Greek Chicken Salad. I'm seriously changing the game with the chicken in this one. It's THAT good! Pro tip: Make the greek feta fries with this salad. Its legit the perfect combo.
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
We all know how I feel about eating out of a bowl. I wish all means could be bowl based, so I'm pumped that we've got another epic bowl meal here on What's Gaby Cooking.
I mean this in the most humble way possible, this greek chicken situation is going to rock your world. It's literally perfection. It's moist (my least favorite word in the human language but I'm using it because it's true), tangy, spicy, salty, basically everything you could ever ask for. Then, throw it onto a greek salad with arugula, pickled onions, feta cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes and it's like a bowl of the most incredible stuff on earth. Add a lemon oregano vinaigrette to boot and it's game over. Another TIP: Make extra chicken and use it for my greek chicken stuffed pitas.
Here's my quick + easy recipe for pickled onions too! I keep them stocked at all times when I need to add a little kick to something 🙂
Ingredients & Substitutions
For the Chicken
- Lemons
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper freshly ground
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Dried Oregano
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
For the Salad
- Fresh Arugula
- Fresh Parsley
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Feta Cheese
- Cucumber
- Pickled Onions
For the Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
- Lemon
- Champagne Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Oregano
For the Pickled Red Onions
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Red Onion
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
How to Make Greek Chicken Salad
Step 1: Whisk apple cider vinegar, white sugar, kosher salt with 1 cup water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve.
Step 2: Place onion in a jar; pour vinegar mixture over. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using. Also, can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover and chill. Drain onions before using.
Step 3: In a large zip-top bag, combine the lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano and red-pepper flakes. Add the chicken, zip the top of the bag and give it a quick shake to combine. Refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Step 4: Pre-heat a cast iron to medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill each chicken thigh for 4-5 minutes on each side until done. Remove and set aside to rest.
Step 5: Slice the chicken against the grain into thin strips and transfer back into the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes until just slightly crispy around the edges.
Step 6: Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and toss to with the salad ingredients and serve with the Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
How to Store Greek Chicken Salad
I recommend storing all the components in the fridge separately, and assembling your salad fresh when its time to eat. Store the chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also store the vinaigrette for the same amount of time. Pickled onions will stay in the fridge for a couple weeks. When its time to eat, warm the chicken through so it reaches a safe temperature, chop up your salad mix-ins and you are good to go!
How to Freeze Greek Chicken Salad
You can freeze the chicken once cooked in the freezer for up to 3 months. Portion out into meal-sized portions and label to ensure you are keeping track of the date.
Tips & Tricks
Make the onions at least an hour ahead so they pickle, but you can also keep them for up to 2 weeks.
This makes for a great weeknight meal or an office lunch!! Just follow the instructions on how to store and you can have a freshly assembled salad in no time.
FAQs
How can I use this vinaigrette in other recipes?
This lemon oregano vinaigrette is truly delicious! It will go really well on salmon, salads (chopped greek salad) or drizzled on a mediterranean bowl.
Can I use lettuce instead of arugula?
You sure can! You can use lettuce, or a mix of greens to change it up or if that is what you have on hand.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Greek Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 lemons juiced
- ½ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic peeled, smashed and minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
For the Salad:
- 1-2 cups fresh arugula
- Fresh parsley torn
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halves
- crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup cucumber halved and thinly sliced
- pickled red onions recipe below
Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ shallot minced
- kosher salt to taste
- fresh oregano
Pickled red onions
- ½ cups apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large zip-top bag, combine the lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano and red-pepper flakes. Add the chicken, zip the top of the bag and give it a quick shake to combine. Refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
- Pre-heat a cast iron to medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill each chicken thigh for 4-5 minutes on each side until done. Remove and set aside to rest.
- Slice the chicken against the grain into thin strips and transfer back into the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes until just slightly crispy around the edges.
- Transfer the chicken to a large bowl and toss to with the salad ingredients and serve with the Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
To make the pickled red onions
- Whisk first 3 ingredients and 1 cup water in a small bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Place onion in a jar; pour vinegar mixture over. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using. Also, can be made 2 weeks ahead. Cover and chill. Drain onions before using.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
If there's no cast iron currently in my kitchen, would you recommend a quick bake or to cook the chicken stovetop in another metal pan? Can you recommend how long? It's for easter brunch! Thanks!
any other heavy bottom pan would work!
This chicken is THAT good. On repeat by request of my picky children. Everyone licks their plates with this marinade, and that second trip back to the pan to give the chicken a crisp!
So light and fresh! What a wonderful dinner!
can I use chicken Breasts in your recipe ?? my kids wont eat thighs.
sure!
I can't find champagne vinegar anywhere...any substitutes? By, the way, LOVE your recipes. Thank you!!!
red wine vinegar will work!
Where do you find pickled onions?
I have the same question too! Where can I find pickled red onions? I was hoping the recipe included how to make them :/
updating the recipe to include now!
updated the post with the recipe 🙂
Thanks!!!
Looks fab! When you sauté the chicken after slicing it, do you need to add any additional marinade or oil?
nope!
Hi Gaby,
This looks fab! Can I ask how many servings the recipe provides?
4-6!! all the recipes on my site serve 4-6 unless otherwise noted! But Ill update the recipe to reflect that! Thanks for pointing it out!
How much arugula do I need? I need to make a quick trip to the store so I can make this tomorrow night!
just a handful of two!
This salad is GOR-geous! I'm simply dying for a bite of that Greek chicken right now!
Yummm. This sounds right up our alley! Flavorful and light. And, who doesn't love eating out of a bowl?? The perfect summer meal.
This sounds perfect! We try to have salad at least once a week in our home. I think this will be in the rotation very soon. Pinned!
Love all the greek flavors in this salad!! I totally need this after a not-so-healthy weekend 🙂
This is gorgeous and I love everything about it. Going on the must try list asap!