This Greek Chicken Salad is made with a robust Mediterranean-style marinade that also doubles as the dressing. Juicy, tender chicken with tender, crunchy vegetables and tangy feta cheese is drizzled with a homemade Greek Vinaigrette. A high-protein salad that is the perfect addition to meal prep lunches, dinners, and mason jar salads.
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- Why you'll love this recipe
- Ingredient List
- Kitchen Tools Needed
- How to make Greek Chicken Salad
- Make-ahead, storage, and freezer tips
- Meal Prepping Greek Chicken Salad
- What Does Greek Chicken Salad Taste Like?
- Eileen's Tips for Success
- Variations to Try
- How to make Mason Jar Greek Chicken Salad
- Meal Prepping Greek Chicken Salad
- FAQs to make the best Greek Salad with Chicken
- What to Serve with Chicken Greek Salad Recipe
- More Salad Recipes
- My Top 10 Family Favorite Recipes
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This is a great dinner salad with Mediterranean flavors. Love this one? Then don't forget to try Greek Orzo Salad or Cauliflower Tabbouleh.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick and Easy: The chicken is quickly marinated, and the salad is easy to assemble for
- High-Protein Salad Dinner: This is a high-protein salad that is perfect for a weeknight dinner or a summer celebration
- Meal Planning: An easy recipe to add to your meal plan by making the chicken ahead of time.
- Easy to Please Dietary Needs: This Greek salad with chicken is naturally gluten-free and can easily be dairy-free by leaving out the feta cheese.
Ingredient List
- Boneless chicken breasts: Boneless chicken thighs are also great to use. They hold up well to any marinade.
- Red wine vinegar: The perfect vinegar to complement the ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Or any of your favorite oils.
- Lemon juice: The acidity balances the vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
- Dijon mustard: I add Dijon to almost all my salad dressings. It balances the acidity in the vinaigrette.
- Dried oregano/minced garlic/salt/black pepper: Simple herbs and seasonings to heighten the flavors.
- Romaine lettuce: Feel free to use mixed greens, including arugula and baby spinach.
- English Cucumber
- Cherry tomatoes: If using larger tomatoes such as vine-ripe or Roma tomatoes, chop them.
- Kalamata olives
- Feta cheese: I prefer to buy a block of feta and break it up myself, as I prefer that creamy texture in the salad.
- Red onion: A shallot or white onion can be used.
- Red bell pepper
Kitchen Tools Needed
- Salad Spinner
- Cutting Board
- knife
- cutting board
- Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Spoons and Cups
- Instant Read meat thermometer
How to make Greek Chicken Salad
This is an overview of the recipe. The full instructions are below in the recipe card.
- Make the Greek marinade/dressing.
- Use about ⅓ cup of the dressing and marinate the chicken breasts for at least 4 hours.
- Sauté the chicken breasts until cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Once cooled, slice the chicken.
- Assemble the Greek Salad and top with the chopped chicken.
- Drizzle the Greek dressing over the Greek chicken salad.
Make-ahead, storage, and freezer tips
Storage - Store the chicken, dressing, and salad ingredients in separate airtight covered containers in the refrigerator. The chicken and dressing can keep for up to 4 days.
Chopped vegetables can be prepped ahead and stored in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Leftovers: Assembled salad is best eaten within 1 day.
Meal Prep: Assemble the salad ingredients in containers or mason jars and keep the dressing separate until ready to serve.
Freezing: The cooked Greek chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
Meal Prepping Greek Chicken Salad
- I combine the salad makings in the am and store them until ready to eat that day.
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours.
- Wash and dry all the vegetables and greens. I highly suggest a salad spinner. (my absolute favorite)
- ****To keep the greens fresh to prevent wilting, tear the greens. If you are using them right away, you can chop them*****
- Chop the veggies and dry the greens.
- If meal prepping for the week, store the ingredients in separate containers to retain freshness and prevent a soggy salad. I use these containers for meal prepping with great success.
What Does Greek Chicken Salad Taste Like?
This Greek Chicken Salad is bright, tangy, fresh, and savory. The lemon dressing adds Mediterranean flavor while the juicy marinated chicken balances the crisp vegetables and salty feta cheese. Every bite has a mix of crunchy textures and freshness that makes this salad satisfying enough for dinner.
