Balsamic Strawberry Chicken Salad
This refreshing strawberry chicken salad is topped with sliced red onions, diced avocado, and roughly chopped walnuts. The chicken is cooked in a simple balsamic vinaigrette, which also serves as the dressing for the salad. It’s a quick, healthy, and delicious option for the summer, plus it's gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo-friendly
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Servings: 4
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Ingredients
Balsamic Vinaigrette:- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 cups mixed salad greens (spinach, arugula, and red cos lettuce)
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:- In a small bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise, creating four thinner fillets. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette to the skillet.
- Once the vinaigrette is hot, add the chicken fillets and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until browned. Flip the chicken and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until the other side is browned and the chicken is cooked through. The vinaigrette will glaze the chicken. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet, let it cool slightly, then cut into cubes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the salad greens, sliced strawberries, red onion, avocado, and walnuts.
- Add the cooked chicken to the salad and toss gently to combine.
- Drizzle the remaining balsamic vinaigrette over the salad and toss again to coat everything evenly.
- Season with more black pepper if desired. Serve and enjoy!
- You can use leftover grilled or roasted chicken for this salad instead of cooking it from scratch.
- Feel free to swap walnuts for other nuts or seeds like almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds.
- If you eat dairy, feta or goat cheese would be great additions to this salad. Blue cheese or grated cheddar are also options!
- To keep the salad fresh for longer, store the vinaigrette and avocado separately and add them just before serving.