Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad

Back-to-school lunches get much easier when Sunday meal prep involves some delicious Protein Packed Salad Bowls! Prep a few containers at once, stash the dressing separately, and lunches are handled for the first few busy days of the week.

This recipe is so easy to throw together, which is exactly what I want from a meal-prep salad! Whisk up the dressing, chop everything into bite-sized pieces, and toss it all together. Every forkful gets a little bit of everything, which is honestly my favorite thing about a good chopped salad!

If my Southwest Chopped Salad is already in your summer lunch rotation, this one goes in more of a deli-inspired direction with pepperoncini, basil, eggs, and cheddar. It has similar vibes to my Ditalini Chopped Salad but with chicken instead of deli meat and no pasta!

Before You Get Started

A few small prep choices help all those chopped ingredients stay fresh and taste balanced.

• Chicken choice: Grilled chicken is perfect for late-summer grilling, but leftover or rotisserie chicken makes this almost entirely no-cook. Rotisserie is one of my favorite chopped salad shortcuts, and I use it in this High-Protein BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, too.
• Use Persian cucumbers: Their thin skin and small seeds make them especially good for chopped salads. They stay crisp and release less water than larger standard cucumbers.
• Use whatever veggies you have: This is a great clean-out-the-fridge salad! Add avocado, sweet corn, black beans, shredded carrots, radishes, or any vegetables that need to be used up!
• Dry ingredients well: Spin the romaine dry and drain the chickpeas and pepperoncini thoroughly. Extra moisture will dilute the dressing and soften the lettuce.

How to Make Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad

Once everything is chopped, this salad is mostly a matter of tossing it all into one very generous bowl!

1. Make The Greek Yogurt Dressing

Whisk together the Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until smooth.

Taste and adjust the salt as needed, then refrigerate while you prepare the salad.

Pro tip: Give the dressing another good whisk before serving. Greek yogurt thickens slightly as it chills.

2. Prep The Salad Ingredients

Chop the romaine, cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, cheddar, pepperoncini, red onion, and basil. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

Pro tip: Let freshly grilled chicken cool before adding it to the romaine. Hot chicken releases steam and can soften the lettuce!

3. Toss The Salad

Add the romaine, chicken, eggs, chickpeas, vegetables, cheddar, pepperoncini, red onion, and basil to a large bowl.

Season lightly with salt and pepper, then toss gently until everything is evenly distributed.

Pro tip: Go easy on the salt at first. The cheddar, pepperoncini, Dijon, and dressing already bring plenty of savory flavor.

4. Add The Dressing

Drizzle the Greek yogurt dressing over the portion you’re serving and gently toss again.

If you’re meal prepping, divide the undressed salad into containers and pack the dressing separately.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

A loaded chopped salad has a lot going on, so a few details make a noticeable difference in the final bowl.

• Keep the pieces similar: Chop the chicken, eggs, vegetables, cheese, and lettuce into small, fairly even pieces. That’s what gives a chopped salad a little of everything in each forkful.
• Add the basil close to serving when possible: Fresh basil can darken after chopping. For the freshest color during meal prep, store it separately and sprinkle it into each portion.
• Fix thick dressing easily: Greek yogurt brands vary in thickness. If the dressing becomes too thick after chilling, whisk in a teaspoon of water at a time until it drizzles easily.
• Use up the extra produce: Leftover chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion are already most of the shopping done for this Chopped Greek Chickpea Salad.
• Save the extra basil and tomatoes: Pair them with fresh mozzarella for this 10-minute Chopped Caprese Salad!
• Use your favorite dressing: The creamy lemon-Dijon dressing works beautifully here, but this salad is flexible! Try Greek Salad Dressing for a herby Mediterranean spin, Healthy Balsamic Vinaigrette for something tangy and slightly sweet, or Lemon Feta Vinaigrette if you want even more bright, salty flavor!
• Add more crunch: Croutons, toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or chopped walnuts all work well with the chicken, chickpeas, and crisp vegetables. Add them right before serving so they stay crunchy.

Serving Ideas

This is a full meal on its own, but there are plenty of ways to make it work for lunches, dinners, and summer gatherings.

• Garlic Grilled Zucchini: Tender zucchini with garlic and smoky grill marks keeps the whole meal fresh and lets you cook another side while the chicken is already on the grill.
• Crispy Baked Potato Wedges: Crispy, garlicky potato wedges make this salad feel more like a full dinner and are especially good when you want something warm on the side.
• Add a grain: Turn the salad into an even heartier lunch or dinner with a scoop of Cilantro Lime Quinoa, Garlic Cilantro Brown Rice, or simple Instant Pot Brown Rice. Quinoa is especially good for meal prep since it adds another 6 grams of protein per serving!

Storage & Reheating

Keep the dressing away from the romaine until you’re ready to eat, and this salad holds up beautifully for meal prep.

• Storage: Store the undressed salad in airtight meal-prep containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the Greek yogurt dressing in a separate container.
• Freezer: Do not freeze the assembled salad. Cooked grilled chicken can be frozen separately and thawed before using.
• Leftovers: Turn leftover undressed salad into a wrap, pita, or grain bowl. Add the dressing immediately before eating for the freshest texture.