We are loving chicken salads lately – all the fresh flavors and textures without turning on the oven! Some of our go-to recipes include Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Mango Chicken Salad, Lemon Basil Chicken Salad and Greek Chicken Salad along with this Mediterranean Chicken Salad – you will have them on repeat!
HOW TO MAKE Chicken Salad Recipe VIDEo
chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients
This Mediterranean Chicken Salad is loaded with flavors and textures galore. If you find green salads boring, this recipe will change your mind! The below ingredients are what we love in our chicken salad recipe, but feel free to omit or swap in ingredients that you love. (Full recipe with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
How to Make Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Juicy chicken is marinated in an Italian-inspired marinade before being grilled (or pan-fried) to perfection. It’s then tossed with an abundance of vegetables, briny olives, and Genoa salami before being topped with homemade croutons and sliced almonds. This chicken salad recipe requires some advance planning so the chicken can bathe the marinade before it can be cooked; otherwise, it’s a straightforward recipe that tastes fabulous every time!
Step 1: Make the Marinade / Dressing
Whisk all of the marinade/dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl or freezer bag. Use whatever container you plan on marinating the chicken in. Remove some of the marinade to a jar to use as the dressing later on.
Step 2: Marinate the Chicken
To the remaining marinade, add the chicken and turn to coat.Marinate at room temperature while you prep the salad ingredients (up to 30 minutes) OR refrigerate for up to 12 hours.
Step 3: Make the Croutons
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or a nonstick silicone baking mat. Add the cubed bread, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with spices, then toss to coat. Spread the cubed bread into an even layer and bake until golden.
Step 4: Cook the Chicken
If you marinated the chicken in the fridge, be sure to take it out about 30 minutes before you plan on cooking it. This ensures that the meat cooks evenly once it’s on the grill or in a pan. You have two options for cooking the chicken: on the grill or in a hot skillet (or grill pan) on the stovetop. Whichever method you choose, I recommend cooking the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Then, remove it to a plate or cutting board and let it rest for about 5 minutes. The heat will carry over and finish cooking the chicken to 165 degrees F.
Step 5: Assemble the Salad
Add all of the salad ingredients to a large serving bowl. Chop or thinly slice the chicken and add to the salad.If not expecting leftovers, drizzle salad with the dressing. If expecting leftovers, add dressing and croutons to individual servings.
Alternative proteins: the chicken marinade would also be delicious on shrimp, salmon, pork or steak, so feel free to mix it up!Alternative vegetables: add any vegetables your heart desires! Asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, snap peas, etc. would all be tasty. Alternative cheese: swap the mozzarella for chunks of provolone, feta, goat cheese or gorgonzola. Swap salami for pepperoni: American pepperoni would give the salad a different flavor while still imparting that spiced salami flavor. Different nuts: I used sliced almonds to make this Mediterranean salad recipe, but pine nuts, walnuts, pistachios, and so on would also be delicious.Alternative onions: use bright, tangy, punchy pickled red onions recipe instead of raw. They’re ready in 30 minutes! fF red onions aren’t your thing, you can swap them for chopped green onions.Add capers: a common addition in Dodecanese islands. Capers are actually flower buds that have been brined to mellow their bitterness. The resulting brined capers are tangy, salty, lemony doses of flavOR. Add radishes: thinly slice radishes for a spicy, crispy, zesty kick.Add artichokes hearts: tender, slightly sweet and nutty additions.Add roasted red bell peppers: for a complex roasted sweetness. You can roast bell peppers yourself or pick up a jar at the grocery store located near the jarred sandwich fixings such as pepperoncini. Make sure to drain the jar of bell peppers very well before using.Add sunflower seeds: can be added in addition to the almonds or instead of. Make sure to purchase roasted and salted sunflower seeds for the best flavor.Add some heat: spice up your chicken salad with jalapenos! Remove the seeds and the white veins of your jalapenos because these pack the fieriest heat. You can add the seeds back to the salad after you taste it and still want more heat.Add hard boiled eggs: for a Cobb-salad flair. You may need to google “How to Make Hard Boiled Eggs” as I have found some methods that work for some, don’t work for others. For me, I fill my small pot rim to rim with eggs so there is no wiggle room for the eggs to rattle around and break. I then fill the water so it is almost covering the eggs. I bring the water to a boil then reduce the temperature to low for 10 minutes. Next, I remove the eggs from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. At this point, I sacrifice an egg to see if it’s done, if not, then I cover the eggs for another 5 minutes or so. Once done, immediately rinse eggs in cold water to keep from cooking.
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