This chicken salad bowl is a perfect mid-week meal, a great mixed summer platter for barbeques, and great for a lunchbox of leftovers. This warm chicken salad is freshly made and is super healthy too. The chicken is cooked in fresh herbs and served in a salad bowl with avocado, mozzarella, crisp red onion, juicy tomatoes plus the delicious staples of salad lettuce and cucumber. It is topped with an easy to make a dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Summer is just around the corner and it’s so important to have an easy summer dinner recipe to whip up when the sun is shining and you don’t want to be cooing for hours. This easy chicken salad bowl is so simple and you can use any ingredients you have in the fridge so need to make a last-minute supermarket stop!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s easy, healthy and perfect for summer lunch boxes or if you need to feed a large group of people.
- It’s a great leftover recipe, you can use yesterday’s roast chicken and save time, and money and all that roasted flavour will enhance this tasty chicken salad bowl.
- You can reheat the chicken to make it a warm chicken salad or cook it fresh. It’s a lovely way to add some warmth to the finished salad.
Top Questions
What is a good accompaniment to chicken salad?
What does a salad bowl contain?
Can you put egg in a chicken salad?
Is it better to boil or roast chicken for a chicken salad?
Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
CHICKEN
Salads are known for being drab and boring but adding some amazing protein just fills you up and makes it 10 times better. I used leftover roast chicken for my salad bowl recipe because it adds extra flavour and I hate throwing leftovers away. But you could use any protein source you like, chickpeas, tofu or any leftover roast meats.
MOZARELLA
One of my favourite cheeses, fresh mozzarella is perfect in a summer salad. Mozzarella isn’t dry like grated cheese and adds a creaminess which I just love! simply tear over the salad and enjoy. A warm chicken salad is best served with mozzarella as it melts slightly and makes it even yummier.
AVOCADO
Avocados are simple in flavour but add a much needed creamy texture, a ripe avocado should be green and a little squidgy. They mix really well in a salad and offer an opposing feel to the crunchy lettuce. Avocado also helps to make your chicken salad bowl way more filling.
RED ONION
The onion should be used in every savoury recipe. It’s tasty and there are so many different types you can find our favourite and for this recipe, I think red onion works the best. Raw red onion has a slightly less peppery taste than white or brown onions which are much better for cooked recipes. You can use them but I prefer red onions. Spring onions ( or green onions) also work really well. Offering flavour and crunch!
PEPPER
Whilst I know all sweet peppers taste the same, they don’t. The red and yellow are clearly superior for salads so I would recommend you use a brightly coloured pepper and leave the green peppers for your sauces. Green peppers have a tangy taste which is a little too overwhelming for this fresh chicken salad bowl.
CUCUMBER
Clean and fresh tasting, the humble cucumber should not be overlooked when creating the perfect summer salad. It’s easy and cheap to get hold of and goes with everything. It’s a great vegetable to convince your little ones to eat.
How to make warm chicken salad – step by step
- Cook the chicken as whole chicken breasts, or cut into chunks to cook quicker, until cooked through. Just heat the pan in a little olive oil to stop it from sticking.
- Mix together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley. Add it to the pan and mix it with the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking make the salad. Chop up all your ingredients and add them to a large serving bowl.
- To make the dressing add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar.
- Mix together and enjoy, maybe try it with a lil Pimms too!
Top Tips
- Use leftover roast chicken for full flavour for the chicken salad bowl.
- Make this salad your own, you don’t have to just use the vegetables I suggested you can add some, take some away or even add some exciting new ingredients like crushed walnuts or softly boiled potatoes. The world is your oyster.
- My best top tip for this recipe has to be to make extra as it makes a great salad for lunchboxes the next day.
Chicken Salad Bowl Serving Suggestions
RICE OR PASTA
Adding carbohydrates to a salad is a great way to make it more filling and to help it stretch further for a party or when those unexpected guests show up. Personally, I love using cooked and cooled pasta in my summer salads, tossing the pasta, or rice, in the dressing and then adding it to the prepared vegetables just takes this chicken salad up a level.
FANCY BREAD
I love bread. No two ways about it, it’s my weakness ( along with cake, blondies, cocktails – okay I have a lot of weaknesses) Freshly baked bread with a summer chicken salad is amazing.
