Delicious Greek Chicken Salad

This Greek-inspired Chicken Salad uses simple ingredients to create the most mouthwatering salad imaginable!

Typically chicken isn’t served on a Greek salad, but it’s an irresistible combo, so today we’re bending the rules. Follow me…

Greek Chicken Marinade

We want to let the chicken stand out in this dish. There’s no good having a delicious Greek salad with bland/dry chicken plonked on top! So to avoid both of those things, we’re going to marinate the chicken.

Chicken Yogurt Marinade

The key ingredient in the chicken marinade is yogurt. This will help tenderize the chicken, and at a much less aggressive rate than a vinegar/citrus-based marinade. It also works as the perfect binder to marry all of the other ingredients together. Alongside the yogurt, we’ve got red wine vinegar & lemon juice for flavour and tenderization, garlic for a punch of flavour, oregano for that classic Greek flavour and extra virgin olive oil to prep the chicken ready for frying.

What kind of Yogurt to use?

Full-fat plain Greek yogurt is my recommendation. You can use low fat, but I find the chicken dries out easier. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Greek yogurt, but in the context of this recipe, it certainly works well!

Process shots: gather ingredients (photo 1), add to mixing bowl (photo 2), whisk to combine (photo 3).

Greek Chicken

When it comes to the chicken, I typically use chicken breast, just because I prefer breast in a salad. I recommend slicing each breast in half, to create four even-sized chicken breasts. This way they’ll not only cook faster but also more evenly too.

Can I use Chicken Thigh instead?

You could, yes. I’d recommend pounding them until even thickness though, just so they cook more evenly. The main important thing is that you’re using boneless/skinless meat.

How long to marinate for?

Minimum 2 hours, but a full 24 hours is always great to get the most out of the marinade!

Process shots: add chicken to marinade (photo 1), mix and cover (photo 2), add to hot griddle pan (photo 3), fry both sides until lightly charred & chicken cooked through the centre (photo 4).

Greek Salad

For the Greek salad, I’ve kept it somewhat traditional. Greek salads are all about using the best quality ingredients you can find. The dressing is minimal, it’s just there to ‘dress’ and bring out the best in the ingredients.

The Dressing

The salad dressing is simply extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano and salt & pepper. You can make this ahead of time, in fact, it will actually help marry the flavours together and soften the oregano.

The Salad

The salad consists of tomatoes, red onion, green pepper, Kalamata olives, cucumber and feta. You can chop these ahead of time, but I don’t recommend combining them with the dressing ahead of time, just because the cucumber and tomatoes will leak out too much water.

Process shots: add dressing to large bowl (photo 1), whisk to combine (photo 2), add salad (photo 3), toss to combine (photo 4).

Serving Greek Chicken Salad

When it comes to serving everything, I like to add the salad to a large shallow plate, then add the sliced chicken on top. From there, I like to pour over any remaining dressing and serve with Flatbreads. Alternatively, you could serve individual portions, instead of a large share-style platter.

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for the Greek chicken salad shall we?!

How to make Greek Chicken Salad (Full Recipe & Video)

Delicious Greek Chicken Salad

This Greek-inspired Chicken Salad uses simple ingredients to create the most mouthwatering salad imaginable!

5 from 1 vote

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Lunch / Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Marinating Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Calories per serving: 535kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £3 / $4

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Equipment:

• Large Mixing bowl & Whisk (for salad)
• Medium Sized Bowl (for marinating chicken)
• Large Griddle Pan or Heavy/Cast Iron Pan & Tongs (for cooking chicken)
• Large Serving Plate/Dish
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients (check list):

Chicken

• ▢ 2x 9oz/250g Chicken Breasts
• ▢ 3 tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt, or other plain yogurt (preferably full fat)
• ▢ 1.5 tbsp Lemon Juice
• ▢ 1/2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• ▢ 1.5 tsp Dried Oregano
• ▢ 2 large cloves of Garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 3/4 tsp Salt
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Salad

• ▢ 4 medium Tomatoes, diced into 8 wedges each (approx 14oz/400g total)
• ▢ 1 medium Green Pepper, cored & sliced into strips (approx 5oz/150g before sliced)
• ▢ 1 medium Cucumber, sliced into half moons (approx 14oz/400g total)
• ▢ 1/2 small Red Onion, finely sliced
• ▢ 7oz / 200g block of Feta, sliced into small cubes
• ▢ 1 cup / 5.6oz / 160g Kalamata Olives, pitted

Salad Dressing

• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• ▢ 1 tsp Dried Oregano
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Salt
• ▢ 1/8 tsp Black Pepper

To Serve

• ▢ 4 Flatbreads (homemade or store bought)
• ▢ pinch of Oregano

Instructions:

• Slice Chicken: Slice both chicken breasts right through the centre to create 4 even-sized breasts.
• Marinade: In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine yoghurt, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, garlic, salt & pepper.
• Marinate Chicken: Toss the chicken in the marinade until evenly coated. Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (up to 24 hours). Take out the fridge around 30mins before needed, just so you're not frying cold chicken.
• Cook Chicken: Lightly brush a griddle pan with oil (~1/2 tbsp) and bring to medium-high heat. Fry the chicken breasts on both sides until lightly charred and cooked right through the centre, working in batches if you need to (3-4mins each side depending on thickness). Rest to one side for 5-10mins, then slice into strips.
• Salad: In a large mixing bowl whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss in red onion, olives, feta, tomato, cucumber and pepper.
• Serve: Add the salad to a large serving plate and rest the sliced chicken on top. Add a pinch of oregano then serve immediately with flatbreads!

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Chicken - You could sub with chicken thigh if you'd prefer, I just tend to use breast for salads. If you're using thighs make sure they're boneless and skinless. I'd also recommend pounding them until even thickness before marinating, just so they cook quicker and more evenly. Use 1lb/500g worth.

b) Quality Ingredients - This is a simple salad with a simple dressing, so it's important to use good quality ingredients (ripe juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumber, good quality extra virgin olive oil etc).

c) Make Ahead - I wouldn't make the whole thing ahead of time, because the salad will become watery. However, you can make the dressing ahead of time and chop the veg/feta ahead of time too (tightly store in the fridge). And of course, marinate the chicken for 1 day ahead of time too.

d) Serving - I recommend using a large shallow dish/plate. The dressing will likely sink to the bottom if you use a deep bowl. I love serving with flatbreads, so you can create mini gyros/kebabs. They're also great for mopping up any leftover dressing. I do sometimes serve with Tzatziki too, but that's totally optional.

e) Calories - While recipe divided by 4 with no flatbreads.

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Delicious Greek Chicken Salad

Amount Per Serving

Calories 535 Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Fat 35.96g55%

Saturated Fat 11.399g57%

Trans Fat 0.017g

Polyunsaturated Fat 3.117g

Monounsaturated Fat 18.793g

Cholesterol 137mg46%

Sodium 1406mg59%

Potassium 989mg28%

Carbohydrates 15.75g5%

Fiber 4.5g18%

Sugar 8.47g9%

Protein 38.19g76%

Vitamin A 1634IU33%

Vitamin C 47.8mg58%

Calcium 348mg35%

Iron 3.21mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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Looking for more?You'll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook 'Comfy'

For another delicious chicken salad recipe check out my Ultimate Grilled Chicken Salad and Mango Chicken Salad!

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