How to Turn Summer Produce into the Best Grilled Chicken Salad Ever!
This grilled chicken salad features the best of summer: sweet peaches, smoky corn, and a zippy lime-basil vinaigrette tossed with peppery arugula, blueberries, toasted pecans, and creamy feta. It's gluten-free, super colorful, and can be served as a side or a main dish.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves (finely minced + extra for garnish)
- 1 lime (zest)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice (approximately 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 3 fresh peaches (slightly underripe, halved or quartered)
- 2 ears corn (husked)
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound total, patted dry)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil (+ more for brushing)
- 5 ounces arugula
- ¼ red onion (sliced thin)
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ½ cup pecans (toasted and coarsely chopped)
- 4 ounces feta cheese (crumbled)
- lime wedges
- basil leaves
- In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, basil, lime zest, lime juice, honey or maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Shake vigorously until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat your grill pan or grill to medium high heat. Brush or spray with oil.
- Brush the corn and peaches with oil. Sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper.
- Grill the corn for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until lightly charred. Set aside to cool, then slice kernels off the cob.
- Grill the peaches cut-side down for about 1-2 minutes or until grill marks form and they’ve softened slightly. Remove and let cool.
- If needed, wipe down your grill pan or grill. Reheat to medium-high and brush or spray once more with oil.
- Season the chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oil.
- Grill each breast for 3-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Set aside to rest, then thinly slice.
- In a large bowl or serving platter, layer the arugula, grilled chicken, peaches, corn, red onion, blueberries, pecans, and feta.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over right before serving. Toss and enjoy!
Summer Grilled Chicken and Peach Salad
This is a classic grilled chicken salad but so much better! I pack in the absolute best of summer-sweet peaches, fresh corn, blueberries, and basil. I love making this for summer dinner parties or backyard cookouts because it looks so impressive, but it's also easy and perfect for a quick weeknight meal-minimal prep, minimal cleanup. It's naturally gluten-free, and you can easily make it dairy-free or nut-free. This grilled chicken salad is a super versatile and flexible recipe that you can make year-round using a variety of greens, fruits, and veggies-see my notes below! Also, be sure to try my chicken and corn pasta salad with pesto dressing and family-favorite cranberry pecan chicken salad.
Proteins: Turkey breast, chicken thigh, rotisserie chicken, grilled tofu, shrimp, salmon, or pork are all great substitutions for chicken breast.
Fruit: Swap the peaches for nectarines, plums, or mango! Instead of blueberries, I often use other berries like strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, or even cherries!
Veggies: Instead of or in addition to corn, use canned or frozen (defrosted corn) and char in a skillet, grill zucchini or squash, or try roasted red bell peppers instead!
Salad: Baby spinach, mixed greens, massaged kale, romaine, red or green leaf lettuce, or butter lettuce would all work well with this grilled chicken salad.
Cheese: Parm, blue cheese, pecorino, or burrata would be delicious alternatives to the feta!
Nuts: Walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or candied nuts would be really yummy swaps for the pecans!
Dressing: Switch lime for lemon. Use parsley, chives or cilantro in place of the basil. Brown sugar, agave syrup, or white sugar can be used instead of honey or maple syrup. Whole grain mustard works just as well as Dijon mustard, and avocado or grapeseed oil are good alternatives to olive oil.
How to Make Grilled Chicken Salad
Note: This is only an overview of the recipe with helpful step-by-step photos. The detailed recipe + the ingredient amounts are at the bottom of this post HERE.
Grill corn and peaches: I brush the corn and peaches with oil, sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper, and grill them on medium-high heat-corn until it's lightly charred (about 8-10 minutes), peaches just until grill marks appear (1-2 minutes). Once cooled, I slice the corn off the cob.
Grill chicken: Next, I season the chicken breasts and grill them for 3-5 minutes per side, then let them rest before slicing thinly.
Make a salad dressing: I shake up all the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar until it's totally combined and set it aside.
Assemble: I layer everything-arugula, grilled chicken, peaches, corn, red onion, blueberries, pecans, and feta-on a big platter or in small individual salad bowls, drizzle with the vinaigrette, toss, and serve!
Variations
Grain bowl: Feel free to turn this grilled chicken salad into a grain bowl using farro, quinoa, or couscous. Or, add it to the salad for extra protein!
Protein packed: Add a hard boiled egg, grilled shrimp, grilled salmon, crispy prosciutto, or bacon!
Mason jar meal: Layer by starting with the vinaigrette at the bottom, chicken, corn, peaches, blueberries, pecans, feta, and then arugula on top. Shake before serving and put into a bowl.
Grilled Chicken and Peach Salad with Corn and Lime Basil Dressing
grilled chicken salad features the best of summer: sweet peaches, smoky corn, and a zippy
lime-basil vinaigrette tossed with peppery arugula, blueberries, toasted pecans, and creamy feta. It's
gluten-free, super colorful, and can be served as a side or a main dish.
Lime Basil Vinaigrette
For the Grill
For Assembly
Make Vinaigrette
Grill Corn and Peaches
