Chicken marinaded with lemon, garlic and oregano, then grilled to perfection and served over a colorful spinach salad. Topped with a white balsamic vinaigrette, does it get better than that?
More grilled chicken salads I love are Houston’s Grilled Chicken Salad tossed in a honey-lime vinaigrette and topped with a delicious peanut sauce, Grilled Romaine Corn and Chicken Salad with a salsa dressing and Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Spinach.
This is my favorite marinade for grilled chicken, the longer it marinates the better. You can even freeze the chicken in the marinade when you first buy it. Then you just let it thaw in the refrigerator the day before you are ready to use it.
Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3 oz each
- 7 oz bag baby spinach
- few thin slices of red onion
- 1/2 sweet red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes sliced in half
- 1 carrot, sliced into ribbons
For the Marinade:
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic, crushed
- kosher salt to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
For the White Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup basil leaves
- 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp chopped shallots
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients - lemon juice, oregano, garlic puree, salt and black pepper and pour over chicken, let it marinade in the refrigerator a minimum of two hours, but preferably 4-6 hours or longer.
- Place all the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Set aside.
- Preheat an indoor or outdoor grill to medium-high, make sure your grates are clean and lightly oiled to prevent sticking.
- When the grill is hot, lay the chicken on the grill.
- Cook the chicken until well browned on both sides and firm, but not hard to the touch.
- Transfer to a plate when done.
- Divide spinach, onions, carrots, tomatoes and peppers on 4 plates.
- Top with the chicken and drizzle with balsamic dressing over each.
Only made the salad and served it with the basil crusted salmon. The salad dressing is simply amazing! Truly wonderful salad.
This was fantastic and so easy to make. The only thing is that mixing the dressing into the salad afterwards is a bit challenging. Next time, I will toss the vegetables and spinach with the dressing beforehand and serve he chicken on top. Definitely going on my list of favorites.
what would be the temp if I was to cook it in the oven and for how long? thank you
I am drooling over my keyboard. Thanks for this great recipe. I love this.
I know this is an older post, but I was looking for a healthy chicken marinade for a spinach salad, and this one is awesome! I was a little skeptical given the minimal ingredients, haha, but the flavor is perfect! Fresh and tasty! Thanks, Gina!!!
I'd like to know about the regular balsamic as well. Thank you Gina.
I was wondering if I can replace regular balsamic vinegar instead of white balsamic vinegar? Thanks
I Love the dressing and have made other salads with it. Do you have any idea what the calories are for just the dressing?
what would the WW old points be if i swapped out the spinach for iceberg,as i dont have it in the house right now.and took out the peppers and carrots.
I've made this a few times now, LOVE it! The salad dressing is amazing! You never disappoint 🙂
Another fabulous meal!!! I love your website and have enjoyed every recipe I have tried, Keep em coming! THANKS!
Can you cook chicken effectively by using one of those one calorie sprays?
We used 2 pt chicken breast portions and less olive oil for a 4 pt dinner. And then paired it with some corn on the cob. Lovely summer grilled dinner!!!
This was really good-I used just the chicken marinade for some thin breasts and it was delicious. I will be using this again. I putt them in the broiler on low since I have no grill and they were perfect–tender and not dry. TY SO MUCH for posting this because white breast chicken is usually something I avoid due to dryness.
This looks amazing, and I bet that the chicken would be great on a whole wheat bun with fresh lettuce, tomatoes & pickles.
Hi,
Just wondering what the difference between shallots and red onion and scallions is? I checked google and pictures of both of those kinds of onions came up when I looked up shallots.
Thanks!
The photos are exclusively perfect captured. They are more inviting to a lot of viewers. I tried this recipe at home, all I could say is AWESOME! The taste is absolutely perfect to my taste buds. Moreover, to make them more stylish and attractive you can use Bamboo Clear Acrylic Flower Skewers for fork alternative or replacement.
Love everything I have made from your blog. My Skinny Taste Cookbook is filling up with all 5 star recipes! 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for posting all of these wonderful recipes Gina! I cook something from your website at least once a week if not more. Fantastic job! 🙂
I made this salad last night for dinner. The boyfriend and I both LOVED it!
🙂
Loved this marinade (and that the marinade is 0 pts!) I chucked in on the George Foreman and grilled it that way and wish there were some leftovers. Will have to make it again.