One bite of this savory chicken chopped salad, and you will be hooked! Grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, beets, tomatoes, pomegranate, feta, and sprouts combine with a pomegranate vinaigrette to make the best lunch salad.
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(*This post was sponsored by Foster Farms. All delicious opinions are my own.)
If you have been following my blog for a while, you already know my love affair with Foster Farms chicken. Their chicken is fresh, never frozen, and you can taste the difference every time you cook! This is the chicken I feed my family every week.
Foster Farms Fresh & Natural Chicken is raised locally in California and the Pacific Northwest. Me, I love that their chicken is always fresh and never frozen. You can taste this difference in every bite. Foster Farms chickens are raised cage-free, which is very important to me.
If you love quick and easy chicken recipes as much as we do, you will want to check out my mouthwatering Gluten Free Chicken recipes.
Why This Recipe Is Great:
- If you are looking for a new salad recipe, this chopped salad with chicken is filled with all the good stuff. It is one of my favorite recipes using chicken.
- This salad is an easy meal the whole family will love. It is easy to make with chicken you grill or leftover chicken you already have in the refrigerator.
- This chopped vegetable salad makes the perfect healthy salad recipe. It is made with simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
- My chopped salad recipe differs from a classic chopped salad because I include fruits and vegetables.
Whether you need a salad for lunch, dinner, a cookout, or a picnic, this deliciously easy chopped salad recipe will be your new go-to salad recipe!
Serve my homemade Gluten Free Ranch Dressing with this salad.
Ingredient Notes:
- Feta Cheese- You can also use blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese. They all add delicious flavor!
- Chicken - Breasts are leaner, but you can use any cut.
- Lettuce - I used romaine, but you can use any lettuce, like a spring mix or butter leaf.
- Beets - Any color of beets will taste delicious. Steam or roast them.
- A chopped salad tool helps cut your lettuce into the perfect chopped salad!
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
The first thing you need to do is determine how you want to cook the chicken for a salad:
- Roast your chicken in your oven
- Pan-fry your chicken
- Sous-vide
I will share grilling directions but feel free to cook your chicken in any way you like. If you are short on time, you can use leftover or pre-cooked chicken in this chopped salad recipe.
Step 1: For best results, season both sides of your chicken with salt, pepper, and olive oil. I don't use any other seasonings because I want the true flavors of the chicken to shine through in this salad recipe.
Step 2: Preheat your grill to 375º F. Be sure the grille slats are clean and debris free.
Step 3: Grill the chicken for 20 minutes flipping the chicken over with metal tongs so that both sides cook evenly. When the chicken looks fully cooked, use a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. You want it to read 165º F.
Step 4: Remove the chicken from the grill onto a plate when it is cooked. Cover the grilled chicken with foil, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Step 5: Place the chicken breasts on a cutting board and slice them thinly. You can also use chicken thighs if you prefer.
Step 6: Wash and thinly slice romaine lettuce and add it to a salad bowl. Add the chicken to the salad. Now you are ready to add in the rest of the ingredients!
Add your cooked beets to the salad. Make sure to dice the beets into bite-sized pieces.
You can buy pre-cooked beets or roast fresh beets at home. I steamed my beets, but you can roast them in the oven or air fryer. I will share some tips below.
How To Cook Beets:
- Add a steamer basket to a pot and fill it with water to the base of the steam basket. Add washed beets to the basket. Leave the peels on, as they will come off easily after the beets are cooked. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes (if your beets are large) or until the beets are soft. Use a knife to scrape off the peels.
- Wash the beets and bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until your beets are soft. (Baking time will depend on the size of the beets you are cooking.
The next step is to make the homemade pomegranate vinaigrette dressing and pour it over the salad.
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 clove of minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- dash salt/pepper to taste
Add all of the salad dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend. Pour over the salad and toss to mix. Top with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sprouts, or anything you like!
Mix-Ins:
Add tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, feta, or anything you want to put in your chopped chicken salad.
I love how colorful this salad is. You will love how easy this chopped chicken salad recipe is to make!!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can easily make this chopped salad recipe dairy-free by using dairy-free cheese or omitting the cheese altogether.
You can use any cooked chicken to make this recipe. You can also use beef or seafood.
I would not recommend making this salad ahead for more than a day. The moisture from the beets and chopped tomatoes will turn the salad brown if you make it too far ahead. If you want to make it ahead, store the chicken, beets, tomatoes, and cheese separately, then assemble them when ready.
Once the salad and dressing are assembled, it will not keep long without the salad turning brown.
You may also love this easy Curry Chicken Salad with grapes!
More Easy Chicken Recipes:
- Gluten Free Fried Chicken
- Grandma's Homemade Chicken Soup
- Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
- Instant Pot Gluten Free Chicken Stew
📖 Recipe
Easy Lunch Time Chicken Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken Breasts
- 2 beets roasted
- ¼ cup feta cheese
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the grill on medium heat.
- Remove the chicken from the packaging and put on a plate.
- Sprinkle olive oil over the chicken, then season with salt and pepper.
- Cook on the grill for 20 minutes until cooked thoroughly.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes on a plate.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board and slice thinly.
- Add lettuce and all of the salad ingredients to a large salad bowl and mix.
- Top with the homemade vinaigrette dressing.
Notes
- Feel free to substitute any vegetables you have on-hand in this salad recipe.
- You can use chicken breast or another part of the chicken including leftover rotisserie.
- I do not recommend making this salad ahead unless you keep the prepped ingredients separate. Wet ingredients like the beets and tomatoes will turn the lettuce brown if it sits too long.
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- dash salt/pepper to taste
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This recipe was updated from an old May 2019 post with more information.
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Laura
What a hearty and delicious salad! Loving all the flavors and colors, too. YUM!
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, thank you so much Laura 🙂
Christina
I love anything with beets! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad Christina. Beets definitely taste delicious with this chicken!