Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad
From McGough's Recipes
| Prep | Cook | Total | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Min | 15 Min | 20 Min | 4 |
Ingredients
Marinade/Dressing:
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) olive oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Salad:
- 4 chicken thigh fillets, skin removed (no bone)*
- 5 cups Romaine, (or cos) lettuce leaves, washed and dried
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup mini mozzarella / bocconcini cheese balls
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Whisk marinade ingredients together to combine. Place chicken into a shallow dish; pour 4 tablespoons of the dressing / marinade onto the chicken and stir around to evenly coat chicken. Reserve the untouched marinade to use as a dressing.
- Heat about one teaspoon of oil in a large grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and grill or sear chicken fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. Once chicken is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.
- Slice chicken into strips and prepare salad with lettuce, avocado slices, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and chicken. Top with basil strips; drizzle with the remaining dressing; season with salt and pepper; serve.
Notes
Substitutions
- You can use cherry tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes, or use chopped Roma tomatoes.
- Fresh mozzarella balls are best in this. You can use any size if you can’t find mini.
- Romaine, butter, ice berg or spinach are all fine to use as the base.
How To Make The Best Chicken Avocado Caprese Salad
Traditionally, Caprese salads do not contain any balsamic vinegar OR avocados or chicken, but today, however, that has changed to make way for this bowl of epic flavours.
You’re first going to marinade your chicken:
- You only need to use 4 tablespoons of the balsamic marinade.
- You’re going to reserve the remaining dressing to use later in the refrigerator! No, we don’t use the OLD marinade as a dressing. We use the FRESH UNTOUCHED marinade.
- Then, you’re going to sear said chicken until crispy on the edges and golden. For this salad I used boneless, skinless thighs, BUT you can use breasts if you wish.
