Quinoa Grilled Chicken Salad

This Quinoa Grilled Chicken Salad recipe is quick and easy to make and it’s loaded with fresh ingredients. If you love Mediterranean flavors, you’ll love this Mediterranean chicken salad!

This Mediterranean chicken salad is a delicious mix of greens, quinoa, the best grilled chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, kalamata olives, golden raisins, onion, pistachios, corn and feta all tossed in a perky lemon vinaigrette.

Over time I have incorporated more of a Mediterranean diet into my daily wellness plan.  The Mediterranean diet consists of traditional dishes from Greece, Italy and other countries that border along the Mediterranean Sea where meals are typically made up of lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds, fresh herbs, whole grains and lots of olive oil. Fish, poultry and seafood are included in the Mediterranean diet in moderation. This Grilled Chicken Salad has delicious Mediterranean flavors that I know you’ll love as much as I do!

Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Chicken Marinade

You’ll love how easy this versatile marinade recipe comes together!  You’ll just add all the ingredients for this Garlic Oil marinade to a blender and blend until you have a smooth consistency.

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 8-10 large garlic cloves
• Salt
• Seasoning. I keep a small jar of this homemade Shawarma seasoning in my pantry to add to marinades, roasted vegetables and pan-roasted tomatoes . It adds so much flavor to grilled chicken and a little goes a long way. I use 1/2 teaspoon Shawarma seasoning per 1/4 cup Garlic Oil.

Lemon Vinaigrette

This lemon vinaigrette couldn’t be easier to make. Just whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, or add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake vigorously to blend.

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Ground black pepper
• Sea salt or Himalayan salt

How to Make Grilled Chicken Salad

1. Marinate Chicken. Blend together the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Place the chicken in a shallow dish (or large plastic ziplock bag) and pour the marinade over the chicken.  Marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. Cook Quinoa. While the chicken is marinating, bring 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil, then reduce heat, place lid on pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Salad Ingredients. Add the lettuce, grilled corn, cooled quinoa, chopped tomatoes, cucumber and onion, Feta cheese, kalamata olives, golden raisins and pistachios to a bowl and toss. 
4. Grill Chicken. Grill marinated chicken 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink on the inside. Set aside 5 minutes to cool. Slice and toss in salad.
5. Dress Salad. Drizzle salad dressing over salad and toss again. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Looking for more chicken salad recipes?

• Fried Chicken Salad
• Basil Pesto Chicken Salad
• Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad

Want more ideas? Check out all my healthy salad recipes.

Looking for more quinoa salad recipes to make?

• Best Quinoa Salad
• Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
• Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Salad
• Southwest Quinoa Salad
• Beet Kale Quinoa Salad
• Spinach Quinoa Salad
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad

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Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Chicken Salad

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

This Grilled Chicken Salad recipe is quick and easy to make and it's loaded with fresh ingredients. If you love Mediterranean flavors, you'll love this Mediterranean chicken salad!

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless and boneless grilled chicken breast (chopped)
• 6 cups dark leafy greens (mixed, including baby kale)
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 whole Roma tomatoes (large, coarsely chopped) or 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
• 1 cup cucumber (peeled, seeded and chopped, 1 small cucumber)
• 1/2 red onion (small, thinly sliced)
• 2 ears corn, grilled and sliced from the cob (or 1-1/2 cups cooked corn)
• 1 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup roasted pistachios
• 3/4 cup Feta cheese

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced or grated
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (sea salt or Himalayan salt)

Instructions

1. Blend together the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Place the chicken in a shallow dish (or large plastic ziplock bag) and pour the marinade over the chicken.  Marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. While the chicken is marinating, bring 1/2 cup quinoa and 1 cup water in a saucepan to a boil, place lid on pan, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes before fluffing.
3. Whisk together the ingredients for Simple Lemon Vinaigrette.
4. Add the lettuce, grilled corn, cooled quinoa, chopped tomatoes, cucumber and onion, Feta cheese, kalamata olives, golden raisins and pistachios to a bowl and toss. 
5. Grill marinated chicken 4-5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink on the inside. Set aside 5 minutes to cool. Slice chicken and add to salad ingredients.
6. Drizzle Simple Lemon Vinaigrette lover salad and toss. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1. Whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, or add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid and shake vigorously to blend.
   

Notes

Variations

• Add 1 cup garbanzo beans (canned, drained and rinsed)
• Use grilled salmon instead of grilled chicken breast
• Add 3/4 cup roasted red peppers  or 1 small raw red bell pepper sliced 
• Toss in marinated artichoke hearts

Garlic Oil (Chicken Marinade)

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 8-10 large garlic cloves, peeled, smashed with back of knife
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Add ingredients to a blender and blend until creamy in texture and the garlic is minced into very fine pieces.

Shawarma Seasoning

Add to Chicken Marinade - 1/2 teaspoon Shawarma Seasoning per 1/4 cup Garlic Oil

• 1-1/2 tablespoons ground paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Measure the spices individually and add each to a mason jar.
2. Stir the spices to mix them together.
3. Seal lid on jar.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 776Total Fat: 49gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 37gCholesterol: 145mgSodium: 1154mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 7gSugar: 19gProtein: 45g

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.