Balsamic Chicken and Spinach Salad
with strawberries / blue cheese / almonds
This entree salad is just the sort of thing that makes us look forward to spring - fresh strawberries and balsamic vinegar give the salad a nice balance of sweet and tart. This salad was first featured in 2018.
Smarts: Savory, salty blue cheese adds nice contrast to the salad, but feel free to use any cheese you'd like - goat cheese or feta would be great alternatives.
Ingredients
- Shallots - 1 clove, diced
- Vinegar, balsamic - 3 Tbsp
- Mustard, Dijon - 1 Tbsp
- Honey - 2 Tbsp
- Oil, cooking - 1/2 cup
- Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
- Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless - 1 lb
- Strawberries - 1 pint, quartered
- Baby spinach - 8 oz
- Cheese, blue - 4 oz (sub feta or goat cheese)
- Almonds, sliced - 1/3 cup
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make vinaigrette - Dice shallots. Combine shallots with vinegar, mustard, honey, oil, and lemon juice. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Marinate chicken - Combine chicken with half the vinaigrette (reserve the other half for dressing) and tenderize with a fork. Marinate for at least 20 minutes and up to a day. (Can be done up to 1 day ahead)
- Strawberries - Quarter strawberries.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade). Season chicken on both sides with some salt and pepper.
- If using a grill: Preheat grill to to 400F / 204C degrees, keeping one section on higher heat and another section on lower heat. Clean and brush grates with some oil. Sear chicken for 2 to 3 minutes on each side and transfer to lower heat. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165F / 74C degrees, an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- If using the stovetop: Place a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Brush pan with some oil and sear chicken on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes. Lower heat to low-medium, cover with foil, and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165F / 74C degrees.
- When chicken is finished cooking, cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice chicken. Assemble salads by topping spinach with sliced chicken, strawberries, crumbled cheese, and almonds. Finish with reserved half of vinaigrette at the table. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
41 reviews
This was tasty and easy to make...except that somehow my spinach didn't make it from the farmer's market to my fridge, so I just had to leave it out. Made for a strange salad. But it was still somehow a pretty solid meal.
0 HelpfulI absolutely love this. I cook just for myself but made 4 portions of chicken so I can easily throw together this meal for the rest of the week for lunch. It's way better than the salads from fast food places which is normally my go to for lunch. Great flavours, so fast and minimal prep & clean up.
0 HelpfulLoved the marinade/dressing and how much flavor it gave the chicken. Husband said he wanted this to be in rotation all summer.
0 Helpful