This mouthwatering Lemon Chicken Salad makes a substantial meal or terrific for sharing at gatherings! A bright lemon dressing with a touch of honey does double duty as a quick marinade for the chicken. Nutritious, filling and fabulous!
The very first feature I did for Super Food Ideas magazine was called “Double Duty” where I shared recipes where one base mixture was used for two purposes.
So for example, I did a Garlic Lime Marinated Prawns (Shrimp) with Green Rice where one lime and garlic mixture was used to marinate the prawns and as the flavour base for a green spinach rice.
Using a salad dressing as a marinade for chicken is Double Duty in its simplest form and this Lemon Chicken Salad is a terrific example where the Lemon Dressing works as a fantastic marinade to infuse chicken with flavour – quickly!
THE LEMON DRESSING
The Lemon Dressing is made with both lemon zest and lemon juice. That way, it actually tastes of lemon. Which might sound strange I know. But actually, lemon juice is just sour. All the lemon flavour is in the skin.
So if you want lemon flavoured anything, you need to use the zest!
CHICKEN BREAST OR THIGH!
If I post a chicken thigh recipe, I absolutely guarantee someone will ask if it can be made with breast. If I post a chicken breast recipe, someone always asks if it can be made with thigh.
So nowadays, I just make sure I cover that off in every single chicken recipe I do.
YES you can make this with chicken breast. YES you can make it with chicken thighs!
I had a bit of a shocker filming and photographing this recipe. I kept forgetting a key ingredient and had to make it over and over again. Which, actually, is not the worst thing in the world because I would scoff it down for lunch within seconds of the last click of the camera.
The last time I filmed it, I was patting myself on the back for remembering everything for the salad – then wailed in frustration when I realised I forgot the bacon.
Hence why some photos have bacon – and some do not.
The video does not. 😤
But in all honesty, it’s an optional extra. Bacon makes everything better. But this Lemon Chicken Salad is terrific even without it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Lemon Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Dressing/Marinade:
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove , minced
- 1/2 tsp salt + 1/4 tsp black pepper
Chicken:
- 1 large chicken breast , halved horizontally* OR 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice , extra
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
Salad:
- 2 tbsp finely chopped dill
- 8 cups cos/romaine lettuce , chopped (or other lettuce of choice, Note 2)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1 medium avocado , quartered and sliced thickly
- 1/2 red onion , small, finely sliced
- 3/4 cup corn kernels , fresh or canned drained
- 120g/ 4 oz bacon , cooked then chopped (optional)
Instructions
Dressing:
- Place Dressing ingredients in a jar. Shake well.
Chicken:
- Place chicken in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp Dressing, 1 tbsp extra lemon juice, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well. Marinate minimum 20 minutes up to 24 hours.
- Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat (or use bacon fat if you use bacon in this!). Add chicken and cook. Halved breasts: 2 minutes each side. Thigh: 4 minutes each side.
- Transfer to plate, cover loosely with foil for 3 minutes. Slice.
Salad:
- Add dill into remaining dressing. Shake.
- Place remaining salad ingredients in a bowl. Top with chicken.
- Drizzle dressing all over. Crumble over bacon if using. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
MORE CHICKEN SALADS YOU’LL LOVE
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Life of Dozer
If he gets any closer to the heater, we might be having roasted Dozer for dinner tonight….
Yummm! yes to double duty also. By the way…ummmm…you aren’t the only one who has swallowed a staple – I swallowed one of those really large ones, as I have Crohn’s they actually sent me for an X-Ray – had the staff giggling over doing an X-Ray for a staple. Mind you – I drank mine….now I use keep cups – so the lid is always on (plus saves wastage). Love your recipes and Dozer looks so cozy – his fur would be lovely to warm your feet on. 🙂
NO!!!! OMG – that sounds like a nightmare! What happened???
Love your site, and the ease of printing your yummy recipes. 2 really basic questions: 1) does “cos” lettuce have another name in the US (maybe it’s the same here, but I don’t recognize it)?; 2) trying to visualize cutting the chicken breast “horizontally” – if it starts as a sort of thick triangle, does it end up as a trapezoid and a smaller triangle, or as 2 thinner triangles of the original shape?
Ahh yes it’s also called romaine lettuce! As for the chicken breast, lay it flat and put your hand on the top of it, then slice through it so you end up with two thinner pieces of the original shape 🙂 Thanks for the questions, I will add these in the notes! N x
Thanks for clarifying. I made the marinated chicken part yesterday, substituting limes for the lemons because I had so many of them. In place of the salad part, I served it with Ina Garten’s Roasted Vegetable and Orzo side dish dressed with the leftover marinade. Did everything on the gas grill as it’s most definitely summer here. Family declared it delicious (I’m looking forward to eating solid food in another month or two.)
Love hearing that Susie! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤
Sorry Susie, forgot to hit the reply button when I answered your questions. Scroll about 8 questions up to find my answer. Long day, very tired.
I’m confused, do you cook the chicken in bacon fat if you’re using bacon?
I’m confused, do you cook the chicken in bacon fat?
Hi Jane! You can absolutely do that if you use bacon in this! I’ll add that tip 🙂
Silly American question….Staples in lettuce? Why?
I’m making plenty of this for marinade. Store bought lemon marinade is horrendous! I’ve tried with fresh lemons, didn’t realize I needed the zest!! THANK YOU!
Hi Patti! I was trying to be clever to make some of my lettuce stay a bit curled! Without the staples, all the leaves just laid flat and I didn’t think it looked good in the photos 🙂 In hindsight, I shouldn’t have cared!!!!
Hope the staple was still crimped, at least! Charles Phillips makes a good point–is that heater safe to use on a rug?????? It looks scary. Wouldn’t want you to cook your house, Dozer, or yourself.
