Summer Salad

This Summer Salad recipe is our riff on a salad that we order at one of our favorite restaurants. It is the best salad with a great combination of flavors and we never grow tired of it! It’s made with Romaine lettuce, spring mix, grilled herbed chicken, turkey bacon, corn, blueberries, avocado, parmesan cheese and Marcona almonds all tossed in our amazing Creamy Vinaigrette. 

We love everything about  this summer chicken salad and we make it often. If you’re looking for the best summer salad to take to your next cookout, potluck or casual get-together, this is the one!

Why You Will Love This Chopped Salad

• Fresh and Flavorful. The combination of ingredients makes a fresh, flavorful and pretty salad. 
• Quick and Easy.We pull this salad together in about 20 minutes.
• Meal Salad. This salad makes a filling meal for lunch or dinner.
• Share Worthy. This is the best summer salad for you to take to your next cookout or potluck! This salad has an amazing combination of flavors that will have people coming back for seconds and thirds. I don’t know about you, but it makes me smile when I go home with an empty bowl after sharing something that people enjoyed.

Summer Salad Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts. We use thin sliced chicken cutlets for this recipe, but you can use skinless, boneless chicken breasts and slice them in half yourself.
• Chicken Seasoning. We use a mix of Italian seasoning, crushed rosemary, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to season the chicken with before grilling it.
• Olive Oil. We use olive oil to cook the chicken and bacon with.
• Turkey Bacon.  We use turkey bacon rather than pork bacon, simply because we quit eating pork years ago. If you cook turkey bacon in a little olive oil, it tastes just as good as pork bacon.
• Parmesan Cheese. Parmesan cheese adds a nice flavor to this salad. 
• Blueberries. Fresh blueberries add a bright pop of flavor and color to the salad. 
• Corn. We use either fresh corn cut from the cob (boiled, steamed or grilled) or frozen corn kernels for this salad.  
• Avocado. Fresh ripe avocado adds a delicious buttery creaminess to the salad.
• Marcona Almonds. They add a nice crunch to the mix. 
• Salad Dressing. We toss this salad with our popular Creamy Vinaigrette. It makes this salad completely addictive!

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Swap out the blueberries and use strawberries if you like or use a mix of both.
• You can use goat cheese, feta or gorgonzola instead of parmesan if you like.
• Use pistachios, macadamia nuts, cashews or pepitas instead of Marcona almonds if you like.
• We love tossing this salad with our Creamy Vinaigrette, but you can also try our Mediterranean Salad Dressing, Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette, or our Healthy Citrus Vinaigrette. They’re all good, but we always make the creamy vinaigrette for this salad. 

How To Make The Best Summer Salad

1. Make Dressing. This dressing is best if blended. Add the ingredients to a stand mixer or NutriBullet and blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. If you don’t have a blender, then use finely grated parmesan cheese and whisk everything together in a bowl until it’s well blended and you have a creamy consistency.
2. Cook Corn. Preheat grill (outdoor or cast iron stovetop grill) to medium-high heat. Brush olive oil over the corn cobs. Using tongs, place the corn on the grill and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the corn is lightly charred. Be sure to turn the corn occasionally. Cool the corn and cut it from the cob. Transfer to a bowl. You can also boil corn on the cob or use frozen corn kernels and prepare according to the directions on the package. 
3. Cook Turkey Bacon. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add 4 slices to the pan. Turn once or twice until browned on both sides and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. As the bacon cools, it will become more crispy. It won’t be as crispy as pork bacon, but it tastes just as good and you’ll be able to crumble, chop or tear it into bigger pieces to add to this salad.
4. Prepare Chicken. Pat the chicken cutlets dry with paper towels to eliminate most of the moisture on them. Place the chicken cutlets in a large bowl and sprinkle the seasoning over them and toss making sure all of pieces are well seasoned.
5. Grill Chicken.Preheat the grill (outdoor grill or cast iron grill pan) and place the chicken on the hot grill. Grill the chicken 2-3 minutes on each side for thinner cutlets and 5-7 minutes on each side for thicker boneless breasts. Check the temperature of the chicken for doneness. It should register 165°F on a digital thermometer. Transfer the grilled chicken to a plate to cool.
6. Toss Salad. Put the chopped Romaine and spring mix in a colander and rinse under cold water. Using a salad spinner, spin the lettuce dry. Transfer the lettuce to a large serving bowl, add the corn, blueberries, parmesan cheese, marcona almonds, turkey bacon and grilled chicken to the bowl and toss. Add the avocado and drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss again.  

