Simple Summer Chopped Salad

Salad season is upon us and what better way to kick of the warmer months of the year than with a fresh and vibrant simple summer chopped salad recipe!? This is the summer salad recipe that received rave reviews at my baby shower and the photos recently got a little refresh. I hope this one makes it on your “must make” list for a summertime cookout, baby or bridal shower or fun gathering with family and friends because I assure you it will be a sweet and savory slam dunk! 

Confession: I like salads when I make them but I LOVE salads when someone else makes them for me. I swear I could make the exact same salad as a salad served to me at a restaurant or at a summertime cookout and I will like the one someone else prepared more. But, occasionally, even the salads I make for myself blow me away. Oh happy day!

This simple summer chopped salad is one of those salads. It’s the kind of salad you can easily make at home that you swear would also fly off the menu if it was served at a restaurant. It’s that good. And I owe all the credit to my Aunt Laurie.

Years ago, back when I was pregnant for the first time (in the middle of the summer, might I add), I was hot ALL THE TIME. Like could not stop sweating hot. And somehow still felt like any temperature above 70 degrees was sweltering kind of hot. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, I’m telling you. And so it had me craving cold food. When my Aunt Laurie hosted a baby shower for me, she knew this and also knew chopped salads were very high on my list of pregnancy craving approved foods. (Chopped salads and watermelon Sour Patch gummies, that is.)

The chopped salad my Aunt Laurie made for my baby shower was a huge hit among all the women. And one bite of the salad had all of us requesting her recipe. When a simple summer salad recipe steals the show at a baby shower, you know it’s good! This summer salad recipe is sweet and savory and packed with beautifully fresh produce. It’s light yet filling and the kind of salad I swear I could eat for lunch every day because it’s so deliciously refreshing.

How To Make a Simple Summer Chopped Salad

An important note: A large portion of this salad can be prepared ahead of time to simplify this recipe further and make it even easier to assemble at the last minute. If you’d prefer to do a little prep work to make this salad recipe a breeze to prepare, scroll down and see below for my prep ahead tips!

Instructions

If you’d like to make this salad recipe in one fell swoop, simply follow the steps detailed below:

• Step One

Marinate chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce for 60 minutes (or overnight). Remove chicken from teriyaki marinade and bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. If you are cooking your bacon, cook bacon while chicken bakes. Allow bacon to cool before crumbling. Allow chicken to cool before chopping chicken into small pieces.

• Step Two

Prepare your salad dressing! Combine salad ingredients and shake (if using a covered jar) or whisk together. (While I much prefer the salad with the dressing detailed below in this recipe, it also tastes delicious simply dressed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper if you would like to keep things super simple.)

• Step Three

Slice all fresh produce and toss together in a large salad bowl. (Note: You may also add additional fresh produce if you have any on hand that you think would work well in this salad! I’ve added cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans and diced yellow bell peppers and loved all of them in this salad.)

• Step Four

Add chicken, bacon and cheese to salad and toss.

• Step Five

Top salad with the homemade dressing and toss to ensure salad is fully coated in the sweet dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Simple Summer Salad Recipe Tips: Prep Ahead of Time

If you’re planning to serve this recipe to a large group during a summertime cookout, bridal or baby shower or any fun event, I have a few tips you may want to consider to make this recipe easier to throw together when you’re in the midst of hosting stress! I’m all about doing as much as I can before hosting an event so I’m not scrambling to make a bunch of recipes at the last minute and if you happen to be the same way, I have some good news for you: A large portion of this salad can be prepped ahead of time. I highly recommend doing this, as it makes everything come together in a flash.

Some prep-ahead tips for the day before you’re planning to serve the summer salad:

• Marinate chicken in teriyaki sauce and bake. Cool, chop into pieces, cover and refrigerate.
• Cook bacon (if not using store-bought). Crumble and refrigerate.
• Slice strawberries and dice red onion. If using fresh orange (not canned mandarin oranges), slice orange into small pieces. Cut grapes in half. Refrigerate. (Consider storing red onion in a container with a bit of water to remove some of the bite from the onion.)
• Make dressing. Store in a glass jar or air-tight jar in the fridge.

Prep-ahead tip for the day you’re planning to serve the salad:

• This is when you’ll wash and slice the remaining fresh produce (romaine lettuce, apple, avocado, raspberries). With the exception of the avocado which I would wait to slice until immediately before serving, all of the above produce can be sliced and added to the salad a couple hours before serving.
• When you are ready to serve the salad, combine everything, top with freshly chopped avocado and the sweet salad dressing and enjoy!

Simple Summer Chopped Salad

Simple Summer Chopped Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Julie
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Category: lunch, recipes
• Cuisine: lunch

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Description

This salad recipe is packed with fresh fruit and chicken and topped with a sweet dressing that made the whole salad taste incredibly refreshing.

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Ingredients

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For the salad:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1 cup crumbled cooked bacon
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1 large apple, chopped
• 1/2 large red onion, chopped
• 1 cup grapes, halved
• 2 avocados, chopped
• 1 large orange, sliced into small pieces (you may also use 1 cup mandarin oranges)
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola or crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup slivered almonds

For the dressing:

• juice of 2 lemons
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Marinate chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce for 60 minutes (or overnight). Remove chicken from teriyaki marinade and bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before chopping chicken into small pieces.
2. While chicken is cooking, prepare dressing by whisking all salad dressing ingredients together.
3. Combine all salad ingredients together, top with dressing and enjoy!

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Notes

A few quick notes: A large portion of this salad can be prepped ahead. I highly recommend doing this, as it makes everything come together in a flash if you already have the chicken and bacon cooked, produce chopped, etc. Then, when you’re ready to eat, all you have to do is throw everything together and slice up the avocado!

Enjoy!