It’s officially summer berry season and with all that beautiful fresh produce comes the North Carolina heat! We have already cracked the 90’s in MAY and when it gets really hot and humid, all I want to eat is salads or grilled meat.
This salad is light, fresh and crunchy with a delicious mixed berry vinaigrette. I chose to grill the chicken so I put a little olive oil on some thin sliced chicken breasts and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a kickin’ chicken seasoning I use frequently. If you don’t have a grill, you could just pan fry these in a little olive oil. Thin-sliced chicken breasts cook super quick which makes them ideal for weeknight recipes.
For the vinaigrette, I just put all the ingredients in a blender and blended until smooth. You could use a food processor too, but mine doesn’t do liquids well. If you haven’t tried making your own salad dressings at home, you are missing out! It’s really not as hard as you might think and it tastes so much better than store bought. Once I started making my dressings from scratch, I learned a lot more about sauces in general and I was able to start making up my own stuff. The more you push yourself in the kitchen the more wise you get about how flavors work together. It’s an acquired skill that’s worth the time and practice.
The pecans and goat cheese really make this salad in my opinion. The pecans give you a nice crunch and the goat cheese is a creamy and tangy addition that you’ll be glad you tried.
For this salad, I found a cranberry and cinnamon goat cheese at the grocery store that was SO good in this salad! But really any flavor would do. I frequently see herbed goat cheese logs and honey goat cheese logs.
I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do! It’s as delicious as it is beautiful. It’s also a really healthy dinner that won’t leave you feeling bloated later.
Summer Berry Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
- 4-6 thin sliced chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp chicken seasoning of your choice
- 5 oz spring mix greens
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
- 6 oz fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 oz. goat cheese
For the Mixed Berry Vinaigrette:
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup mixed berries
- 2 tbsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rub each chicken breast with a little olive oil and season generously with the chicken seasoning of your choice. Grill the breasts until cooked through, for me this took about 5-8 minutes on high heat for thin sliced breasts.
- Put all the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and bend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
- Assemble the salad with spring mix at the bottom, red onion, sliced grilled chicken, strawberries, blueberries, pecans, and goat cheese. Pour dressing on as desired and serve immediately.
strawberry