Tips For Making The Best Summer Salad

1. Rinse produce. Give your salad vegetables a good rinsing under cold water. Use a salad spinner if you have one – they’re sure handy to have especially if you make a lot of salads. I use mine daily!
2. Large Bowl. Use a large bowl that is and big enough to give you room for tossing the ingredients.  You can use the same bowl to mix and serve with.  A pair of serving spoons is always a nice touch and will help you to gently toss the salad without smashing the ingredients. 
3. Dressing Salad. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss lightly. 
4. Seasoning. Season sparingly with salt (like sea salt or Himalayan) and freshly ground black pepper.  
5. Serving. Don’t dress the salad until you’re ready to serve it. Be sure to store the tossed salad ingredients and dressing separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. This will  prevent soggy salad ingredients.
6. Vinaigrette. Olive oil tends to solidify a bit in the refrigerator, so you’ll want to remove it from the fridge to rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to liquify before serving.

Storing Leftover Summer Chicken Salad

Store leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, leftovers should last 3-4 days if it hasn’t been tossed with dressing and just 1 day if it has been tossed with dressing. It’s best to store the salad and the dressing separately in the refrigerator.

What To Serve With Summer Salad

This summer salad with chicken is a substantially filling meal on its own, so all you really need to serve it with is a nice cold beverage. And, we have a lot of refreshing drinks for you to try!

• Arnold Palmer Drink
• Antioxidant Rich Blueberry Green Tea
• Healthy Blueberry Lemonade
• Iced Pineapple Mint Green Tea
• Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
• Watermelon Agua Fresca
• Pink Lemonade
• Fruit Infused Turmeric Tea
• Peach Green Tea

More Chicken Salad Recipes 

• BBQ Chicken Salad
• Greek Chopped Salad
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
• Chicken Cobb Salad
• Chicken Mediterranean Salad

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 4 servings

Summer Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

This popular Summer Salad recipe is made with Romaine lettuce, spring mix, grilled herbed chicken, turkey bacon, corn, blueberries, parmesan cheese and Marcona almonds all tossed in our amazing Creamy Vinaigrette. 

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken cutlets
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon crushed rosemary
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 8 slices cooked turkey bacon, chopped
• 4 cups spring mix lettuce
• 1 large head Romaine lettuce, chopped 
• 1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries.
• 1-1/2 cups cooked fresh or frozen corn
• 2 avocados, peeled and sliced or chopped
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup Marcona almonds

For The Salad Dressing

Toggle ingredient group

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons, Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water

Instructions

1. To Make the Dressing, add the ingredients to a stand blender or NutriBullet and blend ingredients so you have a smooth creamy consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. You might want to double the dressing so you have extra to serve on the side. The dressing is SO good!
2. To Cook the Corn, preheat grill (outdoor or cast iron stovetop grill) to medium-high heat. Brush olive oil over the corn cobs. Using tongs, place the corn on the grill and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the corn is lightly charred. Be sure to turn the corn occasionally. Cool the corn and cut it from the cob. Transfer to a bowl. You can also boil corn on the cob and cut the kernels from the cob, or use frozen corn kernels and prepare according to the directions on the package.  
3. To Cook the Turkey Bacon, heat 3-4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add 4 slices to the pan. Turn once or twice until it is browned on both sides and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. As the bacon cools, it will become more crispy. It won’t be as crispy as pork bacon, but it tastes just as good and you’ll be able to crumble, chop or tear it into bigger pieces to add to this salad.
4. Prepare the Chicken, by patting the cutlets dry with paper towels to eliminate most of the moisture on them. Place the chicken cutlets in a large bowl and sprinkle the seasoning over them and toss making sure all of pieces are well seasoned. Preheat the grill (outdoor grill or cast iron grill pan) and brush with oil, then place the chicken on the hot grill. Grill the chicken 2-3 minutes on each side for thinner cutlets and 5-7 minutes on each side for thicker boneless breasts. Check the temperature of the chicken for doneness. It should register 165°F on a digital thermometer. Transfer the grilled chicken to a plate to cool.
5. To Toss the Salad, put the chopped Romaine and spring mix in a colander and rinse under cold water. Using a salad spinner, spin the lettuce dry. Transfer the lettuce to a large bowl, add the corn, blueberries, parmesan cheese, marcona almonds, turkey bacon and grilled chicken to the bowl and toss. Add the avocado and drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss again.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1245Total Fat: 90gSaturated Fat: 19gUnsaturated Fat: 71gCholesterol: 173mgSodium: 1880mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 19gSugar: 6gProtein: 72g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.