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This recipe for Berry Chicken Salad features romaine lettuce with chicken, raspberries and strawberries tossed in raspberry vinaigrette. It’s the perfect sweet, fresh, warm weather summery salad that is full of flavor and is easily customizable.
If you’re a fan of summer salads, you may wish to try our recipes for watermelon strawberry caprese salad, grilled cobb salad and strawberry almond salad with poppyseed dressing.
Berries are a great addition to salads in both summer and spring. Grab some berries when they’re plentiful, sweet and on sale! The farmer’s market is a great place to score the best fresh berries. This refreshing berry chicken salad is perfect to serve for lunch or as a main dish salad.
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken: You need boneless, skinless chicken breast.
- Berries: I’m using raspberries and strawberries, but you can certainly get creative with your berry choices!
- Lettuce: Romaine lettuce is nice because it’s crisp when chopped. Use any kind of salad greens.
- Raspberry Jam: Seedless raspberry jam is the best to use so you’re not dealing with the unwanted crunch of seeds.
- Raspberry Vinegar: Look for this in your market’s vinegar aisle. It’s so good in this salad and dressing!
- Olive Oil: Avocado oil may also be used.
- Chicken Broth: This is used to poach the chicken.
How to make Berry Chicken Salad:
The complete, printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- The chicken breast is poached in chicken broth and raspberry vinegar. Then its cooled in the broth and refrigerated until cold.
- Serve sliced chicken over chopped romaine with berries. Toss in the raspberry vinaigrette.
Recipe Tips:
- The chicken may be prepared ahead of time (up to one day before using).
- For a super simplistic berry chicken salad, use shredded rotisserie chicken or use leftover grilled chicken.
- Make ahead tip: Store the salad and the vinaigrette separately in the refrigerator, and toss just before serving.
- Any leftover berry vinaigrette may be stored in the refrigerator for a week or so.
Suggested additions or substitutions:
- Add sliced avocado, crumbled bacon and/or hard boiled eggs.
- Add some cheese: crumbled feta or goat cheese or shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Nuts would be lovely too: toasted almonds, chopped walnuts or pecans or shelled sunflower seeds.
- Substitute the chicken in this berry chicken salad with grilled salmon, shrimp or steak.
- Turn this into a fall-themed salad by replacing the berries with chopped apple or pear and dried cranberries. Add gorgonzola cheese crumbles and candied pecans. And toss it with an apple cider vinaigrette.
What to serve with Berry Chicken Salad:
Keep things simple and serve your berry chicken salad with a hunk of sourdough bread or sliced baguette. To continue the summer theme, make some watermelon agua fresca (non alcoholic) or a strawberry frose (with alcohol) to go with it.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe:
- It’s easily customizable. Add or substitute your favorite salad ingredients.
- It’s the perfect salad for using up some fresh baby greens.
- This salad screams summer!
Berry Chicken Salad
Ingredients
RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE:
- ½ cup raspberry vinegar
- ⅓ cup seedless raspberry jam
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
SALAD:
- 24 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
- Two 9-ounce bags Romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.
- To a nonstick skillet, add chicken, broth and vinegar. Boil; reduce heat- cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear. Remove from heat. Uncover the skillet and let the chicken cool in the broth for 15 minutes. Refrigerate the chicken in the broth for 45 minutes (or until cool).
- Remove the chicken from the broth; discard the broth. Cut the chicken diagonally into ¼-inch slices. Divide the chopped romaine among 4 serving plates. Arrange the chicken on top of the romaine. Top with berries. Drizzle vinaigrette over the salads.
Nutrition
This recipe comes from RecipeBoy.com
