Name: Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Southwest
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts; 8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled; 2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 avocado; 10 cups 50/50 spring mix greens; ¼ c. olive oil; 1 Tbsp garlic chopped; 2 Tbsp Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar; 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce; Juice of 1 limes; Juice of 1 lemon; 2 Tbsp. Olive oil; 2 Tbsp. champagne vinegar, could also use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar; 2 Tbsp Honey; 2 Tbsp. water; 2 tsp. chopped garlic; 2 tsp. Dijon mustard; ½ bunch cilantro chopped; ½ Tomatillo, roughly chopped; Dash of salt and pepper

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Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing is a hearty and healthy recipe, with marinated chicken served on a bed of fresh vegetables and crispy bacon for a delicious dinner salad you will love!

Chicken BLT Salad

This chicken BLT salad is so fresh and filling for a great meal on a summer day with it’s flavorful tangy citrus tomatillo dressing… or a cold winter day dreaming about the freshness of summer coming back! Haha

I think every single person in my family loves BLTs, particularly with some fresh garden tomatoes. Some people might want to leave a little of this off and add a little of that, but at the end of the day, Bacon, lettuce and tomato are a timeless and wonderful combination for the ages!

I decided to lighten up this classic in the form a a bright summery salad. Instead of mayonnaise slathered on some bread, we are serving up our BLT on a bed of greens dressed with a fresh citrus tomatillo dressing with some marinated chicken and avocado for a healthy, filling and delicious entree salad.

How to Make Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Vinaigrette

To get started, pound out the chicken breasts or they won’t cook evenly and be as tender. While this is never my favorite part of making chicken breasts, it makes such an impactfull difference in how tender the chicken turns out and therefore so worth the extra few minutes.

Once the chicken is tenderized, add it to a large ziploc bag with the marinade ingredients. Marinate your chicken breasts for at least 20 minutes and up to 24 hours. The longer you are able to marinade the chicken, the more flavorful they will be! Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a hot saute pan with olive oil. Saute the chicken breasts about 4 minutes on each side, until cooked thoroughly.

Let the chicken rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting it up into 1/2″ strips. This will allow the juices to set, and your chicken to stay nice and moist.

Tomatillo Dressing

Next up, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Personally, I like to put them in a bowl and use my immersion blender for a quick blend, and most importantly, for fewer dishes to clean!

If you haven’t already purchase a citrus juicer, I highly recommend getting one. I’m not a big fan of most kitchen gadgets because they mean more dishes. Citrus juicers are one of the few exceptions in my book. Not only do I not have to wince in pain when the lemon juice hits that one random paper cut on your finger, but it gets ALL of the fresh juice from the citrus.

Family Style Dinner Salad

After you have everything prepped, begin assembling the salad by tossing the greens with the dressing and layering with the remaining ingredients. Save a little dressing to drizzle on top and you are ready to serve this colorful and flavorful salad.

Serve the salad family style and come together as a family with a recipe everyone will enjoy. Bacon and grilled chicken are a pretty universal win with picky eaters. Hopefully those staples will get them to try a few other fresh and healthy ingredients like avocados and a bright salad dressing.

You can always leave the dressing off for the most family friendly option and let everyone choose their own option. Even if it means letting the kids eat the salad coated in store bought ranch dressing, it’s still a win in my book because they are filling up on vegetables with all the great nutrients.

More Salad Dressing Options for Chicken BLT Salad

If you don’t have access to tomatillos or none on hand, there are a few other homemade salad dressings that would pair wonderfully with this Chicken BLT Salad.

Healthy Salad Meal Prep

This salad makes for a great lunch the next day too, if you hold off on dressing the greens and store the ingredients in separate air tight containers. It is so easy to assemble at the office or on the run!

One important tip for storing cut avocados, is to toss them them with some citrus so they don’t brown. Seeing there was so much citrus in my dressing already, I just dipped the avocado in that to keep it fresh until the next day.

More healthy dinner salad recipes!

Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing is a hearty and healthy recipe, with marinated chicken served on a bed of fresh vegetables and crispy bacon for a delicious dinner salad you will love!

Ingredients

Salad-

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado
10 cups 50/50 spring mix greens

Marinade

¼ c. olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic chopped
2 Tbsp Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Citrus Tomatillo Dressing

Juice of 1 limes
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. champagne vinegar, could also use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. chopped garlic
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ bunch cilantro chopped
½ Tomatillo, roughly chopped
Dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

Place chicken breasts between two layers of cling wrap and use a rolling pin or any blunt object to pound out the chicken breasts until about ½ inch thick.
Combine all marinade ingredients in gallon zip lock bag with the tenderized chicken breasts and squeeze the marinade around the chicken so the chicken is well coated. Seal the bag with as little air possible and allow to marinade at least 20 minutes or overnight.
Combine all dressing ingredients in blender or food processor until well combined and set aside.
In a large saute pan over medium heat add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the internal temperate reaches 165°.
When the chicken is done cooking, remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice it into ½ inch strips.
Meanwhile, in large bowl toss the greens with the vinaigrette until evenly coated. Top with the tomatoes, chopped avocado and crumbled bacon and chicken. Enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Oh Sweet Basil

Chicken BLT Salad with Citrus Tomatillo Dressing