Dinner Rush! Cheesy Baked Chicken Chopped Salad

Cheesy Baked Chicken Salad Recipe

I’m completely guilty of being an overbuyer in the grocery store’s produce department. I love the flavor and freshness of vegetables and am hard-pressed to leave my local market without some combination of them compromising the structural integrity of my shopping bag.

Assessing the contents of my refrigerator crisper drawer and noticing a bit of a Mediterranean theme in my most recent haul, I was inspired to pull together a quick and delicious Greek-style chopped salad.

The best part of a dish this simple is that there’s really no set recipe to worry about sticking to — it comes together with whatever you have on hand in your refrigerator. Serving up something so simple, though, means that you’ve got to keep one big factor in mind: texture. Think about how to incorporate things that are creamy, crispy, crumbly and moist to keep a dinner with only a few ingredients both interesting and satisfying.

Cheesy Baked Chicken Chopped Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

1/4 cup soft herbed cheese (about half of a 5.2-oz. block), such as Boursin

1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 (4- to 6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
1 large English cucumber, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheese and mayonnaise. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and arrange them on a baking sheet. Evenly divide the cheese mixture between the chicken, spreading it out to cover the surface of the meat. Bake the chicken until the cheese is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, in a large serving bowl whisk together the olive oil and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables and oregano in the dressing.

To serve, slice the chicken and arrange it over the chopped salad.

More Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

Patrick W. Decker’s life revolves around food. Always has, probably always will. As a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and past member of the culinary team for Food Network stars like Rachael Ray, Sandra Lee and Paula Deen, he now works as a food stylist and producer in NYC by day, and a food writer and recipe developer at his home in New York’s Hudson Valley by night. You can see what he’s up to by following his latest Tweets on Twitter at @patrickwdecker or visiting his website at patrickwdecker.com.

Next Up

How to Throw a Coffee-themed Dinner Party

Seeing as how coffee is the life force that gets you through your day, may we suggest it as the main ingredient in your next potluck?

Dinner Rush! Steak House Chopped Salad

Cooking Channel's easy steak house chopped salad combines the old-fashioned iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese dressing and a big steak dinner into one delicious recipe.

Dinner Rush! Frito Pie Stuffed Baked Potato

Frito Pie is a Texas tradition that sees a bed of Frito corn chips topped with chili, cheese and onions. It's salty. It's cheesy. It's amazing.

Dinner Rush! Spicy Chicken & Chorizo Tacos

These quick and easy chicken tacos with chorizo make a spicy yet simple weeknight meal.

Dinner Rush! Chunky Chicken Pot Pie

This comforting and rich chicken pot pie recipe requires only 15 minutes of prep.

Dinner Rush! Skillet-Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

This recipe will become your go-to chicken dinner because of how easy it comes together.

On TV

Carnival Eats

7:30am | 6:30c

Cheap Eats

8am | 7c

Cheap Eats

8:30am | 7:30c

Cheap Eats

9am | 8c

Cheap Eats

9:30am | 8:30c

Good Eats: Reloaded

10:30am | 9:30c

Good Eats: Reloaded

11:30am | 10:30c

Man v. Food

6pm | 5c

Man v. Food

6:30pm | 5:30c

Man v. Food

7pm | 6c

Man v. Food

7:30pm | 6:30c
On Tonight
On Tonight

Man v. Food

8pm | 7c

Man v. Food

8:30pm | 7:30c
9pm | 8c

Man v. Food

9:30pm | 8:30c
10pm | 9c
11pm | 10c

Man v. Food

12am | 11c

Man v. Food

12:30am | 11:30c
1am | 12c

Man v. Food

1:30am | 12:30c
2am | 1c
3am | 2c
What's Hot

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Sundays 10|9c

So Much Pretty Food Here