A quick and easy recipe for chicken bacon salad. Juicy chicken breasts, crispy bacon and veggies are served with honey mustard dressing. This tasty meal can be enjoyed as a lunch or light dinner!
So this chicken bacon salad is my simplified re-creation of what I ate last week at a restaurant. It was love at first bite and no wonder! It tasted amazing.
What I love about this chicken bacon salad recipe:
- Quick preparation – chicken breasts and bacon are the only two things that need to be cooked here which makes is pretty fast. 10 minutes tops!
- Easy recipe – just throw everything into a large bowl and you are done!
- Simple ingredients – no fancy expensive ingredients. Use what you have on hand.
- Perfect for summer.
- Ideal for lunch, light dinner, barbecue, picnic.
This chicken bacon salad is one of my favorite salads altogether with Strawberry Salad, Chicken Salad and Healthy Kale Salad.
What are your favorite salad recipes?
How to make chicken bacon salad
If you would like your chicken warm in the salad, then I recommend doing the prep first and when you are done, cook the chicken and bacon. That way you can enjoy this salad while the chicken breast & bacon are still warm.
For those who are OK to eat this salad cold, then the order does not really matter so much.
Fry the bacon strips. Remove them from the pan and drain the fat. In the same pan, add little olive oil and cook the chicken breasts seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. The thinner the breasts the faster they cook. It takes about 4 minutes.
Divide all the ingredients into 2 plates/bowls (salad leaves, thinly sliced onion rings, parmesan shavings, cherry tomatoes, cooked bacon and chicken breasts.
This chicken bacon salad is tasty on its own but pouring over some honey mustard dressing brings this easy meal to a whole new level!
To make the dressing combine all the ingredients in a small jar or glass and mix well.
Tips for making chicken bacon salad
- I like using thin-sliced chicken breasts for two reasons – they cook quickly and I did not have to cut the breasts myself. However, you can buy whole chicken breasts and slice them yourself, if that is what you prefer.
- If you don’t like or want to use onions, add radishes instead!
- The spicy mustard vinaigrette can be omitted completely but I highly recommend going the extra mile (well, like the extra minute in this case) and make it. It’s so worth it!
Chicken Bacon Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces Thin-Sliced Chicken Breasts (230g)
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- paprika
- ½ Small Onion , optional
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes (140g)
- 5 ounces Mixed Lettuce Leaves (150g)
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese , grated (30g)
Honey Mustard Dressing:
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp Spicy Mustard
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp Lemon Juice , from fresh lemon
- 4 tsp White Wine Vinegar
Instructions
For the salad:
- Fry the bacon in a frying pan. When done, transfer onto a plate lined with paper kitchen towel to get rid of the excess fat.
- Remove any leftover fat from the pan and pour in the olive oil. Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and paprika on both sides. Cook on both sides until ready (about 4 minutes).
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves and slice the onion into rings.
- Divide mixed lettuce leaves, onion, cherry tomatoes between 2 plates/bowls. Top this with chicken slices, bacon and parmesan.
For the honey mustard dressing:
- Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar/glass. Mix well before serving.
Notes
- Use any type of paprika you have on hand – smoked or sweet.
- The amount of ingredients can be adjusted to your liking.
- Grana Padano can be substituted for Parmesan.
- The amount of mustard vinaigrette is plenty for 2 portions.
- If you don’t like spicy mustard, feel free to use the classic one. Dijon mustard is a great choice.
Priya Shiva says
that salad looks so good! I have never combined honey with mustard in a salad dressing. Got to try it out!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I never remembered chicken looking this mouth watering on top of my salad. This really makes it over the top the ingredients are sure to make an ordinary salad into a banquet delicious meal thanks for posting will try your recipe
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
:) Thanks, Claudia.
Susie says
What a perfect summer salad! I always love eating lighter salads during hot nights. Thanks for the great recipe.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
You are welcome!
Courtney says
I love the sound of the honey mustard dressing!!! I’ve never had one on a salad before – delicious!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
It’s one of my favorite dressings. Hope you give it a go! :)
Tara says
Oh yum! Some of my favorite flavors! I love how easily this salad comes together. I wish I had this for lunch today.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Tara! :)