glaze in about 15 minutes and use in place of regular balsamic vinegar.

Add cheese

• If dairy is an option for you, feta and goats cheese go well with this salad. Blue cheese, and grated cheddar are also great options!

All in all this salad makes for a delicious and easy summer time or spring recipe that comes together all in under 30 minutes.

Enjoy this as a side to a large meal or double up your serving for a light and healthy lunch or dinner.

Yield: 4

Balsamic Strawberry Chicken Salad

4.5 Stars (31 Reviews)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

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Strawberry Chicken Salad topped with sliced red onions, diced avocado, and roughly chopped walnuts. The chicken is cooked in the same simple balsamic vinaigrette that is used to dress the salad making for an easy, healthy, and delicious summer dish! Gluten Free + Dairy Free + Paleo

Ingredients

Balsamic Vinaigrette

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• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (80 ml)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (30 ml)
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup (5 ml)
• 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad

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• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 cups mixed salad (I used a blend of spinach, arugula and red cos lettuce)
• 2 cups sliced strawberries (10 oz)
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts (29 g)

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1. Make the vinaigrette by adding the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, salt and pepper to a cup or jar and whisk well. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Chicken Prep

1. Cut the chicken in half lengthwise so that you end up with 4 smaller, thin fillets. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinaigrette to the pan. When the vinaigrette is hot add the chicken pieces and cook about 5-6 minutes until browned. Flip the chicken oven and cook the other side about 3-4 minutes until the chicken is browned and cooked through. The vinaigrette will form a glaze on the chicken that should brown nicely. Make sure to stir around the chicken every so often to keep from burning.
3. Remove the chicken from the heat and cut into cubes. Set aside as you prep your salad.

Salad Assembly

1. Add the salad mix to a large salad bowl along with the strawberries, onion, avocado and walnuts. Add the chicken. Toss the salad together to mix.
2. Pour the remaining vinaigrette over the salad and toss once more to fully coat everything in the vinaigrette.
3. Season the salad with more black pepper and enjoy.

Notes

Use leftover grilled chicken

• Instead of prepping the chicken specifically from this recipe you can always use leftover grilled or even roast chicken.

Mix up the nuts and seeds

• Instead of walnuts you can use other types of nuts and seeds: chopped almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds, pepitas, etc. Whatever you have on hand or prefer would do!

Add cheese

• If dairy is an option for you, feta and goats cheese go well with this salad. Blue cheese, and grated cheddar are also great options!

This salad will keep 1-2 days. To extend the freshness, you can wait to add the vinaigrette and avocado to the salad until just before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 377Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 336mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 5gSugar: 8gProtein: 21g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Cuisine: American

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