Crispy Mediterranean Chicken Salad with a fresh, zesty lemon herb tahini dressing, cherry tomatoes, avocado, arugula, and cucumber. This nutritious dinner recipe is packed with flavor and is perfect for anyone who loves a big vibrant meal as well as those on a carb-conscious, paleo, or keto diet.
If you’re a fan of a.) zesty, briny Mediterranean flavors, b.) crispy, tender chicken, c.) big ol salads jam packed with goodies and/or d.) creamy salad dressings, this is the ultimate meal for you!
Perfectly crispy yet moist chicken is combined with all the good veggies, and everything is swaddled in the most amazing creamy zesty tahini salad dressing.
If you’ve never heard of tahini, or if you have never made a sauce or dressing using tahini, lean in and trust me on this one!
Tahini makes for an amazing creamy salad dressing with health benefits!
The concept behind this Mediterranean Chicken Salad is simple: we bake up chicken thighs that have been marinating in goodness, whip up a zesty creamy tahini dressing while the chicken is baking, then throw everything in a big ol’ bowl and toss it all together.
While the ingredients list may seem long, I assure you most of them are pantry staples you already have on hand.
Plus, there is some crossover between the ingredients for the marinade and the salad dressing ingredients.
Let’s discuss the healthy ingredients for this filling healthy salad recipe!
Ingredients for Mediterranean Chicken Salad:
For the Chicken and Marinade: boneless skinless chicken thighs, olive oil (or avocado oil), fresh garlic, lemon zest, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, paprika, allspice, salt.
This combination of ingredients yields tender, juicy chicken thighs with huge Mediterranean flavor!
For the Lemon Herb Tahini Dressing: Tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh mint, garlic, ground cumin and salt.
When combined together, this yummy tahini dressing is creamy, zesty, so refreshing and herby! While it may seem like a hassle to get ahold of all the fresh ingredients, it truly is worth the effort!
Salad Ingredients: Fresh baby arugula, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers. The variety of color and flavors from the fresh produce makes the salad so fun and inviting!
Now that we’re familiar with the ingredients list, let’s make this delicious crispy chicken salad!
How to Make Crispy Mediterranean Chicken Salad:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the chicken. Use your hands to toss everything around until chicken is well coated in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes (up to 1 hour).
When you are ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Transfer the chicken (including marinade) to a foil-lined baking sheet or a casserole dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Increase oven heat to 425 degrees F and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until skin is golden-brown and crispy.
Remove chicken from the oven and allow it to sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving with with salad.
How to Make Lemon Herb Tahini Dressing:
This magical, versatile creamy tahini salad dressing couldn’t be any easier to make!
Add all ingredients for the dressing to a small blender and blend until smooth. Taste sauce for flavor and add lemon juice or sea salt to desired taste.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Change up the fresh herbs you use for the lemon herb tahini dressing. Consider cilantro or sage.
- Use any of your favorite salad dressings, such as Vegan Buttermilk Salad Dressing, Creamy Raspberry Vinaigrette, Mayo-Free Green Goddess Dressing, etc.
- If you prefer cooking bone-in chicken over boneless chicken thighs, make my Easy Baked Chicken Thighs recipe.
- Substitute spring greens or spinach for the arugula.
- Add any of your favorite salad veggies, such as carrots, cabbage, or celery.
- Toss in some chopped nuts, seeds, or dried fruit such as pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, or dried cranberries.
- If you aren’t dairy-free, consider adding feta cheese! Blue cheese or goat cheese would be great too.
If you love big, filling salad recipes, also try these out!
More Healthy Salads:
- Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Chicken Salad
- Sesame Turkey Avocado Chopped Salad
- Shrimp Taco Salad with Avocado Chimichurri Dressing
- Lemon Herb Baked Chicken Spinach Salad
- Za’atar Baked Chicken Bowls
Enjoy this Mediterranean Chicken Salad with delicious creamy tahini dressing!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this Mediterranean Chicken Salad recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Crispy Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Mediterranean Chicken:
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp sea salt
Lemon Herb Tahini Dressing:
- 1/2 cup tahini well stirred
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup fresh mint
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
For the Salad:
- 5 ounces baby arugula or greens of choice
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1/2 medium cucumber peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
Instructions
Make the Mediterranean Chicken:
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the chicken. Use your hands to toss everything around until chicken is well coated in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 20 minutes (up to 1 hour).
- When you’re ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Transfer chicken (including marinade) to a foil-lined baking sheet or a casserole dish. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Increase oven heat to 425 degrees F and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until skin is golden-brown and crispy.
- Remove chicken from the oven and allow it to sit 10 minutes before slicing and serving on top of salad with tahini dressing.
Make the Herb Tahini Dressing:
- Add all ingredients for the dressing to a small blender and blend until smooth. Taste sauce for flavor and add lemon juice or sea salt to desired taste.
Make the Salad:
- Add the ingredients for the salad to a large serving bowl (or divide between smaller bowls). Drizzle in desired amount of dressing and toss until everything is well-combined.
- Serve salad with sliced baked Mediterranean chicken on top.
Nutrition
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The tahini dressing is AMAZING!!! I made the recipe as written and served to a vegan who raves about the dressing.
I’m so happy you like it, Bridget! I could put it on everything as well 🙂 xoxo
Is the chicken skinless? It’s listed as boneless and skinless but the recipe has instructions for crisping the skin.
And I can’t wait to make this! The salad and dressing look amazing.
Thank you!
Hi there! I use boneless skinless chicken thighs 🙂 The crisping the skin phraseology isn’t accurate since there is no skin, but the outside of the chicken thighs get crispy. Hope that makes sense! Let me know if you have any other questions xo
Just made this for lunch! Dressing is delicious!!
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it, Lisa! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback! 🙂