When you take a base of arugula and spring mix and top it with asparagus, green beans, peas, radishes, goat cheese, and a fabulous grilled chicken you have one heck of a main dish salad perfect for Mother's Day!
Grilled Chicken Spring Vegetable Salad
It's time to use up all the abundance of spring produce. Yea Spring! Today we are making a main dish salad that I served for Easter. It's filled with spring greens, asparagus, green beans, carrots, radishes, and peas! It's a smorgasbord of spring ingredients. I then grilled some coriander rubbed chicken breasts to top the salad. Finish with a sprinkling of goat cheese crumbles, pecans, and a few raspberries and you have an amazing main course salad! Feel free to top this with your favorite dressing or use one of my suggestions below.
This is the perfect main course for light lunches, weeknight dinners, Easter, Mother's Day, bridal showers, spring brunches or eating alfresco on a sunny weekend afternoon. You will be filled with good for your ingredients and have a happy tummy to go along with it!
Enjoy!
What Ingredients do I need?
- boneless skinless chicken breasts - I used thin cut
- 50/50 spring mix - part arugula and spring mix
- asparagus - thin spears
- fresh green beans
- frozen peas
- radishes
- goat cheese with herbs
- raspberries
- pecan halves
- ground coriander
- fresh mint
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute roasted chicken, a rotisserie chicken, or leftover chicken
- Substitute the protein: salmon, shrimp or pork tenderloin would be great in the salad
- Use the herb of your choice: basil, thyme, or chives would be great additions
- Use a plain goat cheese, or use feta or ricotta salata - or leave off the cheese
- Switch up the greens: use red leaf, green leaf, spinach, or butter lettuce
- Use your favorite spring produce - get creative!
Kitchen Tips and Notes
- Chicken: if you like cold or room temperature chicken on your salad, cook the chicken first, then prep all the rest of the salad ingredients. If you like hot chicken on your salad, cook the chicken last.
- Vegetables: To get bright green tender crisp vegetables blanch them in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then drain them in a colander and rinse them with cool water to stop the cooking process. They will be bright and green and tender crisp!
- Instead of using a large salad bowl for the entire group I plated the salads directly on each individual's plate. It's easier, and the presentation comes out better than tossing a salad.
- See below for some of my suggested dressings.
What do I dress this salad with?:
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Grilled Chicken Spring Vegetable Salad
kosher salt & ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
8 cups of spring mix with arugula
1 1lb of thin asparagus spears, woody ends discarded
1/2 lb of fresh green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 radishes, thinly sliced
2-3 oz of goat cheese with herbs, crumbled
1/2 pint raspberries
1/4 cup pecan halves, toasted
Pre-heat an indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken breast dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Sprinkle the coriander about 1/4 teaspoon for each side on all chicken breasts. Place chicken on the grill pan and cook about 3-4 minutes per side or until chicken reaches 160 degrees internal temperature. Set aside and allow chicken to cool.
Meanwhile bring a large pot filled with water to boil. Cut the asparagus spears in half and the green beans in half. Add asparagus, green beans, and peas to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are bright green and crisp tender. Remove from heat and drain vegetables in a colander. Run cold water over the vegetables until cool, to stop the cooking process.
Arrange salad on individual dinner plates by spreading about 2 cups of spring salad mix per each plate. Divide the green vegetables among the plates.
Cut the chicken breasts in to slices. Place the slices on each salad plate among the veggies and lettuce mix. Add sliced radishes, a few raspberries, crumbles of goat cheese, and pecans to each plate.
Dress with your favorite dressing.
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