Greek Salad with Chicken and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Our Greek Salad with Chicken is a healthy and delicious addition to any diet, even if you’re not on a diet! The bright and crisp cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers with the creamy feta cheese and burst of flavor of the Kalamata olives make this salad fun for your mouth. Add to that the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar and balanced blend of herbs! This leaves the realm of salad and becomes a meal with the perfectly seasoned chicken breast! Simple and easy, this makes for the perfect meal, any day, any time!

I absolutely love Mediterranean food! There is so much variety and flavor to choose from. Growing up in New Jersey, there were loads of Greek restaurants around. There was one in every mall food court selling Gyros. Where I now live in Florida, Tarpon Springs is nearby and it has a large Greek community with amazing restaurants! I love to go there with my family to hang out for the day, but the highlight is always the food!

Mediterranean Diet and Greek Salad

Many people these days are becoming more and more aware of healthy eating and are making lifestyle changes to their eating habits. You hear it all the time – Keto, Paleo, Whole30 . . . But the one not-so-diet “diet” that’s been around for ages that experts say beats them all, is the Mediterranean Diet. It’s not really a diet, it’s just the way an entire region of the planet have been eating for thousands of years.

I much more tend to lean toward the Mediterranean cuisine. And this Greek Salad with Chicken and Balsamic Vinaigrette is a perfect example of how healthy and flavorful this lifestyle is!

Greek Salad . . . with Chicken 

I could have easily made this Greek Salad with Chicken and Balsamic Vinaigrette simply as “Greek Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette.” Buuut, I like the addition of the chicken because it just tastes better. It also makes this a complete meal! There’s really nothing too special about the seasoning, because the dressing has the flavor. However, the chicken does need some seasoning to taste good as well. Otherwise, it’ll just be *blah*!

I always season meat with at least salt, most of the time with pepper as well. For this meal, I add some garlic powder as well. Even though the other items, like the Kalamata olives and the vinaigrette carry a lot of the flavor, the garlic powder gives a nice undertone note with each bite.

Using Romaine Lettuce in Salad

Romaine Lettuce is tasty and full of nutrients. However, it take a whole head to make a great salad. The darker part of the leaves has a gentle flavor, but the lighter part near the bottom is more bitter. When you combine both parts, the bitterness of the lighter part seems to disappear and you get a really nice salad.

If you can’t eat the entire head of lettuce, what can you do? DON’T just chop off the top and eat that! You’ll be left with the bitter end for your next meal. Here’s some tips!

You can . . .

1. cut the head in half lengthwise and chop up one half of it,
2. or, you can chop the entire head and store the leftover portion in the fridge.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

I love making my own salad dressings, and this is one of my favorites! In my home, when we’re having a salad, you’ll see me often grab a bowl, toss a bunch of herbs in with some vinegar and oil and whisk it to a thickened dressing. It’s almost as quick as opening a bottle of store bought dressing!

As an alternative, you can make a larger batch of this dressing and store it to use a bunch of times. What I’ll do at times is I’ll take a small carafe and just pour in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings and just shake it up. This way it can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks.

For a single meal use, I like to whisk it because this thickens it and I feel it coats everything more evenly.

• Place the balsamic vinegar in a medium sized mixing bowl. Even though everything can fit in a small bowl, you need room to whisk everything together.
• Add all the herbs and seasonings to the vinegar and mix it well.
• Now, when adding the oil, there are 3 things you need to do make the dressing thicken, otherwise you’re just going to mix it and the oil will separate from the vinegar.
  1. You need to start whisking before you begin to pour the oil.
  2. You need to whisk continually.
  3. The oil needs to be poured in a thin steady stream.

Keto Diet and Vegan Variation

This fits in beautifully to a Keto Diet! You can have this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner . . . or all three!

I know I have this labeled as Greek Salad with Chicken and Balsamic Vinaigrette, but just leave off the chicken for a vegan meal.

Print

Greek Salad with Chicken

Course Salad

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword Greek salad, Mediterranean

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, sliced
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper

Salad

• 1 head Romaine Lettuce, chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper, sliced (I used parts of 3 different color bell peppers)
• 1 Italian Cucumber, partially pealed and sliced
• 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup Kalamata Olives
• 1/2 cup Red Onions, sliced
• 8 ounce Feta Cheese Block, sliced

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dried Parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper

Instructions

Chicken

1. Slice the chicken breast in 1/4 inch strips. Season with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

2. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook thoroughly, stirring occasionally for about 7-8 minutes.

3. Once cooked, set aside on a plate.

Salad

1. Cut off the first inch of the tip of the Romaine lettuce and remove the outer 2 or 3 leaves. Quarter the head of lettuce by slicing it from the root end to the tip, then turn it 1/4 turn and slice it again. Now chop the lettuce in 1/2 inch pieces. Be sure to mix the lettuce so the darker top pieces and the lighter bottom pieces are mixed.

2. Place even amounts of lettuce on 4 plates. Add some bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, red onions, and feta cheese on each plate. Top each plate with some of the cooked chicken.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper with a whisk. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a thin stream while gently whisking the entire time until all the olive oil has been added to the bowl.

2. Drizzle some of the balsamic vinaigrette over the salad and chicken.

>