Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta
The trick of marinating the diced chicken, red pepper, and olives gives this Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta that extra something. And this is a perfect recipe for using leftover grilled chicken!
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For many years it was considered to be not a good technique to cut lettuce, but then someone came up with the idea of chopped salad, and food history was made. Of course you don’t really need a recipe to make chopped salad, but what makes this Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta so memorable is the step of tossing the leftover chicken, chopped red pepper, and olives with some of the dressing before you add it to the salad.
If I’m not starving, I’ll even let the chicken marinate in the dressing for about 30 minutes before I finish the salad. This is something I’ve been making for years, whenever I have leftover Grilled Chicken or rotisserie chicken in the fridge. I make dressing, wash and chop the romaine lettuce, chop the chicken, and chop the red pepper and store it separately in the fridge. Then when I want a salad I mix it together with the simple recipe I’m giving you for one salad.
What kind of dressing can you use?
I make my own dressing for this, and I urge you to make the full amount of the flavorful dressing that’s in the notes in the recipe. I think the combination of two vinegars, a touch of Dijon, and dried Italian herbs I use here goes perfectly with the other ingredients. If you don’t want to bother making the dressing, this would still be delicious with something like Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) or your favorite bottled Italian Dressing. (Check the sugar content if you’re buying bottled dressing for this, as it can vary greatly.)
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- Red Wine Vinegar (affiliate link)
- white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link)
- Dijon mustard (affiliate link)
- Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
- Vege-Sal (affiliate link), or use salt if you don’t have Vege-Sal
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- leftover chicken
- red pepper
- black olives
- chopped romaine lettuce
- crumbled Feta cheese
How to make Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)
- To make the dressing, start by mixing together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, Italian herb seasoning, Vege-sal (or salt), and pepper. Then whisk in the olive oil, a little at a time. If you have time, let this sit for a few minutes.
- You can use more or less of any ingredient to suit your taste, but I like about 1/4 cup diced red pepper and 1/4 cup sliced olives. (If it’s fresh tomato season you can replace the red pepper with chopped tomatoes.)
- For a lunch salad for myself, I use about a cup of diced leftover chicken. Combine those ingredients with 2 T of dressing and let them marinate while you prep the other ingredients (or longer, if you’re not starving.)
- I use about 2 handfuls of chopped romaine to make a lunch salad. I crisp the lettuce in my baby salad spinner, a kitchen gadget I love!
- When you’re ready to make the salad, put lettuce in the bottom of the bowl. You can drizzle over a bit more dressing or not, depending on how much dressing you like.
- Add the marinated chicken, red peppers, and olives and sprinkle with feta cheese.
- I can’t imagine how many times I’ve had this combination for lunch, so good.
They were definitely an investment, but I love the Fiesta 2-Quart Serving Bowl (affiliate link) shown in this photo, and I bought four of them especially to use for large lunch salads.
More Tasty Chopped Salad Recipes:
Baby Arugula Salad with Chicken, Mozzarella, and Tomatoes from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Italian Chopped Salad from What’s Cooking Chicago
Peperoncini Chopped Salad with Romaine, Peppers, and Feta from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Israeli Chopped Salad from Cafe Liz
Chopped Chicken Salad with Cafe Rio Salad Dressing from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta
Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta is a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken!
Ingredients
- 3 T red wine vinegar dressing (see notes)
- 1 cup diced leftover chicken breast, cut into pieces 1/2 inch square
- 1/4 cup chopped red pepper, cut into pieces 1/2 inch square
- 1/4 cup black olives, cut in half
- 2 large handfuls chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 T crumbled Feta cheese
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the dressing, except olive oil, in bowl or glass measuring cup. Whisk in olive oil, a little at a time until ingredients are well combined.
- Let the dressing sit to blend flavors while you prep salad ingredients.
- Chop chicken and red bell pepper and slice olives.
- Put those ingredients in a small bowl and toss with 2 T of dressing and let it marinate while you prep other ingredients.
- Chop lettuce into bite-sized pieces, wash if needed, and spin dry or dry with paper towels.
- Crumble Feta cheese.
- Put the chopped lettuce into a large salad bowl, adding a little more dressing if desired.
- Top with the marinated chicken, chopped red pepper, and olives.
- Sprinkle with crumbled Feta cheese and enjoy!
Notes
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 T Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 T Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp. Italian Seasoning herb blend
- 1/2 tsp. Vege-Sal or salt
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp.
- 1 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 548Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 151mgSodium: 798mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 37g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
All the low-glycemic ingredients used in this salad make it perfect for any phase of the original South Beach Diet and it’s also perfect for low-carb eating plans, including Keto.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted without photos in 2005! Photos were added in 2011 and the recipe was updated with more information in 2021.
18 Comments on “Chopped Salad with Chicken, Peppers, Olives, and Feta”
Perfect timing! I have a container full of leftover chicken from the roaster I just made. This sounds delicious! And the colors will be great to encourage Mindful Eating. Thanks!
Thanks Jean, glad you like it.
Another way to be creative with my chicken leftovers. 🙂 Thanks for this salad recipe, Kalyn. The color of this meal is quite wonderful too. Cheers!
What a lovely, fresh, summer salad recipe. I always grill extra chicken or fish so that I can enjoy great salads later!
Christy that sounds good. Using up leftovers is a constant problem for me, so I'm always happy when I find a recipe using them that I enjoy over and over.
The dressing is gorgeous; I have always loved vinegar dressing 🙂
It's cool to be able to make use of leftovers instead of throwing them into the dumpster and waste the food which tasted good just the day before and still does, although it's a day old. Salads are a good start; and in where I am, my grandma used to make stew with these leftovers 😉
So glad people are liking this long-time favorite of mine.
Looks delicious Kalyn. We are big fans of leftover chicken especially on salads. When I BBQ, I always smoke several breasts and thighs just so we'll have it on hand.
This is a gorgeous easy salad, Kalyn. Those seem to be your specialty–thanks for sharing it! BTW, I've got a rotisserie chicken "carcass" sitting in a couple of inches of boiling water in a pot right now. In a little bit, I'll remove the carcass and the remaining chicken will come right off of the carcass and be used for salad topping. 🙂 The water will become a light chicken "broth." 😉
Shirley
This is exactly the kind of salad that I love. My mom actually saw this and asked if I make it for her when I go visit in May
Shane, no thanks needed, and I'm excited to hear about your success!
This made for a delicious, beautiful, and easy-to-prepare dinner tonight. Thank you, Kalyn! ("Thank you" seems so inadequate, considering how much I've learned from you since finding your blog in Aug 2010– I've lost 75 pounds, now enjoy cooking, and have the confidence to try new things) Hugs & blessings to you and yours! Shane
Looks so yummy! Can't wait to make this salad…
This looks amazing! You have delicious recipes. Ill be following your blog.
www.birdietobe.blogspot.com
Thanks Mary, having a pretty good day here since it finally quit raining!
Lydia, sometimes I think I buy rotisserie chicken just so I can make things like this!
Oh yes, this is my kind of salad. In fact, I think rotisserie chickens were invented for this kind of salad!
Kalyn, what a lovely salad. It sounds delicious and the color would brighten any table. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
This one sounds delicious. You certainly have the touch for finding go-together flavors and textures.