Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad

Spicy Blackened Chicken and chopped romaine salad with cucumber, and strawberries, and cooling buttermilk dressing.

Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad
Diet Info: DF GF F LF Na LS VG V Fa

Baked Blackened Chicken tenders with chopped romaine, crunchy cucumber, bell peppers, and juicy strawberries... all chopped-up to make a flavorful Chicken Salad coated in cooling buttermilk dressing!

This salad is as jam-packed with flavors as it is with chopped fresh veggies and it is perfect for a lite lunch or dinner! A drizzle of cooling and tangy buttermilk dressing not just balances the spices in blackened chicken but also makes this salad very delightful!

Last week, after schools restarted...... road became much more busy with traffic. I remember, last year, this time we were shifting apartment and were overwhelmed with amount of traffic on the roads! Then, slowly we came to know that this traffic is due to schools re-starting. 

Mainly, this reminds me that time passes SO quickly. This year has just flew so fast! In wink of an eye, we are on door steps of fall and time has come to put ovens to work! :-) With temperature in 3 digits in California, I have given baking a lot of break this summer. Now, I'm excited to start baking again!! Aren't you? 

Just the thought of baking forced me today, to share with you this delicious, baked Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad!

Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad | chefdehome.com

The star of this Chicken Salad is Blackened Chicken and I'm SO excited to share recipe for homemade Blackening Seasoning as well. Seriously, this seasoning can make any protein packed with punch of flavor! Since first time I tried blackening seasoning, it has become my pet-recipe for easy and flavorful blackened baked chicken or fish. I always keep a small portion of this seasoning handy to bake flavorful chicken for chicken salads, chicken wraps and even for chicken tacos!!

Besides being topped with a STAR baked chicken, this salad has yet another delicious element: a tangy buttermilk dressing! In my home, we have a glass of buttermilk or a cup of yogurt with everything spicy. Even though this blackened chicken is not hot spicy, but I felt a tangy cooling dressing will go great with Blackened Chicken. I was right and pleasantly surprised, how buttermilk complimented the chicken and crunchy vegetables..... rounding the flavors very well!

Easy Chicken Salad with Blackened Baked Chicken and Buttermilk Dressing | chefdehome.com

Have I shared with you that among all salads I love serving whole season, chopped salads are my special favorites?! I think, with everything bite-size, every forkful gets even portion of all salad ingredients. Hence, you spend more time enjoying the flavors rather than struggling to get an even bite!

PS: For presentation, I kept cucumbers long thin sliced in this salad, but for serving, I recommend chopping everything evenly.

Last but not the least, this delicious salads is very forgiving when it comes to using the vegetables. I would say, any crunchy fresh veggies will go great in this salad. Also, you know, my salad have to have a fruit. So today I chose juicy fresh strawberries!

Simple Chicken Salad with Baked Blackened Chicken Vegges and Buttermilk Dressing | chefdehome.com

Friends, these fresh seasonal veggies will soon disappear from farmer's markets! So enjoy as much as you can! Add it to salads, or just much'em for lunch! Enjoy 'the fruits' of season!

Have a great start of the week! -Savita

A few more easy Chicken Salad Recipes:

Chicken Waldorf Salad with Grapes Greek Style Chicken Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette Indian Tandoori Chicken Salad

Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad

Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad
Total Time: Prep Time: Cook Time: Cuisine: American () Difficulty: Easy
Yields: 4 Servings - Serves: 4
(Number of servings depend on serving size.)

Ingredients

Homemade Blackening Seasoning
Chicken Salad
Tangy Buttermilk Dressing
Smart Swap: Replace chicken with lean fish, Or tofu for a vegetarian chopped salad.

Directions

  • 1. Blackening Seasoning - In a bowl, mix all the seasoning ingredients listed above and set aside. Also, set oven to preheat at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • 2. Buttermilk Dressing - Add sugar to buttermilk with juice of lime. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt. Also adjust lime juice if you prefer.
  • 3. Bake Chicken - Drizzle 1-2 tbsp oil over chicken tenders. Now rub 2-3 tbsp of seasoning. Place on an aluminium sheet lined baking sheet and bake in oven for 22-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Once cooked, remove from oven and set aside.
  • 4. Make Salad - Chop all the veggies and transfer to a wide salad bowl. Slice or tear chicken into bite size pieces and top on the salad. Sprinkle over some toasted/plain pumpkin seeds and drizzle buttermilk dressing just before serving. Additional Notes: Serve remaining dressing on the side.
Savita's Notes:
Blacken Seasoning mix yields 1/4 cup (4 tbsp). You can use remaining seasoning to bake blacken tofu/salmon/turkey. Recipe can be easily doubled if you wanna save it for later use.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Tag @SAVITACHEFDEHOME on Instagram and hashtag it #SAVITACHEFDEHOME

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20 Responses

  1. True... time surely flies so soon, we are already in September!!! This looks absolutely droolworthy, lovely colours there :)
    Thanks, Gauri :)
  2. This salad looks so fresh and delicious. I'm going to be so sad when all the fresh veggies are gone :( I'm not looking forward to winter at all! Can't wait to try this salad!
    Thanks, Keri! Lots of fresh produce is certainly one special gift of summer season! I hope you get chance to try this salad soon!
  3. The blackened chicken sounds amazing! Love all those bright colors and flavors in this salad!
    Thanks, Kelly! Blackened chicken was very flavorful and really heart of this salad.
  4. Look at all the colours in this. It looks like a bit bowl of deliciousness. I like the addition of strawberries too.
    Thanks, Dannii! Salad was indeed very delicious!
  5. I love blackened fish, but why have I never thought to do the same thing with chicken? This sounds delicious and I bet the strawberries are awesome in here. Our traffic is a disaster here too now that school started.
    Thanks, Rachelle! Strawberries provide a subtle juicy sweetness to this salad. You know, I wonder, roads are busy in morning due to schools, but how on earth, these get busy at 6-7 pm in evening?! I'm sure schools hours end much earlier. Isn't it? Still a mystery to me... :)
  6. This salad looks so fresh and good!! Love the idea of blackened chicken.. Could you please pass me that bowl of deliciousness! Yum!!
    Thanks, Arpita! And of course, you can have whole bowl of this salad , my friend!
  7. love the flavors in this salad Savita!
    Thanks, :)
  8. While I am sad to see summer coming to an end, and losing all that fabulous produce, I AM excited to use the good ole oven again! I adore a good chopped salad, and I am LOVING this one! Totally digging that the blackened chicken is baked and the addition of strawberries! YUM!! Cheers!
    Thank you so much, Cheyanne!! Yes, It's hard to see summer going and yes, LOT of excitement to start using oven and baking again!! Glad you like juicy strawberries in this salad!
  9. This salad is gorgeous, Savita! Just what summer should taste like! :) I'm loving the blackened chicken and buttermilk dressing. What a perfect meal!
    Thanks, Gayle! I'm glad you like the combination of flavors in this salad.
  10. Looks delicious. Loved the marriage of flavours. The tangy buttermilk dressing is nouvelle creative and yummy.
    Thanks, Piyali for sweet words. I'm glad you like it.