Greek Chicken Spinach Salad (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)

Herby Greek Chicken Salad with baked chicken, spinach, avocado, red onion, pine nuts, and an amazing Greek salad dressing. This fresh and flavorful dinner salad recipe is a filling, clean meal worthy of putting on repeat!

The good news is, this spinach salad is cool, crisp and refreshing on a hot summer’s day (not to mention super nutritious and filling!).

The bad news is…we must cook chicken. From a scientific standpoint, this does require heat.

I don’t make up the rules. Nor do I often follow them.

But the good news is (part two), the chicken is crazy tender and lovely, and can just as easily be grilled or baked…pick your passion!

AND the good news is (part three) this salad is CRAZY herby and will take you away on a mental vacation to the beautiful Mediterranean.

At first glance, this recipe appears to call for eleventy billion ingredients; however, you’ll notice many of them are herbs or spices for the salad dressing and the chicken marinade, many of which cross-over to both the dressing and the marinade. 

AND most of which you likely already have in your spice collection!

Don’t worry, the process is easy – it’s a 3-stepper.

How to Make Greek Chicken Salad:

1. Make the dressing
2. Marinate and bake the chicken (okay, that’s two steps, but three always sounds more enticing than four).
3. Assemble the salad.

Here’s how this plays out in detail:

How to Make Greek Chicken Salad:

Begin by preparing the Greek salad dressing. To do so, add all ingredients to a small blender and blend until well-combined and creamy. Use immediately or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

 Place chicken in a sealable bag or container along with oil, lemon juice, herbs, and sea salt. Seal the bag and move everything around until well-coated. Marinate 15 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place chicken in a casserole dish.

 Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to distribute throughout the meat, yielding the most tender result.

 Chop the chicken into cubes. If you’re making the chicken in advance, I recommend refrigerating the chicken prior to chopping it. This way, your chicken stays nice and moist and tender AND you end up with a completely chilled salad. salad).

Divide the spinach, cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, avocado, and pine nuts among 4 large salad bowls. Top with herby roast chicken and Greek salad dressing. Enjoy!

As an alternative, you can add all of the salad ingredients to a large mixing bowl and drizzle in the dressing to toss it before serving. 

Recipe Adaptations:

• Omit tomatoes and pine nuts to make AIP
• Omit red onion from the salad and garlic from the dressing to make Low-FODMAP
• Add Kalamata olives and/or sun-dried tomatoes if desired.
• If you aren’t trying to steer clear of dairy, consider adding goat milk feta to the salad.
• Add ½ to 1 cup brown or white rice for carbohydrate and resistant starch
• Grill the chicken instead of baking it.

More Healthy Filling Salad Recipes:

• Balsamic Baked Chicken Caesar Salad
• Crispy Jamaican Jerk Salmon Salad with Mango Basil Vinaigrette
• Curry Shrimp Chopped Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
• Baked Chicken Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette
• Paleo Chinese Chicken Salad

Herby chicken for life!

My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!

If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!

Greek Chicken Spinach Salad

5 from 1 vote

Clean, refreshing Greek Spinach Salad with herby baked chicken and Greek vinaigrette

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Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Greek Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup avocado oil or olive oil
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram or sage or thyme
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Baked Chicken:

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Spinach Salad:

• 5 ounces baby spinach
• 1/3 cup red onion thinly sliced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 cucumber thinly sliced
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted

Instructions

Make the Dressing:

• Add all ingredients to a small blender and blend until well-combined and creamy. Use immediately or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Bake the Chicken:

• Place chicken in a sealable bag or container along with oil, lemon juice, herbs, and sea salt. Seal the bag and move everything around until well-coated. Marinate 15 minutes or up to 8 hours.
• When you're ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place chicken in a casserole dish.
• Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
• Transfer chicken to a cutting board and allow it to rest 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to distribute throughout the meat, yielding the most tender result.
• Chop the chicken into cubes (Note: you can refrigerate the chicken prior to chopping if you prefer chilled chicken in your salad).

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Nutrition

Serving: 1of 4 · Calories: 348kcal · Carbohydrates: 4g · Protein: 24g · Fat: 26g · Fiber: 3g · Sugar: 1g

Author: Julia

Course: Chicken Main Dishes, Main Dishes, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked chicken, keto, low-carb, paleo, spinach salad, whole30

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