This Loaded Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette has the perfect mix of savory and fresh toppings. Fill up your bowl with juicy chicken, crispy veggies, and a sweet homemade dressing for the ultimate summer salad.

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Big bowl of Loaded Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, topped with chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, bacon, and pickled onion.

Your New Go-To Salad

Cool down in the summer heat with this tasty Loaded Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. It’s got all the fixin’s and a fresh and flexible dressing. Dress it up or down to make it your own!

This easy recipe is keto-friendly, low carb, and naturally gluten-free. Better yet, it can easily be made vegan or vegetarian! Double or triple the batch for a crowd-pleasing salad at your next party, barbeque, or potluck.

I’ll be creating this loaded chicken salad LIVE on my Instagram on Tuesday, June 2nd at 5 pm PST, and I would love it if you joined me!

Raising Awareness for Breast Cancer

I’m so happy to be partnering with the Pink Lemonade Project on this post. A Vancouver-Portland area nonprofit serving those affected by breast cancer, Pink Lemonade Project works hard every day to bring awareness to breast cancer, which ranks as the #1 type of all new cancer diagnoses. They provide a support system and a sense of community to those going through the diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and survivorship journey.

In addition, Pink Lemonade Project offers programs and events, including one-on-one mentoring, retreats, educational speakers, art and cooking classes, fitness events, and more. They also have a book collection to help families discuss a new diagnosis with their young children or teenagers. Head to their website if you’re looking for support for yourself or a loved one, or to learn more.

Individual bowls of lettuce, avocado, radishes, hearts of palm, bacon, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles onions, and chicken.

Check Your Boobs!

Pink Lemonade Project wants you to check your boobs! It’s important to do regular checks in order to remain healthy. Pink Lemonade Project provided us with a ton of helpful tips to understand general boob health and learn how to keep an eye on your own!

Touch your boobs and get to know them. When you know your boobs well, it’s more likely to notice changes. Make sure to include your sides and into your armpits when performing the checks.
If you feel unusual lumps, see any unusual discharge, puckering of the skin, or changes in skin coloring, call your doctor.
If you have a concern, definitely do not wait and put it off. Especially now with the extra fears of going near the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Know that the possibility of cancer is always an essential medical visit.
Many types of breast cancers are now considered curable. If caught early, even if it is cancer, doctors have many treatment options available to help.
Approximately 1 in 8 women get breast cancer, and some groups of women are at a higher risk (such as if they have lots of cancer in their family, or if they have a sister, mother, aunt with breast cancer; or if they are BRCA+)
Cancer is scary but it is very very treatable. Catching it early is better.

Chicken Salad Ingredients

This healthy salad is full of nutrients, protein, and fiber. The main star is a simple pan-fried chicken breast. These are the only ingredients needed to prepare the salad’s protein:

2 Chicken Breasts
Salt
Olive oil

Load this chicken salad with all of your favorite toppings. Not sure what to use? I have plenty of suggestions:

Cooked bacon
Lena’s Kitchen pickled onions
Tomatoes
Radishes
Cucumber
Hearts of palm
Avocado
Leafy greens (romaine, spinach, butter lettuce, kale, etc.)

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Ingredients

Did you know that it’s super easy to make your own salad dressing? After doing it once, you’ll never want to buy bottled dressings again! A simple vinaigrette only needs a handful of ingredients and will work on a variety of dishes.

This is all you need for my Honey Mustard Vinaigrette:

Olive oil
Mustard
Lemon juice
Shallot
Honey

Jar of Honey Mustard Vinaigrette in front of a big bowl of colorful salad.

Putting It All Together

Create the best homemade chicken salad in just a few easy steps:

Make the Dressing: Finely chop the shallots. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside.
Prepare the Chicken: When the chicken comes down to room temperature (about 30 minutes before cooking), place the 2 breasts in a plastic bag and use a meat mallet to pound the chicken until they are both a 1/2 inch thick.
Cook the Chicken: Preheat a pan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil, then the chicken breasts. Cook for 6 to 8 mins on each side. The chicken is done when a meat thermometer reads 165ºF internal temperature. Remove from the heat and let it rest on a plate or cutting board covered in foil for 10 minutes. Once it’s done resting, cut the chicken into slices.
Prepare the Salad Ingredients: While the chicken cooks, prepare the veggies and toppings.
Put It All Together: Add the salad greens to a bowl, then the sliced chicken, and veggies. Drizzle with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and enjoy!

Come join me on Instagram on Tuesday, June 2nd at 5pm PST. I’ll be making this salad for you LIVE!

Woman's hands holding a Big bowl of Loaded Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, topped with chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, bacon, and pickled onion.

Recipe Variations

Add a touch more flavor and juice to the chicken by using my Everyday Baked Chicken recipe. It’s cooked on the bone and seasoned with onion salt.
Not feeling chicken? Swap it out with rib-eye steak, salmon patties, or roasted cauliflower steaks for a fully vegetarian or vegan salad.
You can replace the honey in the dressing with any liquid sweetener, such as maple syrup or agave.

More Salad Recipes

Get inspired! These are NOT your average salads. Each recipe has its own flare and is guaranteed to be delicious:

Big bowl of salad with chicken, cucumber, vinaigrette, tomatoes, avocado, radishes, and pickled onion.

Don’t forget! I’m making this recipe LIVE on my Instagram on Tuesday, June 2nd at 5 pm PST. I would love it if you joined me!

If you give this Loaded Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette a try, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and don’t forget to take a picture, tag it with #lenaskitchenblog on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with!