This composed chicken salad is not your usual chicken/mayo salad. Instead, this composed chicken salad has mixed greens, artichoke hearts, fennel, cherry tomatoes, and herbed grilled chicken breasts with a garlic vinaigrette and is topped with avocado crema.
If you like, you can add some crusty bread and you are done. This is a perfect weekday dinner or weekend lunch.
This composed chicken salad is a basic recipe that will allow for your creativity. You can substitute the chicken for grilled shrimp, salmon, or steak. To name a few suggestions, you can add Ceci beans, kidney beans, olives, cut zucchini, and quinoa.
The garlic vinaigrette is made in a matter of seconds, and you can make a lot of it and have it for future salads or just enough for this one salad. I love avocado in the salad. My husband does not. But he loves this avocado crema. Again, this is an optional topping; you don’t have to have it, but it gilds the lily. The avocado crema is avocado, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a little Greek yogurt, and seasonings.
Amazing Composed Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber sliced
- 4 medium artichoke hearts sliced into quarters
- ½ container cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup fennel sliced
- ¼ medium purple onion sliced and broken into circles
- 1 box mixed vegetables washed and dried
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 medium lemon
Herbed Chicken Breast Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons thyme minced
- 2 tablespoons chives minced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
Garlic Vinaigrette Ingredients
Avocado Crema Ingredients
- ½ medium avocado pit removed, and flesh removed from skin
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
Chicken Instructions
- Dry your chicken breast and rub with just a little olive oil on both sides. Heat a non-stick skillet. Meanwhile, coat your chicken breast with the herbs and season with salt and pepper.
- Place in skillet and cook on each side for about 3 to 4 minutes (I used thin-sliced chicken breasts).
- Turn over and brown on the second side. Remove from pan and set aside.
Garlic Vinaigrette Instructions
- Take smashed garlic, rub it inside a small bowl, and leave it there. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix with a fork to blend.
Avocado Crema Instructions
- In a blender, add all ingredients and puree. Use all at once; this will not keep for more than a day.
Assembly Instructions
- Place all of your salad ingredients on a large platter except the chicken. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add dressing and toss. Place the cooked chicken breasts on top of the salad greens and top with avocado crema.
- Place the avocado crema in a small plastic Ziploc bag and cut one corner with scissors. You can now squeeze the crema onto your salad.