Grilled Chicken Berry Salad

Grilled Chicken Berry Salad — Big, hearty, healthy, and chock full of juicy grilled chicken, blueberries, blackberries, creamy avocado, hard-boiled eggs, and more! Topped with a creamy shake-together red wine Dijon vinaigrette, this is a salad that you’ll want to put on rotation all spring and summer! EASY, so flavorful, and ready in 30 minutes!

Grilled Chicken Berry Salad Recipe 

This grilled chicken salad with berries is light, fresh, and is great as the weather is warming up and you’re in the mood for a healthy, hearty salad. Each bite is jam-packed with flavor!

There’s a fresh, crisp crunch from a mix of fresh butter lettuce, arugula lettuce, and cucumbers.

While soft avocado slices add a creamy indulgent texture as well as healthy fats and there are hard-boiled eggs for extra protein.

And you can’t have a berry salad without berries. I used a combination of blueberries and blackberries, which add just the right amount of tartness. However, feel free to use your favorite berries from strawberries to raspberries.

Finally, for a pop of sharpness there is both crumbled blue cheese and red onions.

I made a quick whisk-together vinaigrette that’s creamy from Greek yogurt and Dijon mustard with just the right amount of acidity from red wine vinegar and lemon juice.

This lightly dressed double berry chicken salad reminds me of a big summer garden salad, but it is so packed full of flavor and immune boosting powerhouse ingredients that I want to eat it all year long.

Ingredients in Berry Chicken Salad

For this healthy berry summer salad with homemade vinaigrette, you’ll need the following easy-to-find fridge and pantry ingredients including:

Salad

• Olive oil
• Chicken breasts
• Salt
• Pepper
• Arugula
• Butter lettuce
• Avocado
• Red onion
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Cucumber
• Hard boiled eggs
• Blue cheese crumbles
• Basil
• Lemon zest

Vinaigrette

• Greek yogurt
• Olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

How to Make Berry Salad with Chicken 

To make this easy grilled chicken double berry salad, follow these simple and straightforward steps:

Step 1: Oil your outdoor grill grates or add oil to an indoor grill pan, season the chicken with salt and pepper, and add it to the grill pan.

Step 2: Flip it after about 6 minutes and cook for about 6 additional minutes on the second side. Let it rest on a cutting board while you assemble the salad.

Step 3: Add the lettuces….

Then the blueberries, cucumber, red onions…

Finish by adding the blackberries, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, basil, and lemon zest.

Step 4: Whisk or shake together all the vinaigrette components. 

Tip: I actually prefer to shake the ingredients but for the sake of the photos and demonstration, I whisked.

Step 5: Slice the chicken, add it to the salad, drizzle on the vinaigrette and serve!

Can I Use A Different Dressing with Grilled Chicken Berry Salad?

Absolutely yes you can use a different salad dressing or vinaigrette with your grilled chicken salad with berries.

We really like this homemade vinaigrette with red wine vinegar and lemon juice for the bite they add, a little punch of garlic, the subtle sweetness of the honey, and the Greek yogurt and Dijon for the creamy factor. 

Plus, as I mentioned, it’s so easy – as in shake it all together in a Mason jar! Doesn’t get any easier than that!

But of course, use your favorite homemade or store bought dressing to make this chicken berry salad your own.

My suggestions would be a light honey mustard, a raspberry vinaigrette, or a blue cheese dressing if you want something heavier.

Do I Need an Outdoor Grill for Grilled Chicken Berry Salad?

No, you do not need an outdoor grill to make this recipe for berry salad. Instead, use an enameled cast iron grill pan and make the chicken right on your stovetop.

Alternatively, you can simply cook the chicken in the pan you normally use.

Or try my favorite recipe for Perfect 20-Minute Oven-Baked Chicken. Slice it up and use it after baking. 

Can I Use Other Fruits and Vegetables?

Without a doubt, always use your favorite salad add-ins and mix-ins, omit or change what you don’t like, and customize your berry chicken salad to your liking!

Here are some berry chicken salad ideas suggestions and alternatives:

• Use strawberries and raspberries or a combo of them in place of either the blueberries or blackberries. Try small diced apples too
• Use Romaine lettuce or your favorite bagged lettuce mix like a spring mix or Italian mix
• Add cooked edamame or peas, fresh pea pods or sugar snap peas
• Use a shredded cheese blend with more “basic” cheeses instead of blue cheese or use shredded Parmesan
• Add zucchini or yellow summer squash – grill them for best results
• Keep it vegetarian and omit the chicken but make sure to have some sort of protein source like cheese, eggs, nuts, or tofu.

• Swap cilantro for basil
• Use shredded rotisserie chicken to save time
• Sprinkle on slivered almonds or crunchy salad toppers found in the produce section of your grocery store
• Dried fruit like dried cranberries or craisins or dried apricots add awesome chewiness and texture
• Clean out your crisper drawer and toss in random carrots, celery, radishes, or whatever you have!

