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Home » Recipes » Gluten Free

Favorite Grilled Chicken Salad

Published: Jan 11, 2021 Last Updated: Sep 2023 by Lindsay This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and enjoy. Leave a Comment

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Grilled Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
Grilled Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Featuring our favorite marinade for grilled chicken, this salad with goat cheese and walnuts is one that we make often for main dish salad dinners or for meal prep! The combo of tangy dressing, maple marinade, and creamy goat cheese is just the best ever. No boring main dish salads here!

how to make grilled chicken salad

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Hello and hi! How are we managing in this pandemic coup? Are we being gentle with our New Year's Resolutions? Please say yes.

One thing that we have been trying to do for a few months is making one "lunchy" item during our meal prep. Not focusing only on dinners helps us stay away from takeout (which I'm such a sucker for especially on days where I don't have anywhere to go), and having super yummy foods in the fridge to grab just overall makes our workdays at home feel more enjoyable.

I kind of vary in how well I do this lunch meal prep, but I generally AT LEAST try to make a salad dressing and wash/prep/chop some veggies so we can throw together salads with random stuff on top.

One of our favorite combos ever is vinaigrette with goat cheese and walnuts, and grilled chicken on top takes "oh good you cut up some veggies" to "oh yay lunch!"

grilled chicken salad

One way I really like to double duty this grilled chicken salad is to have it intentionally as leftovers after we grill out. So I'll make the maple marinated chicken but a double or triple batch, and then the "meal prep" is just the salad stuff and dressing since the chicken is already done.

Basic Marinade for Chicken Thighs

Basically I can't meal prep an entire dish without feeling overwhelmed; some of it already needs to be done for me.

How to Make Grilled Chicken Salad

My best tip for meal prep chicken is to use chicken thighs, all day every day. They have so much more flavor and don't dry out in the fridge like chicken breast does. Chicken thighs all the way!

When I do meal prep this all at once, I start with the chicken marinade. I let the chicken marinate for about an hour (or overnight if I'm organized), and during that time I make the lemon vinaigrette and wash/chop veggies for the salad. I also toast the walnuts and crumble the goat cheese with a fork and package them in separate containers.

lemon dressing salad

When everything is done, I grill or broil the chicken, let it cool, slice it, and stick it in a container.

Since we aren't going anywhere I keep the ingredients separate in glass containers that I love, or if Jay is going into the office he'll build a salad with grilled chicken to grab in the morning before work.

grilled chicken salad marinade recipe

And that's it! It's a simple recipe overall, but a combo we have made again and again over the last year since working from home. For me it's less about what food I'm prepping and more about the behavior of doing it. I've found that sometimes I like prepping a lunch on Saturday instead of Sunday and reserving Sunday for more "oh sure watch a third movie" types of weekend behaviors.

I have another chop-all-the-veggies meal prep salad that we make, this peanut sauce chopped salad. It has a Thai-inspired peanut sauce that we make at least twice a month that is absolutely delicious.

image of grilled chicken salad

If you have any favorite meal prep tips or recipes I'd love for you to share them! Non-boring lunches are always the key for success.

Enjoy this grilled chicken salad! It's a total winner.

Recipe

image of grilled chicken salad

Favorite Grilled Chicken Salad

Lindsay Howerton-Hastings
Our favorite marinade for grilled chicken, a few meal prep ingredients, and we have a delicious grilled chicken salad ready for the week! Get. After. This.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Equipment

  • Chef Knife
  • Glass Containers
  • Cutting Board

Ingredients
  

Maple Marinated Chicken

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • kosher salt

Basic Lemon Vinaigrette

  • ½ lemon juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
  • 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Grilled Chicken Salads

  • 8 cups salad greens any kind you like
  • ½ cup EACH chopped veggies your choice: cucumbers, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers
  • ½ cup crumbled goat cheese
  • ½ cup toasted chopped walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Chicken: whisk together the syrup, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the chicken and marinate as long as you can, at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours. Grill, broil, or pan-sear until cooked through. Allow to cool and slice.
  • Dressing: Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Taste and add a few pinches of salt if needed for extra flavor.
  • Salad: Prep any salad ingredients you like. For me, I wash, dry, and chop lettuce, wash and chop veggies, crumble goat cheese, and toast the walnuts. I store each ingredient individually for meal prep.
  • Meal Prep: I store each of the ingredients separately for meal prep then build salads for lunch when working from home. Or, assemble salads in containers and store in the fridge. Store dressing separately for either option.
  • Assemble: Serve the sliced grilled chicken over greens and veggies. Sprinkle with goat cheese and walnuts. Drizzle with dressing, and serve!

Notes

I like to double down on the meal prep aspect of this and have these salads after we have grilled chicken for dinner. I double the recipe and then all I have to prep is the salad dressing and salad ingredients.
Buy pre-washed and chopped greens for even more time savings.
Feel free to use any salad ingredients you enjoy! I usually prep 2 veggies, one crumbly cheese, and some toasted nuts.
Any leftover chicken works great in these salads!
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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Image of Lindsay Howerton-Hastings smiling sitting on dark gray couch wearing chambray blue shirt.

Hi! I'm Lindsay. I'm a maternal mental health therapist, a recipe developer, food writer, and taker of all kinds of pictures. Thank you so much for being here! This blog is about how to take care of yourself and your people without taking anything too seriously.

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Grilled Chicken Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
 

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