Best Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken

Why Make This Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken

• The best of summer. Fresh ingredients like strawberries, avocado, and spinach come together with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette and savory grilled chicken. The flavors will blow you away!
• Even kids love it. Maybe it’s the juicy berries? Or the chicken? My kids even look past the spinach to dig into this salad.
• Meal-prep-friendly. Pack it in an airtight container for a quick and easy lunch.
• Quick and easy. Make it in less than 20 minutes!

Ingredients Needed

Here are the ingredients to round up for this strawberry chicken salad recipe. Scroll to the recipe card for the exact amounts for each.

• Spinach – You can substitute spinach with kale, arugula, or another leafy green if needed.
• Berries – I used a combination of fresh strawberries and blueberries, but raspberries or blackberries also work.
• Avocado – Standard in most of my salads. Avocado adds a nice bit of creaminess along with good fats.
• Goat Cheese – I love the tanginess of goat cheese in this salad, plus it melts a little when the grilled chicken hits it. Yum!
• Pecans – If you’d like, you can toast the pecans in a dry skillet for a few minutes over low heat, to bring out their crunch even more. Walnuts or almonds are a good alternative.
• Chicken – I use boneless, skinless chicken breast simply seasoned with salt and pepper then grilled for a nice sear. Learn how to grill chicken.
• Dressing – I chose a my favorite homemade balsamic vinaigrette for this salad because I love the flavor combo with the goat cheese, chicken, strawberries and avocado. You can dress this salad with any of my easy homemade salad dressings.

How to Make Strawberry Chicken Salad

You can grill the chicken for this strawberry salad on the outdoor grill, or on an indoor grill pan.

1. Grill the chicken. Pat dry the chicken breast and season it generously with salt and pepper. Then, grill the chicken over medium-high heat (350°-400°F) for 4-6 minutes per side. Chicken is cooked when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Afterward, set the chicken aside to rest before you slice it.
2. Make the dressing. Meanwhile, whisk balsamic vinegar with olive oil, Dijon mustard, raw honey, dried basil, and garlic, plus salt and pepper to taste.
3. Assemble the salad. Add the spinach, berries, avocado, pecans, and crumbled goat cheese to a bowl. Top with your sliced grilled chicken. Toss with the prepared dressing and serve!

Add-ins and Variations

What makes this salad so great is how adaptable it can be. These are some easy ideas to get you started:

• Proteins: Sub the grilled chicken for leftover rotisserie chicken, roasted shrimp, or grilled salmon.
• Cheeses: Crumbled feta cheese, gorgonzola, blue cheese, cubes of aged white cheddar cheese
• Nuts: Candied almonds or pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
• Other Fruit: Canned mandarin orange segments, raspberries,  blackberries, cubed mango, dried cherries or
• Other Vegetables: raw broccoli, thin slices of red onion, carrots, roasted beets or edamame.
• Alternate Dressings: Raspberry vinaigrette, lemon vinaigrette, poblano dressing, honey mustard dressing or a citrus basil vinaigrette.

What to Serve With Strawberry Chicken Salad

Since it already includes a protein, this salad makes an excellent light meal as-is. But you can absolutely add a side of grilled vegetables or steak kabobs for a complete dinner. Serve this salad with grilled asparagus and salmon burgers, or as a side to a big bowl of creamy lemon pasta.

Meal Prep This Salad

This grilled chicken strawberry salad is wonderful for prepping ahead so it’s ready to eat thoughout the week. To meal prep this salad, I recommend the following:

1. Grill and cut the chicken.
2. Make the dressing.
3. Prep and cut all other ingredients.
4. Store all of these ingredients in individual containers in the fridge. When it’s time to serve, simply combine everything and enjoy.

If you are storing in a container for a quick grab and go lunch, evenly divide ingredients between 4 Pyrex containers. Be sure to store dressing in a separate container. Do not mix the dressing ahead of time, it will cause the spinach to wilt and become soggy.

More Summer Salad Recipes You’ll Love

• Spinach Salad with Apples, Pecans and Gorgonzola
• Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad
• Mexican Chopped Salad
• Grilled Peach Chicken Salad
• Avocado Caprese Chicken Salad