Chicken Caprese Salad
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Chicken Caprese Salad – Made up of crisp lettuce, marinated grilled chicken, itty bitty fresh mozzarella pearls, creamy avocados, fresh basil ribbons, vibrant tomatoes, and its all finished with a zippy balsamic dressing. It’s an exceptional chopped salad that’s sure to impress!
If you love the tomato basil mozzarella flavor trio you will be smitten with this salad! You get all the familiar flavors of a classic caprese salad that’s elevated with bonus additions of herby grilled chicken, rich avocado and a sweet and tangy balsamic dressing.
Of course this salad is a summer dream, but with its beautiful red and green colors it also such a gorgeously festive holiday salad too. You’ll find included are other more seasonal friendly options to prepare the chicken as well when you aren’t able to grill outside.
I think it’s fair to say this may become a new favorite salad for you! It’s a dazzling salad, brimming with layer upon layer of fresh mouthwatering flavor. And it’s one of those salads we can happy count as the main meal with it’s hearty protein additions.
Serve it with fresh dinner rolls and everyone will be thoroughly satisfied.
Caprese Chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: This protein addition make the salad a main dish rather than just a side. You can also use chicken thighs in this recipe.
- Olive oil: This is the fat used in marinade to help retain moisture, it is also used for the dressing for richness and flavor.
- Lemon: Added for brightness and tenderizing in the marinade.
- Dijon mustard: You’ll find this in both the marinade and dressing for a boost in flavor.
- Honey: A little goes a long ways here. Used to help the chicken brown better (those desirable grill marks), and it’s also used in the dressing to balance it’s tartness.
- Italian seasoning: This is a dried herb blend that’s added here to season the chicken marinade.
- Salt and pepper: The salt brings out all the flavors of the food, pepper is added for more depth.
- Balsamic vinegar: Balsamic vinegar varies widely you can use a fancier aged balsamic vinegar here or an inexpensive variety.
- Garlic: A bold flavor enhancer. As always a little goes a long ways.
- Romaine lettuce: This is the best type of leafy green to use here as it holds up better to heavier mix-ins.
- Fresh mozzarella pearls: If you can’t find the pearl size simple cut a ball of fresh mozzarella into small cubes.
- Grape tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes work great too.
- Avocados: I like to add two here because they are so delicious and they make the salad more filling. They compliment the salad beautifully.
- Fresh basil: This is a key ingredient to the salad, it brings one of the foundational caprese flavors.
How to Make Chicken Caprese Salad
Make chicken marinade: In a small mixing bowl whisk together 3 Tbsp olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 tsp garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste (I use 1 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper).
Prepare chicken: Place chicken in a resealable bag and pound thicker parts of chicken to even thickness with a meat mallet, then pour marinade mixture over chicken.
Rest in fridge: Seal bag and rub marinade over chicken. Transfer to refrigerator and marinate 2 – 6 hours.
Make the balsamic vinaigrette: Make this while the chicken is marinating and refrigerate. Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl until well combined, cover.
Grill chicken: Preheat a grill to 425 degrees over medium-high heat. Brush grill grates lightly with olive oil then place chicken on grill. Grill until 165 °F in center, turning once halfway through cooking, about 4 – 5 minutes per side.
Or pan sear chicken: Altnerately you can cook the chicken in a heavy skillet, drizzled with a little olive oil about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Omit honey if cooking in a skillet.
Chop chicken: Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes then dice into cubes.
To assemble the salad: While chicken is cooling, add lettuce to a large salad bowl. Top with mozzarella, tomatoes, avocados and basil. Add chicken.
Toss lightly then drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over salad, or plate and drizzle desired amount of dressing over each serving. Serve immediately.
Helpful Tips
- Time saving tips: Chop and wash the lettuce ahead of time to save time later on.
- Make the balsamic vinaigrette up to 1 week ahead. When ready to serve, let it rest at room temp for about 20 minutes or so to allow the olive oil to return to a liquid state.
- Chicken tips: Don’t marinate chicken breasts in acidic marinade like this ideally any longer than 6 hours or the texture may become slightly mushy.
- First pound chickens thickness out evenly with a meat mallet (before adding to marinade) so it cooks evenly.
- Rotisserie chicken substitute: In a hurry use chopped rotisserie chicken instead of the marinated grilled chicken to save time.
- Presentation tip: For the best appearance wait to add the dressing until just before serving. You can also plate the salad individually and each person can add their own dressing.
How to Chop Romaine Lettuce for Salad
- I find the easiest way to chop a large head of romaine lettuce is to first lay the whole head of romaine lettuce on a large cutting board then slice the entire head in half from root to tip using a large chefs knife.
- Lay the flat halved portion of lettuce cut side down on the cutting board (set the other portion aside), then cut into 1-inch rows across.
- From there cut rows going the opposite direction, cutting into bite size 1-inch pieces.
- Don’t forget to wash the lettuce now. To do so rinse or submerge the lettuce in water in batches in the basket of a salad spinner, then spin in the salad spinner to remove excess water.
What to Serve with a Caprese Dinner Salad
No Knead Bread or sourdough bread
More Delicious Salad Recipes to Try
- Chicken Chopped Salad with Italian Dressing
- Chicken Sun Dried Tomato and Avocado Spinach Salad
- Cranberry Avocado Chicken Spinach Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
- Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
- Strawberry Chicken Spinach Salad
Follow Cooking Classy
Chicken Caprese Salad
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for grill grates
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- Salt and black pepper
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
Salad
- 1 large head Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella pearls
- 10 oz grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 medium avocados, chopped
- 1/3 cup chiffonade basil (basil cut into thin ribbons)
Instructions
- For the chicken: In a small mixing bowl whisk together 3 Tbsp olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon, 1/2 tsp honey, 1 tsp garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste (I use 1 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper).
- Place chicken in a resealable bag and pound thicker parts of chicken to even thickness with a meat mallet, then pour marinade mixture over chicken.
- Seal bag and rub marinade over chicken. Transfer to refrigerator and marinate 2 - 6 hours.
- Preheat a grill to 425 degrees over medium-high heat. Brush grill grates lightly with olive oil then place chicken on grill.
- Grill until cooked through, turning once halfway through cooking, about 4 - 5 minutes per side (chicken should register 165 degrees in center of chicken on an instant read thermometer).
- Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes then dice into cubes.
- For the balsamic vinaigrette: Make this while the chicken is marinating and refrigerate. Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl until well combined, cover.
- For the salad: While chicken is cooling, add lettuce to a large salad bowl. Top with mozzarella, tomatoes, avocados and basil. Add chicken.
- Toss lightly then drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over salad, or plate and drizzle desired amount of dressing over each serving. Serve immediately.
Notes
- The chicken can also be cooked on a panini press, or on the stove top with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Omit honey if cooking on the stovetop so chicken doesn't burn.
- Nutrition estimate based on 1 of the 3 Tbsp olive oil used being soaked into chicken with marinade, and all of the dressing being added.
- Recipe updated 4/26. Previously included fresh basil in the marinade it has been changed to Italian seasoning and more fresh basil is used in the salad.