Summer Grilled Chicken Salad

I realize I may be a bit ahead of myself with this summer chicken salad recipe…but, pin it…save it…print it…but MOST OF ALL…enjoy it!

As I was shopping for my Easter menu last week, corn on the cob was available in the produce aisle. That’s when my wheels began turning. Summer grilled chicken salad season had arrived.

As for the grilled? Feel free to grill chicken and vegetables on the grill to give it a great smoky flavor. But this one was made with a grill pan on the stove. You choose what works best for you. Either gives great results!

Why Summer Grilled Chicken Salad now?

Because truly all of the ingredients are available for you. AND? The flavors will rock your world. Promise.

There are soooo many great gatherings that need this grilled chicken salad…from Mother’s Day, graduations and end of the year school parties…it will be a hit every time it is offered.

Last summer I created this recipe and invited a friend over for dinner to give it a try. Oh. My. Goodness. This was the main course and was so good that it was difficult to stop eating.

It was sooo good that it was shared in the August Vue magazine.

So where do you begin?

Probably the time that takes the longest is just the prep work.

Let’s marinate the chicken first.

A mixture of olive oil, grainy Dijon mustard, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh herbs added to the chicken and marinated for a few minutes makes this the most flavorful part of this recipe.

Next, remove silks and husks from corn. Trim green onion ends. Leave small peppers whole OR half and remove seeds and tops.

Then add olive oil to your grill pan or grill and roast corn, peppers and onions.

Once roasted, let cool before cutting off the kernels from the cob.

Grill the chicken next.

After the chicken has marinated a few minutes, add it to the skillet with medium high heat and grill until lightly charred and completely cooked, turning halfway through cooking.

Next, create the dressing.

Begin by cooking the bacon, draining and chopping into small pieces.

Combine all ingredients except bacon into a jar and whisk together.

Add bacon to the dressing and set aside.

Now, let’s assemble the salad!

Measure out the croutons, feta and salad greens.

Wash salad greens, drain and tear into bite sized pieces. I love a mixture of spring greens and arugula.

Slice cherry tomatoes in half. Slice avocado.

To assemble, add salad greens to a large bowl. Top with chicken, peppers, corn, tomatoes, cheese, avocado and croutons.

Pour dressing over the top and garnish with fresh basil sprigs.

And to make it even easier?

Let’s put it in individual serving jars to take to picnics, pack in lunches or make it last even longer.

Just add a little dressing to the bottom of the jar and layer ingredients and then refrigerate. Simply stir before eating. This helps keep all of your salad ingredients crisp until mixing in the dressing.

This might make serving sizes for lunch, a pool party, boating outing, picnic, party, or gathering even easier. Right?

Just tuck them in a cooler since chicken is an ingredient to take them to gatherings.

I can’t tell you how very much I love this salad. All of the flavors. The grilled chicken with all of the vegetables added. Then topped with an amazing dressing with bacon added.

My guests who arrive in early May will love this…and it will probably be made for a Mother’s Day gathering.

Can’t you see this one at a picnic or pool party?

Hope it will be your absolute favorite, too.

Here’s the recipe…

Even though this screams summer when fresh corn is in…when I find fresh corn locally…it’s the perfect time to have this!

I’m linking items similar to those that I use in case you need them…just helping you locate things that I use in creating this recipe.

I hope that you LOVE this recipe, friends. This one will be on repeat now through the summer. Nothing better to add to the table when guests are joining you.

Enjoy!

As an Amazon, Walmart and LTK affiliate, at times I may provide affiliate links to products that may offer an easier way to find products that I mention or use. Same price for you, but beneficial to this blog and at times, may offer compensation if you use them to shop. See my disclosure policy here.