You could purchase tiger bread from the supermarket, or try your hand at making your own. I recently learnt to make breadsticks, that’s another way to jazz up this simple summer salad. Ciabatta and focaccia also add extra deliciousness to this warm chicken salad.
Adding bread to your chicken salad bowl ensures it will be a great crowd-pleaser. It will also go a lot further.
Equipment
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All you need are a chopping board, knife and your large serving bowl. This chicken salad bowl couldn’t be easier to whip up on a Sunny afternoon.
Storing / Making ahead of time options
This Chicken Salad Bowl recipe could be made the night before or the morning of. I wouldn’t leave it any longer. You could prep everything and then combine it a few hours prior to serving. It travels really well so is a great picnic meal too.
Substitutions and variations
Use what you have in the fridge, this is by no means an extensive ingredient list – love radishes? Chuck them in! Bought too many carrots, grate and add them. You make this your own chicken salad bowl. I’d love to hear your versions in the comments section below.
ADD BEANS
You could fill out this recipe by adding your favourite beans. Try chickpeas or cannellini beans in this recipe, you could omit your chicken and make this a vegan salad bowl. Just don’t forget to safely prepare your beans.
BACON
Bacon makes everything taste better, fry and finely chop a few rashers of bacon and then crumble them over the top of your salad. They’ll add wonderful salty flavour and add an extra crunch! You could even use bacon lardons for ease!
I’ve linked up this chicken salad bowl recipe to #CookBlogShare which is being hosted by Helen at Family Friends Food.
FAQS
What is a good accompaniment to chicken salad?
Personally, I love using bread as an accompaniment to chicken salad. Adding freshly baked bread to this chicken salad will make it more filling and who doesn’t love warm freshly baked bread!
What does a salad bowl contain?
A salad bowl can contain whatever you want! Above I have included my favourite ingredients for a chicken salad bowl recipe but you could use your own veggies, like adding grated carrot or omitting the red onion. Perhaps you have leftover roast pork that your want to include, or make some crunchy bacon.
Can you put egg in a chicken salad?
Of course, you can put egg in a chicken salad. I really enjoy a chicken salad, I would recommend them boiling them to a fairly hard boil and then cutting them into halves or quarters. It’s a really easy addition and will increase your protein uptake. This makes your salad more filling.
Is it better to boil or roast chicken for a chicken salad?
It’s better to roast a chicken for the chicken salad because it adds so much more flavour. Boiled chicken would also work, you could even shallow fry your chicken. Just make sure it’s cooked all the way through.
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Recipe
Easy Chicken Salad Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 handful fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 250 g tomatoes
- 1 lettuce
- 1 ball mozzarella
- 1 avocado
- 1 red onion
- half cucumber
- half pepper
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- pinch salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Instructions
- In a frying pan on medium-low heat add a little olive oil.
- Gently cook the chicken as whole chicken breasts, or cut into chunks to cook quicker, until cooked through.
- Mix together 1 tablespoon of olive oil, with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and chopped fresh parsley. Add it to the pan and mix it with the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking make the salad. Slice up all the pieces and add them to a large serving bowl.
- I prefer having a layer of lettuce on the bottom of the bowl and keeping all the toppings separate so everyone can take a little bit of what they want.
- To make the dressing add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Mix together.
- Add the chicken to the plate of salad, drizzle the dressing over and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Great salad, and I love that you can pretty much add any vegetables you have in your fridge! For me, the avocado was a must in this salad, and I absolutely loved the simple dressing!
I think that is why I love it so much too. It’s great for using up all those odd ends of vegetables.
I love making this on repeat all summer long!
It’s great to have such an easy go to recipe.
I love how fresh and colourful this is! A great summer dish, especially for entertaining.
Thank you Helen, I love the colours too
Such a great salad recipe, I make this at least once a week!
I’m so glad to hear it. Thank you for leaving a comment
Everyone at my house loved this! So flavorful, easy to make and really delish!
That is so wonderful to hear x
I love the simplicity of this salad bowl and it’s a great way of using up leftover chicken from the weekends roast.
Thank you Lesley that is really kind.
This looks so fresh and delicious!
Thanks for joining in with #CookBlogShare.
I’m loving salad bowls at the moment and this will be next on my list. So many delicious flavours!
Thank you Cat <3
Thank you Cat