Grilled Chicken Salad With Roasted Asparagus
An easy and flavorful grilled chicken salad recipe made with roasted fresh asparagus, toasted pine nuts, and a delicious lemon balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It’s the perfect weeknight recipe to use up leftover grilled chicken!
This Grilled Chicken Salad is a great way to repurposed leftovers to create a light and delicious summer meal. I’m all about cooking once and eating twice…or two or three times with meal prepped proteins.
Repurposing Leftover Proteins
I always have leftover steak and chicken, since I usually grill meat in bulk to have extra lean protein sources on hand. How do I usually use leftovers? Well, we love big, hearty salads for dinner because they are quick and nutritious. Not to mention, you are getting a huge serving of fresh vegetables and 32 grams of protein per serving!
The Best Ever Grilled Chicken Marinade that I posted back in 2012 was one of my most pinned recipes. It’s so crazy how some of my easiest recipes are the most popular! I guess that we all love an “easy button”, right?! I love this marinade because it’s from made from scratch, with minimal ingredients, and gives an incredible flavor to beef or chicken. You can alternately use lemon in place of the lime in the marinade.
I’m big on contrasting textures and flavors and this chicken and asparagus salad is the perfect blend. Don’t skip the pine nuts, they add a nice flavor and crunch to the dish.
How To Make Grilled Chicken Salad with Asparagus
Ingredients you’ll need for the salad:
- 4 (4 oz) boneless grilled chicken breasts
- 1 bunch of fresh asparagus (about 20 spears)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 oz mixed baby salad greens
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon (1 tsp for dressing and the rest for garnish)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp gourmet white balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper, to taste
Start by preparing the roasted fresh asparagus. Wash asparagus and pat dry. Toss asparagus with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil on a roasting pan and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Roast asparagus at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Check for doneness and roast up to five minutes more, depending on the thickness of the stalks. Unless they are really thick, they are usually done in 10 minutes. Allow the asparagus to cool to room temperature, then start making the salads.
You can make this in one large bowl, or (my preference), prepare salads in individual servings. This recipe makes four salads.
*full recipe instructions below.
Recipe Tips
I highly recommend a good quality white balsamic vinegar for the dressing. I use one from a local gourmet olive oil and vinegar shop and quality really does make a difference in flavor and taste. Also, when you toast the pine nuts, start with a dry skillet (no oil) over medium heat and stir nuts constantly for a minute or two until they become lightly toasted and fragrant. They toast quickly, so be sure and watch them and stir constantly!
Grilled Chicken Salad With Roasted Asparagus and Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 16 oz leftover grilled chicken 4- 4 oz boneless breasts
- 1 bunch of asparagus about 20 spears
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 oz mixed baby greens
- 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
- For The Dressing:
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest and extra for garnish
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar *use a good quality gourmet balsamic
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Rinse asparagus, pat dry and remove the ends.
- Place asparagus on a shallow roasting pan and toss with 1-2 tbsp EVOO, then sprinkle with coarse salt
- Roast for 10-15 min until lightly golden (cook time will depend on the thickness of the asparagus, so check them after the first 10 mins. I usually pull them out at 10-12 minutes.
- Heat a saute pan over medium heat and toast pine nuts, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly golden, this usually takes less than a minute. Set aside.
- Whisk together lemon juice, lemon zest, white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, honey, dijon and salt and pepper and set aside.
- Fill a large salad bowl, or 4 individual bowls with mixed greens.
- Chop roasted asparagus into thirds and place on top of greens.
- Add sliced grilled chicken (one breast each), then sprinkle pine nuts over top.
- Drizzle lemon vinaigrette dressing on top, garnish with extra lemon zest and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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This is a great way to use up leftover chicken and I love the pinenuts in it.
Thanks so much Corina!
Congrats on your first Recipe Redux post! I have been filling up on salads hoping they will bring on summer quicker… 🙂 Love all the textures and flavors you have going on in this – what a great use of leftover chicken!
Thank you Shashi! 🙂
Love this salad! Asparagus is a great Spring veggie!