This Chimichurri Chicken Dinner Salad features bold flavours from easy-to-make Chimichurri dressing. Boneless chicken, avocado and mixed greens make this a quick 30-minute meal! It's a low carb, keto, paleo and Whole30-friendly recipe.
Chimichurri Chicken Dinner Salad! A quick and easy meal that's welcome at any time of year.
This chicken dinner salad is full of the incredible flavours of Chimichurri sauce! It's bold, it's beautiful and best of all it's a 30-minute meal. And . . . it's paleo, keto and Whole30-friendly, too!
The first time Denis and I had Chimichurri sauce was at an Argentinian restaurant. Typically, it was served on copious amounts of steak which the servers presented to our table on swords! All I could think of was, "Chimichurri, where have you been all my life?" Made with fresh herbs, garlic and oil, it adds a bright, slightly spicy flavour to meat or vegetables.
Since then, I've discovered it's very easy to make at home. I've also found that it's a great way to kick up flavours on many other dishes besides beef! I love it on roasted root vegetables and on these 10-minute Chimichurri Shrimp Skewers and on this Air Fryer Chimichurri Salmon. Today, however, that flavourful sauce dressed up chicken breasts in this chicken dinner salad.
Who doesn't love two for one? This Chimichurri sauce doubles as a marinade AND a dressing. So easy. Are you convinced yet that you need to make this salad?
Ingredients Notes
- chicken breasts: boneless, skinless. Thighs will work too.
- chimichurri sauce: see ingredients in the recipe card below
- bell peppers: 2 red bell peppers, one for the Chimichurri (optional), one for the salad
- greens: your favourite mixed greens
- other salad veggies: cucumber, red pepper, red cabbage, or substitute other colourful in-season veggies
- avocado: a must!
Instructions
Start by making the chimichurri sauce before cooking the chicken. You'll be surprised at just how quick and easy this intensely flavoured sauce is to make!
Add chopped shallots and garlic to a small bowl and toss with lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Set it aside while you set up your food processor.
Add basil, parsley and cilantro to the bowl of a food processor, then add the ground coriander and sea salt.
Process until finely chopped.
Next, add the chopped shallots and garlic along with the liquid from the bowl to the food processor and again, process until finely chopped.
With the machine running at low speed, slowly add the olive oil in a thin stream until well incorporated. Be careful not to over-process and chop too finely. Chimichurri sauce should be slightly chunky. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Your chimichurri sauce is done!
Cook the chicken and arrange the salad as described in the recipe card below.
Tips for making Chimichurri Chicken Dinner Salad
- Making Chimichurri sauce is a snap in a food processor. Roughly chop the sauce ingredients before adding them to the bowl of your food processor, then pulse to chop. Leave it a little chunky.
- When cooking the chicken, keep the heat on medium. If your pan is too hot, the herbs in the sauce may scorch. You can prevent scorching by making sure you start with enough oil in the skillet.
- Serve this salad with warm chicken or with cold, your choice!
- Double the recipe and portion out the extras for lunch for the following day.
Possible Variations
- Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts.
- Substitute fresh tomatoes for red pepper.
- Add red onion for extra zing.
Enjoy, everyone!
If you love dinner salads as much as I do, try these too:
- 6 Dinner Salads that will Fill You Up.
- Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad
- Caribbean Shredded Jerk Chicken Salad
- Marinated Lemon Chicken Greek Salad
- Fennel Apple Chicken Salad with Pumpkin Spice Pecans
- Skinny Chopped Chicken Taco Salad
Chimichurri Chicken Dinner Salad
Ingredients
Chimichurri Marinade and Dressing
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 medium shallot chopped
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ½ cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley packed
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves packed
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves packed
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil extra virgin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Chicken Dinner Salad
- 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 5 to 6 cups mixed fresh greens washed and dried
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- ½ Long English cucumber sliced
- ½ cup red cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 avocado seeded, peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Roughly chop garlic and shallot. Combine with red wine vinegar and lemon juice and set aside.
- Add parsley, basil, cilantro, red bell pepper, coriander and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to roughly chop. Add garlic and shallot mixture.
- With machine running on low, slowly add olive oil in a thin stream until well-incorporated. Take care not to chop too finely. The Chimichurri sauce should be slightly chunky. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Put chicken breasts in a shallow dish and brush 1 to 2 tablespoons Chimichurri sauce on each. Save the remaining Chimichurri sauce to use as dressing. Let the chicken marinate for 20 - 30 minutes.
- Wash and dry salad greens, dice red pepper, slice cucumber and cabbage. Arrange in salad bowl or on individual plates or shallow bowls.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add chicken breasts. Cook on each side for 5 minutes, watching carefully and adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent scorching the herbs in the Chimichurri sauce. Cook until no longer pink inside or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of at least 165°F.
- Remove to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes before slicing on the diagonal.
- Slice avocado, add to salad along with the sliced chicken. Drizzle with reserved Chimichurri dressing and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from cafedelites Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Avocado Salad.
Elise
Incredible! and so easy.
Flavour & Savour
Agreed--thanks for the 5 stars, Elise!
Dierdre
What a great recipe for Chimichurri! I really like this combination of herbs. Thanks--I plan to use your Chimichurri shrimp recipe next weekend.
Flavour & Savour
I avoided making chimichurri for years as I thought it would be complicated. Once I discovered how easy it is (and how quickly it can be made) chimichurri is a regular sauce in my home! Thanks for commenting.
Karen (Back Road Journal)
I love the flavor that Chimichurri sauce adds to whatever you use it on. Your chicken dinner not only had to be delicious but what a pretty presentation you made.
Flavour & Savour
Thanks so much, Karen! Yes, I agree. Chimichurri sauce is good on almost anything!