This Chicken and Chickpea Green Goddess Power Salad recipe is loaded with fresh healthy veggies! It is topped with cucumbers, paper thin ribbons of carrot and crumbled feta cheese. The chicken is marinated in a garlic and red wine vinegar marinade. The dressing is a homemade Green Goddess with avocado, tahini and buttermilk.

Chicken and Chickpea Green Goddess Power Salad

Why We Love This Recipe For Green Salad with Chickpeas

I was inspired to come up with this power salad recipe when Jase and I took the girls to lunch at Healthy Living after BodyPump last weekend. My 7-year old surprised the heck out of me by asking for a salad for her lunch. I helped her build a big beautiful salad with marinated tofu and tahini dressing. I was starving and ended up making myself a giant salad as well, but with feta and cucumbers too. As we all sat in the cafe devouring our salads, my daughter said, “Mommy you should make a big salad like this for your blog.” I thought that was a good idea. So if you read my post yesterday about how to write a better recipe, then you already basically know this recipe. The first test I did was okay but not really worthy of sharing with you guys. Frankly the chicken was under-seasoned and bland, and there was too much dressing. The dressing was too thick at first so I added water and buttermilk to it. But then there was way too much. It was a little bitter too. So I knew I had to make some adjustments.

I ended up fixing it and dropped the amount of dressing, added a bit more acid and salt, and viola! Amazingness in a bowl. Really. Don’t think since I didn’t wax on about it for the last five minutes it doesn’t rock. It totally does. And it will give you big, strong, goddess-like muscles too. It has 36 grams of protein!

Ingredients For This Recipe

Sesame tahini

Tahini is made entirely of sesame seeds and is kind of like a paste. It’s full of healthy fats and antioxidants, and is great for salad dressings and baked goods.

Boneless skinless chicken breast

I opted for boneless skinless chicken breast for extra juice, and fuss-free chicken. I love getting organic free-range chicken when I can, but really anything you can get your hands on is great!

Non-fat buttermilk

Buttermilk is really only cultured milk, similar to kefir or yogurt. It adds tang and acidity to recipes, and if you don’t have any a great substitute is milk with a bit of lemon juice.

Other Ingredients

  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • ¼ cup cold water
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar, divided
  • 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning herb mix
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • ½ avocado, skin and pit removed
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon, optional
  • 8 cups spring greens, washed and spun dry (you can use whatever lettuce you have on hand.)
  • 1 carrot, peeled, and cut into paper-thin ribbons with vegetable peeler
  • ½ European cucumber, seeded and cut into chunks
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Step By Step Instructions To Make This Recipe

Step 1: Marinate chicken

Place the garlic cloves in a large re-sealable bag, then press the air out and seal the bag. Smash garlic with the smooth side of a meat mallet or a heavy skillet. Open the bag and add the chicken breasts. Press air out of the bag and reseal. Pound meat through the bag until the thickest part of the breast is level with the thinnest, about 3/4 -inch thick. Open up bag again and add tenders, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons vinegar, Italian herb mix and ½ teaspoon salt. Press out air and reseal bag; agitate until the chicken is coated in the herb-garlic mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Step 2: Grill chicken

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Oil the grill rack . Grill chicken until browned and no-longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Let rest about 5 minutes before cutting into pieces.

Step 3: Make power salad dressing

Puree avocado, buttermilk, the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, tahini, chives, parsley, tarragon and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt in a mini prep or food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Step 4: Assemble salad & serve

Arrange the greens in four bowls. Top with carrots, cucumbers, chickpeas, feta and the grilled chicken. Drizzle dressing over the salads and serve.

FAQs and Expert Tips for This Green Goddess Salad with Chicken

Can this salad be made ahead of time?

Yes. You can prep ahead of time by cooking the chicken and cutting the vegetables, and storing them in the fridge in airtight containers until ready to assemble. Make the dressing the day before and store it in the fridge, too.

Can you substitute chickpeas for anything

If you don’t have or like chickpeas, substitute for black beans, kidney beans, or even corn.

How long does the dressing last in the fridge?

Homemade Green Goddess dressing will last in an airtight container stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Additional Recipes To Try

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Chicken and Chickpea Green Goddess Power Salad

Chicken and Chickpea Green Goddess Power Salad


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 entree salads and 3/4 cup dressing 1x

Description

Gluten-free and protein packed entree salad with garlic marinated chicken, chickpeas, feta cheese and home-made Green Goddess salad dressing.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, tenders removed
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, divided
  • 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning herb mix
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 avocado, skin and pit removed
  • 1/3 cup non-fat buttermilk
  • 4 teaspoons sesame tahini sauce
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon, optional
  • 8 cups spring greens, washed and spun dry
  • 1 carrot, peeled, and cut into paper-thin ribbons with vegetable peeler
  • 1/2 European cucumber, seeded and cut into chunks
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

  1. Place garlic cloves in a large re-sealable bag, press air out and seal the bag. Smash garlic with the smooth side of a meat mallet. Open bag and add chicken breasts. Press air out of bag and reseal. Pound meat through the bag until the thickest part of the breast is level with the thinnest, about 3/4 -inch thick. Open bag again and add tenders, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons vinegar, Italian herb mix and ½ teaspoon salt. Press out air and reseal bag and agitate until the chicken is coated in the herb garlic mixture. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 2 hours.
  2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Oil grill rack . Grill chicken until no-longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Let rest about 5 minutes before cutting into chunks.
  3. Puree avocado, buttermilk, the remaining 1 tablespoon vinegar, tahini, chives, parsley, tarragon and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt in a mini prep or food processor until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary.
  4. Arrange greens in four bowls. Top with carrot, cucumber, chickpeas, feta and the chicken. Drizzle dressing over the salads and serve.

Notes

Make Ahead:

Prep ahead of time by cooking the chicken and cutting the vegetables, then storing them in the fridge in airtight containers until ready to assemble. Make the dressing the day before and store it in the fridge, too.

  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 salad, 3 1/2 ounces chicken and 3 tablespoons dr
  • Calories: 321
  • Sugar: 6 g
  • Sodium: 740 mg
  • Fat: 11 grams
  • Saturated Fat: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19 g
  • Fiber: 8 g
  • Protein: 37 g