Greek Inspired Chicken Salad Recipes

GREEK GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Season and marinate the chicken tenders. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and spices. Add the chicken tenders and mix to make sure chicken is well coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight, if you like)
• Prepare the dressing according to this Greek dressing recipe.
• Prepare the salad. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber slices, shallots and kalamata olives. Add 4 tablespoons of the Greek dressing and toss to combine (you can always add more dressing to your liking). Leave some of the dressing (about 3 tablespoons or so) for later. Add feta cheese to your liking.
• Cook the chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken tenders to the pan (make sure to shake off any excess marinade before adding chicken to the pan.) Cook on one side undisturbed for 5 minutes until browned. Using a pair of tongs, turn chicken over and cook on other side for another 5 minutes or until chicken is done. (See notes for outdoor grilling)
• Assemble the grilled chicken salad. Transfer the salad to serving bowls and top each bowl with the cooked chicken then drizzle a bit more of the salad dressing directly over the chicken. Serve immediately.

GREEK-INSPIRED CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Place cucumbers in a colander; set onto a plate. Toss cucumbers with 1 teaspoon salt. Let rest to draw about liquid, about 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Place red onion and 1 cup cold water in a bowl. Let soak until the strong onion flavor is weakened, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse.
• Combine cucumbers, red onions, Greek yogurt, Kalamata olives, dill, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, lemon zest, oregano, and black pepper in a bowl. Fold in chicken, feta cheese, and tomatoes. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate salad for at least 1 hour.
• Stir salad and serve on lettuce leaves.

GREEK SALAD WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the chicken: Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and oregano in a bowl, then pour all but 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken to the bag, seal and turn to coat. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
• Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Remove the chicken from the marinade, season with the salt and pepper and grill until cooked through, 8 to 9 minutes per side. Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Spoon the reserved marinade over the chicken and slice.
• For the dressing: Combine the olives, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk until combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings (I almost always add a little more sugar).
• For the salad: Combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, olives and half the feta in a bowl.
• Pour some of the dressing over the salad, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss. Add the chicken. Just before serving, top with more feta, more dressing and pita chips.

GREEK CHICKEN SALAD

Steps:

• Combine the first five ingredients. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Toss with chicken mixture. Cover and chill for several hours.

GREEK-STYLE CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Cook pasta as directed until al dente, careful not to overcook the pasta, just until chewy and firm, but cooked; drain well.
• Rinse in cold water.
• Mix together all pasta ingredients in a bowl.
• Mix all dressing ingredients; add to pasta mixture; toss well to coat.
• Let sit in refrigerator for 2 or more hours before serving, to blend the flavours.
• Sprinkle more Feta cheese on top to garnish.
• ***NOTE*** since this is a big favorite in my house, I usually just cook up the entire package of pasta, and just increase the vegetable amounts, there is really no need to double the dressing ingredients if you should use the whole package of pasta, as the salad may become oily, but by all means it may certainly be doubled if desired. The bacon is optional, I rarely add it.