Serving and Storage Suggestions for Chicken Berry Salad

Salads are always best consumed right after you make them and this one is no exception. 

However, you can assemble this salad, portion it out and place it in airtight containers, store the vinaigrette separately, and take them with you as a work or school lunch.

Tips for the Best Berry Salad with Chicken

Salads are one of those things that it seems hard to screw them up, yet frequently when I order them in restaurants I am underwhelmed.

But overpaying for what seems to be a mountain of lettuce and not much else!

Here are my salad tips so you end up with an amazing, crave-worthy salad every time:

1. Always make sure there are many different textures – crunchy, crispy, chewy, creamy. Here we have crunchy arugula and butter lettuce, crispy cucumbers and red onions, chewy chicken, creamy avocado and eggs. This can also look like crunchy Romaine, crispy sugar snap peas, creamy goat cheese, and chewy dried cranberries.
2. Protein is important to keep you full and satisfied. Whether it’s leftover baked chicken, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, steak, tofu, eggs, cheese, or nuts make sure you use a least one source, and more if you can.
3. Add salt and pepper liberally. Everyone knows that restaurant food is good because they add lots of salt and pepper. Well, don’t be afraid to season your chicken at home the same, and to add a sprinkle of salt or fresh ground black pepper to the top of your salad before serving it. 
4. Sugar can be your friend in a vinaigrette or homemade dressing. Most homemade vinaigrettes and dressings are heavy on the vinegar, oil, mayo, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and so forth. However, without enough sugar or sweetness that comes  from granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave, or whatever form of sweetness makes sense for the recipe, you are going to cringe and pucker up. Add sugar or sweetener until you like the taste rather than suffering through an overly harsh tasting dressing!

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5 from 3 votes

Grilled Chicken Berry Salad

By Averie Sunshine

Big, hearty, healthy, and chock full of juicy grilled chicken, blueberries, blackberries, creamy avocado, hard-boiled eggs, and more! Topped with a creamy shake-together red wine Dijon vinaigrette, this is a salad that you'll want to put on rotation all spring and summer! EASY, so flavorful, and ready in 30 minutes!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

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Ingredients  

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Chicken and Salad

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1.50 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half or pounded if thick
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 3 cups arugula, or as desired
• ▢ 2 cups chopped butter lettuce, or as desired
• ▢ 1 medium Hass avocado, sliced
• ▢ 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• ▢ ½ cup blueberries
• ▢ ½ cup blackberries
• ▢ 1 medium cucumber, peeled if desired and sliced thin
• ▢ 3 large hard-boiled eggs, sliced thin
• ▢ 4 ounces blue cheese crumbles, or substituted with a shredded cheese blend or freshly grated Parmesan
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or as desired
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely minced (cilantro may be submitted)

Creamy Red Wine Dijon Vinaigrette

• ▢ 1 cup Greek yogurt
• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste.

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Instructions 

Chicken and Salad

• Preheat outdoor grill or enameled cast iron grill pan if cooking indoors.
• Either oil the grill grates with olive oil or add the oil directly to your grill pan.
• Add the chicken, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for about 5 minutes on the second side. Allow chicken to rest on a cutting board while you prep the rest of the salad.
• To a large bowl add all the remaining salad ingredients. Tip - Add more or less of something if desired, or omit it, or substitute it for something else.* (See Notes for ideas).
• Slice the chicken into strips or bite-sized pieces and add it to the salad.

Creamy Red Wine Dijon Vinaigrette 

• To a Mason jar or container with a lid, add all ingredients, seal tightly, shake vigorously for about 1 minute. Taste the dressing and if necessary, add additional honey, salt, pepper, etc. Note - You can whisk everything together as shown in the photos but I actually prefer the consistency when shaken versus whisked.
• As desired, drizzle over the salad, toss, and serve. Salad is best served fresh after adding the vinaigrette. However, additional salad can be stored airtight in container(s) for up to 3 days with the vinaigrette stored separately. This is helpful if making for a work or school lunch and transporting.

Notes

Here are some berry chicken salad ideas suggestions and alternatives:

• Use strawberries and raspberries or a combo of them in place of either the blueberries or blackberries. Try small diced apples too
• Use Romaine lettuce or your favorite bagged lettuce mix like a spring mix or Italian mix
• Add cooked edamame or peas, fresh pea pods or sugar snap peas
• Use a shredded cheese blend with more “basic” cheeses instead of blue cheese or use shredded Parmesan
• Add zucchini or yellow summer squash – grill them for best results
• Swap cilantro for basil
• Use shredded rotisserie chicken to save time
• Sprinkle on slivered almonds or crunchy salad toppers found in the produce section of your grocery store

• Dried fruit like dried cranberries or craisins or dried apricots add awesome chewiness and texure
• Clean out your crisper drawer and toss in random carrots, celery, radishes, or whatever you have!

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 371kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g, Cholesterol: 135mg, Sodium: 1065mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 11g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

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