This Easy Grilled Chicken Salad recipe with Ranch Dressing makes a delicious main dish salad. Featuring crisp romaine lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onions, shredded carrots, red peppers, and marinated grilled chicken. Topped with a dairy-free ranch dressing, this salad is full of flavor and is also nutritious.
This salad features tender chicken that is marinated before it’s grilled. The chicken cooks up in minutes and is served with lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and red onions. Sometimes I make my air-fryer bacon and crumble it on top (so good!).
A grilled chicken salad is really a classic summer salad recipe. It’s hard to go wrong with the combination of marinated chicken that is grilled to perfection and a variety of vibrant vegetables. You could easily adapt this recipe with what you have on hand.
What ingredients are in a grilled chicken salad
chicken breasts
extra-virgin olive oil
lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
garlic powder (or onion powder, or both)
sweet paprika (or smoked)
cayenne (if you like it spicy)
Romaine (or any other lettuce)
red onion (or scallions)
shredded carrots
bell pepper
grape tomatoes (or cherry, or whatever tomatoes you have on hand)
avocado
ranch dressing (I used a dairy-free brand)
How to make an easy grilled chicken salad?
The first thing you need to do is gather up all the ingredients.
Place the chicken in a large zipped lock bag or an airtight container with some extra-virgin olive oil and the seasonings (I used garlic powder, paprika, salt, and freshly ground pepper).
Grill up the chicken on a grill pan or on your grill outside. You could even cook it up in a skillet, oven or your air fryer (make it with my air fryer chicken tenders).
When the chicken is grilling up, you can slice the tomatoes, and cut up the peppers and onions. Slice the avocados last (they will brown if you leave them out too long).
Place the lettuce around your serving plate or platter. Place the rest of the veggies on top.
When the chicken is grilled up, let it rest a few minutes and then slice it.
How long to grill chicken
If you have a 4-ounce chicken breast, it will take 4–5 minutes, per side. The internal temperature reads 160°F, and keep in mind the internal temperature of the chicken will continue to rise if you let it rest a few minutes after grilling.
Depending on size of the chicken breast and if it has bone, it could take longer.
Can grilled chicken salad be prepped ahead of time?
Yes, it sure can! The chicken can be marinated overnight. If you’re pressed for time and forgot to marinate it, even a quick 30 minute marinate will make a flavor difference.
The salad ingredients could also be prepped ahead of time. Shred the carrots (or buy already shredded carrots), slice up the onions, and chop the tomatoes.
Just don’t slice the avocados until the last minute (they will brown). Keep the prepped veggies in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
Is this recipe Whole30 compliant?
Yes, it is Whole30 compliant, Paloe and keto friendly. It is also dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free.
Tips to make a grilled chicken salad
Marinate the chicken for 30–60 minutes or even better, for overnight. The chicken will be even more delicious the longer it gets to marinate.
To save on time, you could grill the chicken 1–2 days ahead of time. When you’re ready to make the salad, just slice the grilled chicken up and enjoy it cold or you could even warm it up a bit.
The salad could also be prepped 1–2 days ahead of time, which means this recipe could be part of your Sunday meal prep for the week.
Grill inside on a grill pan, or depending on the season, grill the chicken outdoors.
Variations for a Grilled Chicken Salad
This simple to make salad is perfect like this, but there are ways to change it up with substitutions.
Protein: In place of the chicken, try it with grilled salmon, shrimp, or even steak.
Greens: Change out the romaine for another type of lettuce, spinach, or even kale.
Vegetables: I used the vegetables I had on hand, but feel free to use bell peppers, any grilled vegetables, or even marinated vegetables, like these easy marinated mushrooms or easy marinated zucchini.
How long to grill chicken
If you have a 4-ounce chicken breast, it will take 4–5 minutes, per side. The internal temperature reads 160°F, and keep in mind the internal temperature of the chicken will continue to rise if you let it rest a few minutes after grilling.
Depending on size of the chicken breast and if it has bone, it could take longer.
Can grilled chicken salad be prepped ahead of time?
Yes, it sure can! The chicken can be marinated overnight. If you’re pressed for time and forgot to marinate it, even a quick 30 minute marinate will make a flavor difference.
The salad ingredients could also be prepped ahead of time. Shred the carrots (or buy already shredded carrots), slice up the onions, and chop the tomatoes.
Just don’t slice the avocados until the last minute (they will brown). Keep the prepped veggies in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
How Should the Chicken Be Cooked?
I prefer the chicken grilled. It cooks up in minutes on my grill pan (you could grill outside, as well). However, you could bake the chicken or cook it up in a cast iron pan or a skillet. Bake on baking sheet on 400° F and until the internal temperature reaches 165° F.
How to store this salad?
Place any leftover chicken in a an airtight container (or large zipped lock bag) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the lettuce and vegetables separately (without the dressing, or it will get soggy), for up to 3 days.