Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
What I love about Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be THIS salad! I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy… like out of everything you could pick, you pick a salad? No, but this isn’t just a salad, or … it is, but it doesn’t taste like you’re eating JUST a salad. This bowl (salad) is choc full of a variety of tasty ingredients! The base is fresh kale that is covered in a delicious, creamy, homemade hummus dressing. On top is a mix of crisp vegetables, roasted potatoes, salty goat feta and Mediterranean-style sliced chicken breast; it’s just SO good!
What you will need to make Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
Here’s a list of ingredients that you will need:
For the chicken:
Chicken - You will need 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Or more if you are doubling or tripling it.
Spices - To season the chicken, I used a homemade greek-style blend of spices including oregano, basil, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper. The addition of cinnamon is my favourite. It adds really nice flavour and warmth to the spice mix.
Avocado oil - Make sure you rub the chicken breasts with oil before adding the spices to help them adhere a little better. You can also use olive oil.
For the salad:
Kale - I used green kale for this recipe, but you can probably use any kind of kale. Just make sure that it’s organic as it is a highly sprayed vegetable and typically found on the “dirty dozen” list.
Potato - I used yellow potatoes for roasting but you could also use mini roaster potatoes. They’re such a nice addition texture-wise to the salad!
Bell pepper - I used yellow bell pepper for a little extra colour in the salad. You can use red or orange bell pepper as well.
Tomato - Roma tomatoes work great and are what we use in this recipe. You can also use grape or cherry tomatoes.
Cucumber - The chopped cucumber in this salad is one of my favourite additions. They add an extra element of freshness, texture and colour to the salad.
Shallot - We need a little something to balance out the flavours in the salad and that is where the shallots come in. They add a bit of a kick, a bit of zing and again, just help to balance out all of the elements of the salad.
Dill - The fresh chopped dill in this salad is another stand-out ingredient. It adds such nice flavour! I looove fresh dill. Don’t skip out on this one. I really do recommend using fresh dill. Dried dill definitely won’t compare.
Goat feta - I recently tried goat feta for the first time and it is DELICIOUS. I love to garnish this salad with a bit of goat feta on top. Of course, you could use cow feta as well.
For the hummus dressing:
Hummus - Hummus is the base of the dressing and it’s what, in my opinion, makes the salad! I like to make my own hummus which you can do, or simply buy it from the store. I recommend either garlic or plain hummus for this recipe. Garlic hummus is SO good, btw!
Olive oil - Oils are largely what make up most salad dressings. I love using extra virgin olive oil. It’s delicious and has many healthy benefits as well. Also, hummus and olive oil go so beautifully together.
White wine vinegar - Adding a little white wine vinegar to the dressing helps to balance out the more muted tones from the hummus and olive oil. It adds a bit of acidity to the dressing.
Lemon juice - Lemon juice also adds an element of acid to the dressing but also flavour. The addition of lemon pairs really well with all of the elements of the salad.
Garlic - Even if you are using garlic hummus, I STILL like to add more garlic. It’s just so good. I like to recommend fresh garlic as well. It makes all of the difference!
Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
Mediterranean Chicken Salad with Creamy Hummus Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow potato
- avocado oil, for roasting
- 6 cups chopped green kale
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped roma tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1/2 cup sliced shallots
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
- 1/2 cup goat feta
- 1 cup garlic (or plain) hummus
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oregano, basil, dried dill, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon, salt and pepper until combined.
- Rub the chicken breasts with avocado oil and rub the spice mix all over on both sides. Place the chicken breasts on the prepared pan.
- Add the chopped yellow potato to the same pan and toss with avocado oil, salt and pepper.
- Bake the chicken and potatoes for 20-23 minutes in the preheated oven or until chicken is cooked to 165F and potatoes are crispy.
- Make the dressing: In another small bowl, whisk together the hummus, olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper until smooth and completely combined.
- Add the kale to a large mixing bowl and toss with the hummus dressing until all of the leaves are coated.
- Divide the kale among two salad bowls and top them with chopped tomato, cucumber, shallot and fresh dill.
- Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and let the chicken rest on a cutting board for 1-2 minutes. Add the potatoes on top of the prepared salads.
- Slice the chicken and fan it out on top of the salads. Top with goat feta, garnish with fresh cracked pepper and enjoy!