Eileen's Tips for Success
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes before cooking. The longer the chicken marinates, the better it is.
- Dry lettuce well before assembling. I find a salad spinner a great investment.
- Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of chicken when cooked through.
- Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing so the juices rest and the chicken stays juicy.
- Marinate for at least 4 hours
- For the best flavor, I prefer to use a block of feta and crumble it myself.
Variations to Try
Do you want to change up this recipe?
- Dairy Free: Leave out the feta cheese or use a dairy-free cheese and use plant-based mayonnaise.
- Leftovers: Use leftover chicken made with our tasty Greek Chicken Marinade or Air Fryer rotisserie chicken
- Protein Options: Instead of chicken, try shrimp, salmon, crab, or pork. All can be marinated and make a great protein.
- Additional Fiber: Add chickpeas, or make this salad into a wrap or serve on whole wheat bread.
How to make Mason Jar Greek Chicken Salad
Would you like to make this a Greek Chicken Mason Jar Salad? To keep the ingredients fresh, start at the bottom of the jar:
- dressing
- feta cheese
- kalamata olives
- tomatoes
- celery
- red onions
- red pepper
- cooked chicken
- salad greens
Meal Prepping Greek Chicken Salad
- Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours.
- Wash and dry the greens.
- Chop all the vegetables.
- If meal prepping for the week, store the ingredients in separate containers to retain freshness and prevent a soggy salad. I use these containers for meal prepping with great success.
- I combine the salad makings in the am and store them until ready to eat that day.
FAQs to make the best Greek Salad with Chicken
Yes, of course. You can use bone-in chicken thighs or chicken breasts for this Greek Salad. The chicken will take longer to cook in the pan.
I would recommend roasting the bone-in chicken at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Yers. The chicken and salad can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep the ingredients separate until ready to eat. This ensures that the vegetables and salad greens do not get soggy.
Traditional Greek salad includes tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, feta cheese, and a simple olive oil dressing.
This version adds marinated chicken for extra protein and salad greens for a complete dinner salad.
This is a great question. If storing your greens, use your hands to tear the greens. Do not chop with a knife. Trust me, this works!
What to Serve with Chicken Greek Salad Recipe
- Warm pita bread
- Lemon rice
- Greek Yogurt Flatbread
- Hummus and vegetables
- Tzatziki sauce
- Roasted potatoes
I love any comments or questions, please feel free to leave them below.
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Thank you for your continued support. I am forever grateful.
Eileen xo
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card, you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
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Easy Greek Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the marinade, in a medium bowl whisk together ¼ cup red wine vinegar, ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 large lemon (juiced), 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 3 cloves finely minced garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Check seasoning, adjust if needed. Set bowl aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 1½ pounds boneless chicken breasts and ⅓ cup of marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours up to overnight to marinate the chicken.
- After the chicken has marinated, remove from the marinate and pat the chicken dry. Note 1
- To cook the chicken, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and saute about 5 minutes per side. Cooked chicken reaches internal temperature of 165°F/74°C. Remove chicken and let cool at least 5 minutes before slicing into 1-inch pieces.
- To assemble the salad, in a large salad or mixing bowl add 8 cups salad greens (chopped), 4 medium diced Roma tomatoes, 2 medium chopped celery, 1 large chopped red pepper, 1 medium thinly sliced red onion, 1 large chopped English cucumber, ¼ cup sliced Kalamata olives, ½ cup reduced-fat feta cheese, and the sliced Greek marinated chicken.Top with remaining salad dressing/marinade.
- Drizzle with some of the remaining Greek marinade/dressing and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Notes
- When I make this recipe, the amount of dressing I make is more than I need for this salad. I prefer to have leftover dressing to use throughout the week. I use the dressing within 4 days.
- If you would like to make this a mason jar salad, the ingredients would be, starting at the bottom of the jar: dressing, feta cheese, kalamata olives, tomatoes, celery, onions, pepper, chicken, lettuce. This is how I make it and the ingredients stay fresh.
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April
Such a great salad and the dressing/marinade was awesome! I made enough to bring for lunch to work tomorrow
Eileen xo
You made my day April, enjoy the salad for lunch!