2013 – Gluten Free Living

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is awesome! I saw this luscious looking salad a few months ago and knew I just had to make it. I love Greek Salads and I’ve made several styles including Marinated Greek Salad, Antipasto Salad, Tomato Avocado Mozzarella Salad, Greek Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Salad, Greek Tomato Salad, and my favorite Best Ever Greek Salad.

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I can’t get enough of Greek Salad! Well, when I made this a few weeks ago my husband looked across at me and said, “This isn’t your regular Greek Salad, is it?” No, indeed. This one has both grilled chicken and bacon, uses green onions instead of red onions, adds a red pepper, and the dressing doesn’t use any sugar. It had a completely different taste because of the meat and dressing. It was wonderful!

Now I’m the first to admit I love sweet dressings, but as I’m trying to eliminate as much sugar from my diet as possible I was quite excited at seeing a dressing that’s basically olive oil and red wine vinegar with a few spices thrown in and NO sugar or sweeteners. Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is a winner!

The original recipe calls for the chicken to be fried in the bacon drippings, but I decided to grill the chicken instead with my indoor grill. I seasoned both sides of the meat with Italian seasoning to give it a little zest and then sliced the chicken down in strips when finished. We really liked the result.

I changed a few things here and there from the original recipe, but the only other thing I would do the next time I make this salad is to break the bacon into larger 1/2-3/4″ pieces instead of crumbling the bacon. I have Tamara Leigh: The Kitchen Novelist to thank for this scrumptious Greek Salad recipe. She is always cooking up something spectacular on her blog. I highly recommend you check it out for lots of tasty treats. I’ve pinned a lot of her recipes and have made several already. I’ve never been disappointed with anything she’s made!

If you’re looking for a fantastic Greek Salad recipe with a homemade dressing then give Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon a try sometime. It is really an awesome recipe, and your whole family will enjoy it! For those in your family who need meat in their salads, then this really fits the bill for them, too. This is a satisfying main dish in and of itself. Add some French Bread with some dipping oil and you won’t need anything else!

We loved Greek Salad With Grilled Chicken and Bacon. Feta cheese makes this recipe succulent and the pepperocinis provided a lot of zip. Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is filled with great veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, red and green bell pepper, pepperocinis, green onions and lettuce. While I used spring mix because that’s all I had on hand, Romaine lettuce or other lettuces can be substituted.

My husband really liked the addition of chicken and bacon to his favorite salad. It made the salad much more substantial for him. I really liked the taste of the grilled chicken. Just sprinkling both sides of the chicken with Italian seasoning brought delicious flavors to this salad. But you can use whatever seasonings you usually use or prefer when grilling chicken.

The simple olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing with a few spices tastes great on this salad. But if you need a slightly sweeter dressing than use the dressing from either my Greek Pasta Salad recipe or Best Ever Greek Salad recipe, or simple add a tablespoon of honey or sugar to the dressing.

Here’s what I did.

Fry bacon until crisp.

Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Meanwhile, sprinkle boneless chicken breasts with Italian seasoning on each side.

Grill chicken ten to fifteen minutes on each side, depending on how high the heat.

Cook thoroughly, until a meat thermometer reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.

Allow meat to cool about 5-10 minutes before slicing chicken down. I used an electric knife which keeps the edges smooth and doesn’t tear the meat. Set chicken aside. (You can also do this step in advance and refrigerate the chicken until ready to use).

Meanwhile, place spring mix or Romaine lettuce in a large salad bowl. 

Add tomatoes and cucumber.

Add red and green bell pepper strips.

Add diced green onions and sliced pepperocinis.

Add olives. Crumble Feta cheese over top.

Add crumbled bacon to salad. (Or if you prefer, break bacon into bite sized pieces).

Add chicken slices to the top of the Greek Salad. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make salad dressing: Place olive oil in a glass measuring cup. Measure red wine vinegar in another measuring cup and then add to olive oil. Add black pepper, Himalayan pink sea salt or kosher salt, oregano, and basil. Wash fresh parsley and pat dry with paper towels. Chop parsley. Add parsley to olive oil ingredients and stir. If you want a slightly sweeter dressing add a tablespoon of sugar or honey to the dressing.

Adding grilled chicken and bacon to Greek Salad were excellent additions. Each bite of this festive salad was spectacular. We like a lot of tomatoes in our salad, so I used 2 really LARGE tomatoes and cut them up in smaller pieces.

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is a great dinner salad to prepare for company. This recipe will serve at least 6 hearty appetites! Greek Salads have so much going for them. The blends of oil, vinegar and feta cheese with spices like basil, oregano and parsley are amazing.

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is gluten free (provided your bacon is gluten free), low calorie, sugar free and healthy. 

Doesn’t this salad look fabulous? It sure tasted fabulous!

Here’s the recipe.

GREEK SALAD WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND BACON

(Recipe adapted from Tamara Leigh: The Kitchen Novelist)

Greek Salad With Grilled Chicken and Bacon

Teresa Ambra

Delicious Greek salad recipe with the additions of grilled chicken and bacon to amp up the protein! Simple olive oil salad dressing recipe included. This is a terrific summer main dish salad when you don't want to heat up your kitchen. Gluten free.

