Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad with Fresh Figs

This Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad combines succulent chicken breasts with garden greens, feta cheese, fresh figs, peaches and avocado. Summer in a bowl!

Succulent chicken breasts, garden greens, feta cheese, and fresh figs, peaches and avocado--this Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad celebrates mid-summer harvest!  With a glass of crisp white wine, a deck chair in the shade, and this bowl on my lap, I'm completely content. Summer meals should be easy meals and this one fits the bill.

We arrived home from vacation to find our fig tree literally dripping. When figs are overripe, they sometimes burst with their sweet juice. We had let our tree grow so tall that the branches were bending and we could no longer reach all the figs, even with a tall ladder. Time to prune! (Although it probably wasn't the best season to prune--I'll have to google that--any knowledgeable tree pruners out there?)

If you have a fig tree, you'll know the feeling of having too many figs all at once--just like a peach tree! I've made fig smoothies, a fig yogurt parfait, this fresh fig arugula salad with blackberries, and my favourite snack:   fresh figs with goat cheese and honey. Today I added them to our dinner in this Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad.

Sweet-tart balsamic vinegar glaze seals in the juices of the chicken breasts and balances the naturally sweet figs and peaches. I added salty feta cheese and creamy avocado for contrast, and arranged it all on a bed of greens that I picked from the garden:  romaine, arugula, basil, and cucumbers.

To make this meal-in-a-bowl, prepare the balsamic glaze first. You could use store-bought if you like, but it's so quick and easy to make yourself that it seems silly to buy it. Sear the chicken breasts, brush them with the glaze and bake in the oven while you assemble the salad ingredients. Drizzle it all with some of the leftover glaze that you reserved and serve! You can make this ahead and serve the chicken cold--it's just as good!

Figs are readily available in markets in late July, August and some varieties in early September here in the northern hemisphere. Get them quick before they're gone! Figs have a short shelf life, so store them in the fridge and enjoy them while they're at their peak of perfection. Make a summer memory!

📖 Recipe

Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad with Fresh Figs

This Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad combines succulent chicken breasts with garden greens, feta cheese, and fresh figs, peaches and avocado. 

Print Pin Rate

Course: Entrée/Main / Salad

Cuisine: Italian, Canadian, American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Calories: 503kcal

Author: Elaine

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon butter

Balsamic Glaze

• ▢ 2 teaspoon olive oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, de Modena
• ▢ 2 teaspoon honey
• ▢ 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Salad

• ▢ 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
• ▢ 1 large peach pitted, peeled and sliced
• ▢ 2 fresh figs, quartered
• ▢ 2 cups fresh salad greens
• ▢ ½ long English cucumber, sliced
• ▢ ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.

Balsamic Glaze

• In a small saucepan on the stove top, heat oil. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring until golden and fragrant, being careful not to let it burn. Add balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper and stir until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Pat chicken breasts dry. In a small oven proof skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon butter. When hot, add chicken breasts and brown for 3 - 5 minutes on each side until golden. Remove from heat, brush with half of the Balsamic Glaze, reserving half to drizzle on salad later. Transfer skillet to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from oven and let rest.
• While chicken is baking, assemble salad ingredients in a bowl. Slice chicken, add to bowl, drizzle with remaining balsamic glaze and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcal

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