This refreshing strawberry chicken salad is packed with good-for-you ingredients and dressed in a flavor-packed strawberry honey vinaigrette. Only with little prep and cooking required, this salad comes together exceptionally fast and has plenty of room for further customization.
This is one of my favorite entree salads, along with my Cobb Salad With Breaded Chicken, Avocado Corn Salad.
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Ingredients
- Chicken - you'll need a large boneless, skinless chicken breast or pre-cooked chicken slices. For a tasty alternative, try grilled or baked shrimp. If using shrimp, swap strawberries for mango slices for an amazing combination!
- Strawberries - slice the strawberries into quarters or thinner slices, keeping the tops for later use. Other berries like raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries are also great alternatives and pair well with the honey dressing and chicken.
- Feta - the chicken, strawberries, and salty feta combo is uniquely delicious. For the best flavor, crumble a fresh block of feta instead of using pre-packaged.
- Lime Honey Vinaigrette - sweet and refreshing salad dressing that works best when pairing both refreshing fruits and vegetables for a salad. These two need balancing ingredients - refreshing mint. Cut mint chiffonade or simply finely chop the leaves. Mix it into the dressing. Don't like mint? Substitute with fresh basil or cilantro.
- Honey has a sweetening effect but you can barely feel its strong flavor here. Maple syrup is also great with cucumbers and strawberries but it has a more intense caramel flavor.
- Lettuce - I like to use a combination of at least two lettuce choices here, arugula and spinach. Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and butter lettuce add a whole different feel to this salad.
- Pecans - or walnut, pine nuts, pistachios, almonds, or basically any nut that can be toasted or for an extra sweet flavor candied nuts.
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette - balanced off the sweet and salty flavors. If you don’t have it, swap it with fresh (store-bought doesn't work well) lime or lemon juice.
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
How To Make Strawberry Chicken Salad
Muddle the strawberries in a small bowl, discard half of the flesh and add the remaining salad dressing ingredients.
Mix to combine and let chill in the fridge until you cook the chicken.
For an easier cleanup, use a mason jar with a very tightly sealed lid.
Shake it with the dressing inside for flavors to blend easily.
Rub the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder.
Heat a little cooking oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on both sides and until golden brown.
For a smoky feel, use a grill or even a grill pan. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting it against the grain with a sharp knife into thin slices or cubes.
Chicken is cooked when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A good kitchen thermometer is a must here.
In a large bowl combine spinach, arugula, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and just a drizzle of little olive oil.
Transfer to a serving platter, and top with strawberries, pecans, and cooked chicken.
Mix to combine or leave as it is and once ready serve drizzle with salad dressing. Enjoy the salad while the chicken is warm!
Tips
- Fresh strawberries are great fruit but can lose their fresh look fast. Add the strawberries to the salad last and any remaining fruit store refrigerated in a box lined with paper towels in between the strawberry layers. For the salad, prep wash the berries only as much as you need and the rest keep out of moisture stored as mentioned above.
- Honey Dressing should be added at the last minute, right before serving. I recommend consuming the salad right away as the longer this dressed salad sits the soggier it will turn.
- Dressing substitutions - For a very quick dressing simply use olive oil and balsamic vinegar or make my homemade thick Balsamic Glaze (just two ingredients and in this easy recipe!). If you want to stretch this dressing further and make it creamy, add a little nonflavored greek yogurt (about ½ cup) to it or use my other salad dressings such as Creamy Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing.
- Chill the ingredients - Before assembling the salad, keep all the ingredients except the chicken in the fridge. Chilled ingredients work best for this recipe.
- Dressing tips -Add more apple cider vinegar (about 1-2 tablespoons extra if you like the taste). It may taste very strong when you taste-test but once added to the salad it all comes together and balances the flavors.
- Add some seeds for a nutritional boost! Poppy seeds, chia, or even sesame seeds work really well here.
Storing Leftovers
- Store the leftover dressed salad in the fridge and consume it within 1 day (same day). Undressed salad will taste fine if stored in the fridge for 1 day but for best results (and fresh flavor) I highly recommend combining everything right before serving.
- Make ahead. Salad dressing can be mixed in advance for up to 4-5 days and tightly stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Strawberry Recipes
Don’t throw away the strawberry tops!
- Make strawberry-infused water. Or Strawberry Agua Fresca.
- Don’t have a plan to use those tops right now? Place them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to a few days, or in the freezer for a few months, then pull them out when you’re ready to use them.
- Another great way to use them is to infuse your favorite spirit with them (I usually keep them in rum for a few days and then it's cocktail time!).
- Add the tops to your favorite smoothies to get a little pink hue and a hint of strawberries.
Recipe
Strawberry Chicken Salad Recipe
INGREDIENTS
For The Chicken Salad
- 1 cup arugula
- 4 cup baby spinach
- 10 large fresh strawberries, sliced into 3-4
- 1 small red onion, sliced into half-moons
- 3 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans for garnish
- 1 medium boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in half
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
For The Dressing
- 6 small strawberries
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, good quality
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey, or maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
INSTRUCTIONS
- Muddle the strawberries in a small bowl, discard half of the flesh and add the remaining salad dressing ingredients. Mix to combine and let chill in the fridge until you cook the chicken.
- For easier cleanup, use a mason jar with a tightly sealed lid.
- Rub the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, onion, and garlic powder.
- Heat a little cooking oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken on medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes on both sides and until golden brown. For a smoky feel, use a grill or even a grill pan. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting it against the grain with a sharp knife into thin slices or cubes. Chicken is cooked when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A good kitchen thermometer is a must here.
- In a large bowl combine spinach, arugula, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and just a drizzle of little olive oil. Transfer to a serving platter, and top with strawberries, pecans, and cooked chicken. Mix to combine or leave as it is and once ready serve drizzle with salad dressing. Enjoy the salad while the chicken is warm!
NOTES
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
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Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Easy and very refreshing chicken salad with strawberries is delicious to serve as an entree dish or as a side dish.