No ratings yet

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Salads and Salad Dressings

Cuisine Greek

Servings 6

Calories 503 kcal

Equipment

• 1 grill electric or gas
• 1 large skillet
• 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp knife to cut meat and vegetables
• 1 large salad bowl
• 1 pair tongs to toss salad
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• 1 small mixing bowl
• 1 whisk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 12 oz. container spring mix or romaine lettuce
• 2 large tomatoes cut in fourths and then halves making 32 small wedges each
• 1 cucumber peeled
• 1 red pepper julienned
• 1 green pepper julienned
• 3 green onions sliced thinly
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped pepperocinis
• 1 cup kalamata olives pitted
• 8 oz. feta cheese crumbled
• 6 strips bacon cooked and broken into ½-3/4” pieces
• 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts About 3 cups leftover rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley Chopped
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

Instructions

 

• Fry bacon in cast iron or other skillet over medium-high heat about 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp.
• Drain bacon on paper towels.
• Break bacon into small pieces and set aside.
• Sprinkle both sides of chicken with Italian seasoning and place on grill.
• Grill about 10-15 minutes on each side depending on how close the chicken is to the heat.
• Remove from heat and place on cutting board to cool a few minutes.
• Cut chicken in strips. Set aside.
• Place spring mix or romaine lettuce in large salad bowl.
• Layer tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onions, pepperocinis, olives, and feta cheese on top of the lettuce.
• Top with bacon, then chicken strips.
• Mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano and basil and whisk together.
• Serve salad on plates and sprinkle with olive oil dressing.
• Toss slightly to serve.

Notes

NOTE: If you don’t want to grill the chicken then cut the chicken in strips and cook it in the bacon drippings about 4 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Set aside until ready to layer on top of the rest of the salad ingredients.

 

 

NOTE: If you want a sweeter vinaigrette dressing, add a tablespoon of sugar or honey to the olive oil.

 

Recipe adapted from Tamara Leigh: The Kitchen Novelist.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 23gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 1337mgPotassium: 830mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 6601IUVitamin C: 67mgCalcium: 348mgIron: 5mg

Keyword bacon, chicken, Greek salad, main dish, salad

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

You can add more chicken if you prefer a lot of meat. About two slices was all I needed on my plate!  I had plenty of leftovers for lunches from this salad since there are only two of us eating it. Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is a wonderful main dish entree any time of the year, but especially in the summer when there is such an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onions. It’s time for a taste test!

Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon is one, marvelous salad. It has lots of nice crunch as well as flavor.

If you’re looking for a nice summer dinner recipe where you don’t have to heat up your oven then consider trying Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken and Bacon as a dinner entree. In our scorching Texas heat, this great main dish is a welcome reprieve from having a hot kitchen!

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Best Ever Greek Salad

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Greek Salad With Grilled Chicken and Bacon

Teresa Ambra

Delicious Greek salad recipe with the additions of grilled chicken and bacon to amp up the protein! Simple olive oil salad dressing recipe included. This is a terrific summer main dish salad when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen. Gluten free.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Salads and Salad Dressings

Cuisine Greek

Servings 6

Calories 503 kcal

Equipment

• 1 grill electric or gas
• 1 large skillet
• 1 electric knife preferred, or sharp knife to cut meat and vegetables
• 1 large salad bowl
• 1 pair tongs to toss salad
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• 1 small mixing bowl
• 1 whisk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 12 oz. container spring mix or romaine lettuce
• 2 large tomatoes cut in fourths and then halves making 32 small wedges each
• 1 cucumber peeled
• 1 red pepper julienned
• 1 green pepper julienned
• 3 green onions sliced thinly
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped pepperocinis
• 1 cup kalamata olives pitted
• 8 oz. feta cheese crumbled
• 6 strips bacon cooked and broken into ½-3/4” pieces
• 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts About 3 cups leftover rotisserie chicken
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley Chopped
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

Instructions

 

• Fry bacon in cast iron or other skillet over medium-high heat about 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp.
• Drain bacon on paper towels.
• Break bacon into small pieces and set aside.
• Sprinkle both sides of chicken with Italian seasoning and place on grill.
• Grill about 10-15 minutes on each side depending on how close the chicken is to the heat.
• Remove from heat and place on cutting board to cool a few minutes.
• Cut chicken in strips. Set aside.
• Place spring mix or romaine lettuce in large salad bowl.
• Layer tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, onions, pepperocinis, olives, and feta cheese on top of the lettuce.
• Top with bacon, then chicken strips.
• Mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, salt, pepper, oregano and basil and whisk together.
• Serve salad on plates and sprinkle with olive oil dressing.
• Toss slightly to serve.

Notes

NOTE: If you don’t want to grill the chicken then cut the chicken in strips and cook it in the bacon drippings about 4 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Set aside until ready to layer on top of the rest of the salad ingredients.

 

 

NOTE: If you want a sweeter vinaigrette dressing, add a tablespoon of sugar or honey to the olive oil.

 

Recipe adapted from Tamara Leigh: The Kitchen Novelist.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 23gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 1337mgPotassium: 830mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 6601IUVitamin C: 67mgCalcium: 348mgIron: 5mg

Keyword bacon, chicken, Greek salad, main dish, salad

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!