Break up with boring salads for good! Make this easy Grilled Chicken Salad with Bacon and Avocado, tossed with a creamy Lemon Dijon Dressing. It’s topped with blueberries, walnuts, and red onion, and it’s totally Whole30, Paleo, and Low Carb. Oh, and pretty much the best thing ever. Just sayin’.
I used to never make salads. Never. I thought they were boring, bland, blah.. you know what I mean. It wasn’t until my first round of Whole30 (way back in 2014!) that I started eating salads regularly, mostly because they’re easy and can easily fit the Whole30 meal template.
And guess what? I still thought they were boring, bland, blah.
But after a serious bout of Food Boredom, I tried something new!
I decided to be purposeful in trying new things, and I learned to change up the flavors and textures, and incorporate seasonal ingredients. I started by trying just one new recipe per week, and it snowballed from there.
And now? I still have to be intentional about my salads meals if I want to avoid Food Boredom. I add some crunch, try new dressings, switch up the greens and the proteins.
Now I can say I’m definitely a salad person! I eat a salad for lunch most days, actually. And I love it!
Grilled Chicken Salad Ingredients
This is definitely NOT just another boring salad recipe, but the ingredients in it are still pretty simple! Simple really is best, don’t you think? The combination of flavors in this chicken salad with bacon and avocado is kind of amazing.
In this recipe:
- Grilled chicken breasts
- Mixed baby greens
- Nitrate and sugar free bacon
- Blueberries
- Avocado
- Red onion
- Walnuts
Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, a creamy and dreamy homemade lemon dijon dressing, made with freshly squeezed lemon, dijon mustard, oil, and a few pantry staple seasonings.
Making the Grilled Chicken Salad
Making this recipe is pretty easy and it comes together in about 20 minutes or so. That’s kind of what I love most about it! To make it:
- Grill the chicken and cook bacon
- Whisk the lemon dijon dressing ingredients together
- Slice the onion and avocado
- Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix it up!
Recipe Tips
- Finding Whole30 Compliant Bacon: My favorite bacon is Naked Bacon, but there are a few other Whole30 Approved brands you could check out.
- To Save Some Time: Use leftover or store-bought rotisserie chicken or store-bought salad dressing (I think Tessemae’s Lemon Garlic dressing would be fab – affiliate link).
- Adaptations: Add goat cheese (NOT Paleo/Whole30); Swap roasted grapes instead of the blueberries (NOT Low Carb); Add fresh tomatoes.
More healthy & delicious salads: Broccoli Bacon Salad, Tomato-Basil Grilled Turkey Salad, Spiralized Zucchini Caprese Salad, Asian Salad Bowl with Shrimp.
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Grilled Chicken & Bacon Salad with Lemon Dijon Dressing
Ingredients
Chicken & Bacon Salad
- 4 cups mixed baby greens
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 2/3 cup blueberries
- 2/3 cup walnuts
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 red onion about 1/2 cup
Lemon Dijon Dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- pinch onion powder
Instructions
Cook the Chicken & Bacon
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Grill the chicken in the pan for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Once cooked through, set it aside and allow it to rest before slicing.
- Add the bacon to a separate skillet while it's still cold (This allows the bacon fat to render slowly = crispier bacon). Set the heat to medium and cook for about 6 minutes per side, until as crispy as you like it. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate until you're ready to serve.
Make the Dressing
- Whisk together all the lemon dijon dressing ingredients.
Assemble and Serve
- Thinly slice the red onion and slice the avocado. Roughly chop or crumble the bacon. Slice the chicken.
- Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl. Drizzle with salad dressing and toss. Divide among 4 bowls and serve.
