This Caprese Dinner Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pesto Dressing is perfect for the best of summer produce. And there’s no need to heat the house because it’s all done fresh and on the grill!
We love making huge dinner salads in the summer, and it would seem you do too! Today’s recipe came about from lots of requests for more dinner salads as summer approaches.
So first up, I thought we’d start with the most summery combination I could think of – pesto and tomatoes. Caprese salads of all kinds are one of my favorite things to make during the summer. And so it’s only natural to turn that classic combination into a full meal.
Just a quick note about the recipe, there is a dairy-free option as well, which is still really good. I know many of you can’t have dairy at all, so I try to keep my recipes adaptable whenever possible. The pesto has a dairy-free option as well, which has become a favorite of mine in the summer.
Now let’s make this Caprese Dinner Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pesto Dressing
Since this recipe uses simple ingredients, the better they are, the better the flavor will be. Specifically, the tomatoes will pay dividends of flavor if you can get them from a farmer’s market.
Also, I like to buy my basil in bulk packages from the farmer’s market because it’s always way more affordable than from the supermarket.
The pesto dressing is basically a pesto with a touch of vinegar. But my favorite secret is to add a bit of spinach to it for a bright green color. Basil turns brown anywhere it’s been cut and exposed to air. Since it’s essentially pulverized when you make pesto, adding spinach helps to preserve its vibrant color.
More Dinner Salad Inspiration
- Grilled Chicken Shawarma Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Chipotle Chicken Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Cheeseburger Salad with Secret Sauce Dressing
- Guacamole Salad with Grilled Chipotle Chicken
- Grilled Chicken BLAT Salad with Avocado Ranch
Tips for the Perfect Caprese Salad
- Source as much as you can at the farmer’s market. For us, it’s so much cheaper, you get to support local farmers, and it tastes so much better, there’s no comparison.
- Instead of a splash of balsamic vinegar, I like to use a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar. Be sure to check the labels, though, because some of them have all sorts of additives you don’t want. My favorite is an aged balsamic from Napa Valley Naturals, called Grand Reserve. It’s a bit more pricey than regular balsamic, but you don’t go through it very fast, and it makes anything Caprese taste amazing!
INGREDIENTS1x2x3x
Chicken:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts - about 2
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce - chopped and washed, 12-14 cups
3 cups cherry tomatoes - 1 pound, halved or quartered
2 cups fresh mozzarella - chopped, or mozzarella pearls, 10 ounces, omit for dairy-free
1 large ripe avocado - thinly sliced, or cubed
Pesto Dressing:
- 3 tbsp pine nuts - toasted
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - grated, or 2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast for dairy-free
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar - or lemon juice
- 1 cup baby spinach - 1 ounce
- 2 cups lightly packed basil leaves - 1.5 ounces
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Topping:
- Aged balsamic or reduced balsamic vinegar for drizzling on top
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the chicken in a glass bowl, and mix with the sea salt, pepper, and olive oil. Put the chicken in the fridge to marinate while you prepare the salad ingredients.
- Prep the romaine, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella ,and place them in a large serving bowl or deep-dish platter.
- Preheat the grill over medium-high heat to 400ºF. Place the chicken on the grill, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until it is loose enough to turn over. Once you turn the chicken over, cook for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
- Remove the chicken from the grill, and let it cool while you prepare the pesto dressing.
- Place the pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, sea salt, pepper, Dijon, white wine vinegar, baby spinach, basil, and olive oil in a blender . Blend on low speed until a slightly chunky dressing forms.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, thinly slice or cube it and add it to the salad bowl. Serve the salad with the pesto dressing and aged balsamic for drizzling. Or you can toss the salad with the pesto dressing and serve it with the aged balsamic.
nutrition facts
Caprese Dinner Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pesto Dressing
Ingredients
Chicken:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 heads romaine lettuce chopped and washed, 12-14 cups
3 cups cherry tomatoes 1 pound, halved or quartered
2 cups fresh mozzarella chopped, or mozzarella pearls, 10 ounces, omit for dairy-free
1 large ripe avocado thinly sliced, or cubed
Pesto Dressing:
- 3 tbsp pine nuts toasted
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated, or 2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast for dairy-free
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 cup baby spinach 1 ounce
- 2 cups lightly packed basil leaves 1.5 ounces
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Topping:
- Aged balsamic or reduced balsamic vinegar for drizzling on top
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a glass bowl, and mix with the sea salt, pepper, and olive oil. Put the chicken in the fridge to marinate while you prepare the salad ingredients.
- Prep the romaine, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella ,and place them in a large serving bowl or deep-dish platter.
- Preheat the grill over medium-high heat to 400ºF. Place the chicken on the grill, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until it is loose enough to turn over. Once you turn the chicken over, cook for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
- Remove the chicken from the grill, and let it cool while you prepare the pesto dressing.
- Place the pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, sea salt, pepper, Dijon, white wine vinegar, baby spinach, basil, and olive oil in a blender. Blend on low speed until a slightly chunky dressing forms.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, thinly slice or cube it and add it to the salad bowl. Serve the salad with the pesto dressing and aged balsamic for drizzling. Or you can toss the salad with the pesto dressing and serve it with the aged balsamic.
Nutrition
The recipe Caprese Dinner Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pesto Dressing appeared first on Get Inspired Everyday! on June 24, 2019
https://getinspiredeveryday.com/food/caprese-dinner-salad-with-grilled-chicken-and-pesto-dressing/
