Balsamic Salad

I’ve got another great salad recipe for you today: Balsamic glazed chicken salad with fresh berries, and a raspberry balsamic dressing.

Like I’ve mentioned in other posts, I went on a huge balsamic vinegar kick last summer, when I had to spend a few months on a medically restrictive diet.

Due to the nature of it, store-bought dressing was basically off the table, as each had a bunch of ingredients that were restricted for me at the time.

That’s ok, though, as homemade dressings will beat store-bought salad dressing, all day, every day.

I tend to look at variations of my basic balsamic vinaigrette recipe as my go-to dressings. Whisk together an acid, and oil, and some flavouring, and you’ve got your own dressing in less than a minute!

The homemade salad dressing for this salad takes a LITTLE more effort than most of my balsamic salad dressings, but only because it involves fresh raspberries.

It’s far and away our favorite salad dressing for this summer salad, which also involves a ton of fresh berries, and a chicken breast cooked in a delicious balsamic glaze.

Probably the perfect summer salad, it’s got everything - bright colour, great textures, big pops of sweetness and acidity from the berries, the richness of the glazed chicken. Beautiful!

It’s casual and easy enough for a weeknight dinner, or summer BBQ, but elegant enough for a dinner party. We made it OFTEN in our RV, while camping last year.

It even works for meal prep - arrange your fresh greens, berries, and most of the salad ingredients ahead of time, and it comes together super quickly.

All around, a delicious salad!

Salad Ingredients

This recipe uses some pretty simple ingredients - for the most part - but you should be able to find almost everything you need in any larger grocery store.

I have some ingredient notes for you, though:

Fresh Chicken Breasts

I use small (it’s a filling salad!) boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.

That said, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs, if you prefer. I’ll usually use 1 big or 2 small thighs per salad, when going that way with it.

Balsamic Vinegar

While most of my balsamic glazed chicken salad recipes - and homemade vinaigrettes - involve a specific type of balsamic vinegar, you can use a more basic one here.

The caveat: For the best flavor, be sure to use a high quality balsamic vinegar for your homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

It doesn’t have to be mega aged or anything, but when making your own vinaigrette, pick something you’d enjoy drizzled over strawberries, alone.

Fresh Produce

You can whichever leafy greens you like for the base of this salad: iceberg lettuce, spring mix, romaine lettuce, maybe a bit of arugula.

We’ll generally do a mixed green base, usually with some baby spinach, and sometimes adding a bit of shredded cabbage or radicchio for a bit of crunch.

Beyond the fresh greens, you’ll need:

Fresh Raspberries (For the Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette)
More Berries: Fresh strawberries, blueberries, more raspberries, blackberries - whichever you like.
Celery
English Cucumber
Fresh Basil Leaves
Red Onion

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Avocado Oil or Olive oil
Lemon Juice
Honey
Dried Basil
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

... I just don’t have anything else to say, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty straightforward!

How to Make Balsamic Glazed Chicken Salad

The complete recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through with detailed instructions.

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Measure all of the dressing ingredients into a blender or the cup of an immersion blender, blitz until smooth.

Season with salt, to taste, then cover and chill until ready to serve.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken Breasts

Trim chicken breasts if necessary, season all over with basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.

Heat avocado oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat.

Add the seasoned chicken breasts to the pan, cook for 4 minutes or so, until well browned. Flip, brown on the other side.

Whisk together the vinegar, water, and honey, pour over the chicken breasts.

Cover and cook until chicken reaches about 160 F on an instant read thermometer.

Once up to 160, remove the lid and allow the chicken to continue cooking until the glaze thickens and chicken reaches 165F.

Remove from the pan, allow to cool slightly as you prepare the salads.

Salad Base and Assembly:

Divide your salad ingredients between 4 large serving bowls or plates, arranging as desired.

Slice the chicken breasts, place one on top of each salad.

Serve with the raspberry balsamic vinaigrette.

Leftovers or Meal Prep

If serving fewer than 4 salads when you make it, I like to assemble all 4 salad bases - without the chicken - and wrap each with plastic wrap.

Then - after cooling to room temperature - I store the leftover chicken separately, to be heated just before serving. It will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

The balsamic vinaigrette should also be stored separately in the fridge, I usually keep it in a small mason jar.

More Gluten Free Main Dish Salad Recipes

Looking for more healthy salad recipes that are substantial enough to serve as a meal and gluten free? Look no further!

Asian Chicken Salad with Lychee Vinaigrette
Balsamic Chicken & Peach Salad
Balsamic Chicken Salad with Grapes & Grape Vinaigrette
Big Mac Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
Cobb Salad
Cranberry & Pear Balsamic Chicken Salad
Curried Chicken Vietnamese Noodle Salad
Grilled Halloumi & Peach Salad
Harvest Chicken Salad
Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Salad
Honey Calamansi Mango Shrimp Salad
Honey Ginger Shrimp Salad
Italian Sub Salad
Keto Taco Salad
Mandarin Glazed Chicken Christmas Salad
Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Salad Meal Prep
Seafood Cobb Salad
Seared Tuna Salad
Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
Shawarma Chicken Salad
Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
Teriyaki Chicken Salad
Thai Pesto Salmon Salad