Green Goddess Chicken Salad (Printable)

Herb-yogurt dressed chicken over fresh greens with tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado. Light, refreshing, and ready in under 40 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
02 - 1 tbsp olive oil
03 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
04 - 1/4 tsp black pepper

→ Green Goddess Dressing

05 - 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
06 - 2 tbsp mayonnaise
07 - 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
08 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
09 - 1 clove garlic, minced
10 - 2 anchovy fillets, optional, finely chopped
11 - 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
12 - 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
13 - 1/4 cup fresh tarragon or basil, chopped
14 - Salt and pepper to taste

→ Salad

15 - 4 cups mixed salad greens
16 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
17 - 1 small cucumber, sliced
18 - 1 small avocado, sliced

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
02 - Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on the prepared tray and bake for 15 minutes until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into 3/4-inch chunks.
03 - While chicken bakes, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, anchovies if using, parsley, chives, and tarragon or basil in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste.
04 - In a large bowl, toss the chicken chunks with half of the Green Goddess dressing until well coated.
05 - Arrange mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado on a platter or individual plates. Top with the dressed chicken.
06 - Drizzle with remaining dressing as desired and serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The dressing is so good you'll want to pour it over everything from roasted vegetables to grilled fish.
  • It comes together in under 40 minutes but tastes like you spent all afternoon fussing over it.
  • You get a full meal in one bowl with crisp greens, creamy avocado, and juicy chicken all working together.
  • It's naturally gluten-free and easy to make dairy-free if you swap the yogurt.
02 -
  • Don't skip resting the chicken or it will leak juice all over your salad and make the greens soggy.
  • Blend the dressing until it's completely smooth or the herbs will feel stringy instead of silky.
  • If you're meal prepping, keep the dressing and greens separate until you're ready to eat.
03 -
  • Use the freshest herbs you can find, wilted or old herbs will make the dressing taste flat and bitter.
  • If you're nervous about anchovies, start with just one fillet and taste before adding the second.
  • Warm chicken absorbs dressing better than cold, so toss it while it's still slightly warm from the oven.
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