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Fresh, delicious and perfect for a warm weather meal, this grilled Mediterranean chicken salad is perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Seasoned chicken breast is quickly grilled and added to a healthy salad, before being drizzled with a zingy and tangy dressing.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Chicken: Use boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. You can make this recipe with chicken thighs as well, but they will take a little longer to cook through.
- Salad dressing & marinade: Olive oil, garlic, red wine vinegar, dried oregano and dill, salt, pepper, shallot, dijon mustard and lemon juice and zest.
- For the salad: Romaine lettuce, feta, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives and fresh dill.
How to make Mediterranean Chicken Salad
- Add the ingredients for the chicken marinade to a bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Coat the chicken breasts in the marinade and let sit.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the salad dressing.
- Add the chicken breasts to a hot grill pan.
- Cook on both sides until browned and serve on top of the salad with dressing.
Tips for making the recipe
- Don’t skip the marinating time. Even if you just marinate the chicken for 15 minutes, it will really help to tenderize the chicken to make it more juicy. There’s also an added benefit of reduced cooking time!
- The chicken should be at room temperature when you add it to the grill pan. If you are only doing a short marinade (up to 1 hour) they can be left at room temperature. If you add cold chicken to a hot grill pan, it can result in a tough texture.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after you cook it. Remove it from the pan and tent it loosely with foil. This will allow the juices to redistribute so when you slice it, it’s nice and juicy and not dry at all.
- Add in other salad ingredients. This simple Mediterranean salad is full of flavor, but you can easily add in some other salad ingredients like red bell peppers or grated carrots if you like. The feta cheese can be substituted with goat cheese or left out.
Frequently asked questions
It’s best to serve this salad with the grilled chicken still warm, but you can enjoy it cold too. The cooked chicken will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days, so it’s perfect for meal prep throughout the week. It’s best not to dress the salad too far ahead of time or the lettuce can start to wilt.
This Mediterranean chicken salad is a filling, hearty and healthy meal by itself, or you can serve it up with some pita chips if you are super hungry. It’s also delicious when served in a wrap for an easy handheld lunch.
You can easily make this salad with other proteins like steak, shrimp or salmon. The recipe pretty much remains the same, but the cooking times will vary slightly depending on what you use. Tofu would work great too for a vegetarian option as will chickpea bites.
This simple Mediterranean chicken salad is a perfect main meal on a hot day. Zingy and fresh and so quick and easy to make, this is perfect when you are short on time but want something extra tasty!
More mediterranean salads :
- Mediterranean Potato Salad
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Vegan Bulgur Chickpea Salad
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Mediterranean Chicken Salad recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the chicken and dressing:
- ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons red wine vinegar divided
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons oregano divided
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- ½ small shallot minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
To assemble:
- 3-4 cups Romaine lettuce chopped
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 3-4 Persian cucumbers diced
- 2 ripe plum tomatoes seeded and diced
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Make the chicken marinade. In a medium bowl, mix ¼ cup olive oil, garlic, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, dill, salt and black pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let sit for 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, make the salad dressing. Mix shallot, Dijon, remaining 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, remaining 1 teaspoon dried oregano, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stream in remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil while whisking until emulsified.
- Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off. Cook chicken until lightly charred and the thickest part reaches 165°F internal temperature, 5-6 minutes per side. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Place chicken over greens with feta, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives and dill. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
I’ve made this salad & dressing several times. Each time it comes out incredible. So filling and SO GOOD!
Yay, I love that you keep coming back to this recipe!! Makes me so happy to hear—thank you!
Easy and delicious! I keep coming back to make it again and again.
Thank you so much!
Definitely will be trying this. Is the nutritional value based on the whole recipe or pet serving?
Per serving. You’ll have to let me know what you think when you make it!
I was hesitant to make this recipe without dill because everyone was raving about its flavor in the reviews. However I decided to give it a try anyway. And holy moly was it ever good!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for sharing this recipe, i’ll be making it regularly as a summer meal!
So glad you liked it, Viv!
Your chicken salad sounds delicious, looking forward to preparing
Thank you! Let me know what you think once you’ve given it a try!
I tried it and was sooooooo goood!!! The dill seasoning makes all the difference!.. It’s a must try👌
Thank you so much! It really does!!
Love this Mediterranean Chicken Salad – it’s so flavorful and easy to make!
Thank you so much! I love that!!