This easy weeknight strawberry chicken salad is one of our favorite recipes of summer! Over the years, it’s materialized in various forms, adding garden fresh vegetables based on availability, but it always features the following: fresh strawberries, baby spinach, roasted chicken, goat cheese, and a quick, flavorful lemon poppy seed salad dressing!
It’s the combination of strawberries and goat cheese that we love most, but when you add in fresh roasted skin-on chicken breasts, it is sweet and salty perfection!
Use any type of soft salad greens you like (kale can be a bit too fibrous, but arugula or other soft lettuces work amazing!), then grab your favorite fresh chévre and crunchy nuts. This is one light salad you’ll have again and again, whether for lunch or dinner! Truly the best!
Ingredients For Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Fresh baby spinach (or other soft salad greens)
- Strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
- Slivered almonds
- Goat cheese — go for something with a little funk! It’ll play beautifully off the sweet strawberries!
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
You can, of course, use store-bought rotisserie chicken to make this salad, but we love to quickly roast bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts — the flavor cannot be beat! Here’s how to do it:
Place split chicken breasts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil and about ½ tsp each of Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper on all sides. Bake in an oven preheated to 450F for 35 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F. Allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving. Cook time varies based on the size of the chicken breasts.
We recommend the Thermapen MK4 to check for doneness on all meats!
How To Make Poppy Seed Salad Dressing
First, grab the following:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh lemon juice
- Champagne vinegar (or other light vinegar)
- Poppy seeds
- Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Combine all ingredients together in a mason jar, seal tightly, then shake until well blended. Alternatively, you could place the poppy seed salad dressing ingredients in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
This salad dressing is super light, but very well balanced. It’s delicious on just about any salad (we love tossing our house salad with it!) and will keep in a refrigerator for up to 1 month.
When you take it out of the refrigerator, simply allow to sit on the counter at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes, then shake to re-mix. Homemade salad dressings are truly the best!
Make The Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Roast the chicken. Preheat an oven to 450F. Pat chicken breasts lightly on all sides with a paper towel to dry, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle with ½ tsp each of Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and chicken registers an internal temperature of 165F. Allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.
- Assemble strawberry salad. Place baby spinach in a large serving bowl, then add 1 cup quartered strawberries, ¼ cup goat cheese crumbled, and ¼ cup sliced almonds.
- Slice the chicken. Use a sharp knife to remove breast meat from the bone. Place the boneless breast on a cutting board, then slice into strips about ½” thick, being careful not to rip the skin. Add chicken to salad.
- Toss and serve. Drizzle as much of the poppy seed salad dressing on top as you like, then toss and serve immediately with extra dressing on the side, as desired.
Tips For The Best Strawberry Salad
- Use fresh strawberries! This should go without saying, but frozen berries are too waterlogged — even after thawing — to use in this salad.
- Any type of nut will work! We like slivered almonds for their mild flavor, but also because of how they’re cut. They add just the slightest crunch. Pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, or pistachios would also work really well!
- Make sure the spinach is dry! While it’s always a good idea to wash lettuce before eating, make sure the spinach is really dry before adding the chicken and strawberries so it doesn’t immediately wilt.
- In a hurry? Make the poppy seed salad dressing a few days in advance, and roast the chicken 1-2 days prior. You can reheat on the bone or cut the meat off, slice it, and reheat in a microwave until warm (though the skin will never be as crispy as fresh out the oven!)
- Don’t have lemon? Try using orange or grapefruit juice in the salad dressing instead!
This is almost too pretty to eat, but we promise this light, healthy salad recipe will quickly become a favorite. It’s the combination of sweet strawberries, tangy, creamy goat cheese, crispy chicken skin, and that dreamy poppy seed dressing! It’s too good!!
If you make this Strawberry Chicken Salad recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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More salad recipes to try!
- Grilled Peach Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
- Pecan Chicken Salad
- Israeli Salad
- Peach Burrata Salad
- Antipasto Salad
Strawberry Chicken Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the poppy seed salad dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Champagne vinegar
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 2 chicken breasts bone-in, skin on
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 1 cup strawberries hulled and quartered
- ¼ cup goat cheese
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Make the salad dressing. Combine all ingredients together in a mason jar, seal tightly, then shake until well blended. Alternatively, you could place the dressing ingredients in a large measuring cup or mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Roast the chicken. Preheat an oven to 450F. Pat chicken breasts lightly on all sides with a paper towel to dry, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle with ½ tsp each of Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and chicken registers an internal temperature of 165F. Allow chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.
- Assemble strawberry salad. Place baby spinach in a large serving bowl, then add 1 cup quartered strawberries, ¼ cup goat cheese crumbled, and ¼ cup sliced almonds.
- Slice the chicken. Use a sharp knife to remove breast meat from the bone. Place the boneless breast on a cutting board, then slice into strips about ½" thick, being careful not to rip the skin. Add chicken to salad.
- Toss and serve. Drizzle as much of the poppy seed salad dressing on top as you like, then toss and serve immediately with extra dressing on the side, as desired.
Notes
- Nutrition facts include all of the salad dressing. It is unlikely you will use it all (don’t worry, it keeps for weeks in a sealed container in the fridge!), so nutrition information is lower based on how much dressing is used.
- Refrigerated salad dressing: allow to sit on the counter at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes, then shake to re-mix.
- No almonds? Any type of nut will work! Pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, or pistachios also work well!
- Don’t have lemon? Try using orange or grapefruit juice in the salad dressing instead!
Let us know your thoughts!