The salad & chicken look very tempting, indeed. Anything that can be doubled to either cut down on tasks or to freeze extras that will taste as good out of the freezer and reheated, is right up my alley. I’m a big fan of the concept of working smarter rather than harder. (I’d saved an empty jar just last night, thinking I might need one for mixing something!)
Hi Wynn! It’s ok, the base of the heater is insulated 🙂 As for the staple, yes it was crimped! Thankfully! 😂
Your creation looks fabulous, as usual! And, I love watching the video and then as an added pleasure, scrolling down a bit and seeing Dozer’s antics. That sweet, funny, good (only how many more weeks?), handsome boy always makes me smile or laugh out loud.
A resounding “Yes” to double duty recipes! Also would love to see some Keto-friendly recipes that use sugar and carb (read rice or pasta) substitute(s). Thanks, Nagi, for a truly wonderful website!
Hi Lynn! Gosh I must confess I haven’t looked into the keto diet 🙂 I keep hearing about it though, I must learn more about it! N xx
If the staple stayed in your stomach, and if you might be overweight, ohhh, nevermind!
OMG if my mother reads this she will get totally stuck into me….!!!! 😂
This looks so delicious. I’m considering making it for an office brunch meeting/ party with accompanying lettuce cups, or WTH, crostini. Hope it commutes well. As far as the “staple” goes: hopefully you do pass it, but be mindful of any “dark/ black” stool, and get an MRI just in case. Dozer looks so comfy. (It’s winter in Australia to remind others — so it can be rainy, cold and damp). When I see your Dozer, I miss my Zeus, also a Golden who left us 4 years ago.
Oh Martin, I’m so sorry to hear about your loss 🙁 I bet you have some amazing memories of your time with him. And thank you for the medical advice!! N x
Funny, I find it hilarious someone would ask if one could use breast or thigh if you say the opposite….it’s a no brainer. LOL
Mostly, yes it’s a no brainer! 🙂 Though for baking recipes, cook times can be different 🙂 N x
What a post! Nagi, you crack me up…staples for lettuce photos?…really?? So many tricks of the trade. Anyway, hope it all turned out for the best.
Now, as to Dozer…good he can’t read…I doubt that he would be amused by Joan’s clever Christmas song conversion. I, however, fell right off my chair laughing!
A big YES for double duty recipes.
I know!!! I don’t resort to really crazy food styling tricks, my rule is that the food must be 100% edible! But I do use things like toothpicks to stabilise towering burgers…. and staples to hold lettuce leaves together!
Wow ..be careful Nagi.. keep us updated on the staple situation.
I love the lemon marinade..we are having a great summer in Toronto Canada and lemons are plenty and also cheap.
What is the weather like now in Australia? I was wondering what Dozer was doing in front of the heater!!
It’s COLD!!!!! It’s winter over here!
I hope your ok Nagi after swallowing that! Double duty dishes are good to have. That’s what alot of restaurants use too.
I’m not fond of mustard, so do I use the same amount of dry mustard or less than 1 tsp? I always like to see what Dozer is up to. My dog gets real close to the heater too in the winter. I always look forward to see what recipe you have created next.
Hi J! You can leave it out and it won’t make much of a difference 🙂 I add it because it thickens the dressing ever so slightly! N x
Hi Nagi! Thanks for letting me know!
This salad sounds perfect to me (except that I would either cook the onions, omit them totally, or add chives instead – I just can’t do raw onion any more). Looking forward to trying this. Just this last week we had a double duty salad recipe, which had steak and cherries. I like the idea of double duty a lot.
Chives would be a fabulous alternative here Susan! Hope you are well 🙂 N x
When using raw onion in salads I use a red onion sliced thinly then place in a sieve & rinse under the hot water tap for a minute or two – takes the ‘rawness’ out of the onion!
Thanks, Paula! I’ll have to try that.
Another winner from Nagi, Queen of the YUMS! I just bought my first zester – imagine that – how did I ever do without one for such a long time! And tonight, I ZEST! (I purchased it at a Pampered Chef party a friend was hosting. If you have never used Pampered Chefs cookware and gadgets, I highly recommend you try some – highest quality products at reasonable prices.) What you have assembled is a Taj Mahal of salads, dear friend Nagi! Definitely please do post more “double duty” recipes – very clever and time saving. But please do not ingest any non-ingestibles in the future. Stomach stapling is for bariatric patients, which you are absolutely not! I hate to ask this question but did everything work out well in the end? Oh, Dozer, precious, sweet Dozer. The first thing I thought of was – and this is probably not for 17 and unders – I actually started humming, “Dog nuts roasting on an open fire”…..
“And tonight, I ZEST!” <<--- You literally burst out loud in laughter!!!! PS No nuts on Dozer... 😂
I just now saw that Dozer had ACL surgery. Poor baby! Poor Nagi – anything that happens to our furbabies is happening to us as well. Katie has a torn ACL and hop like a tripod, holding her rear right leg up as she goes. It doesn’t seem to slow her down that much, but she is one crazy lady. She is on and off anti-inflammatories, which seem to give her a lot of relief, but she will need surgery eventually. My vet told me it will run me $6,000 more or less. There is an ortho device that supposedly helps them be almost normally mobile and relieves the pain. That costs about $400, so it is a way to start – at least for now. How did Dozer do with the surgery? How long until he could walk after surgery? Do the dogs have to go through physical therapy like humans do? My son had ACL surgery (along with meniscus, patella placement and a few other “fixes”). He wanted this all done before his wedding, so it was. Unfortunately, his surgeons managed to get him addicted to strong pain meds and it was a battle for him to get off them, which he didn’t do until after his wedding (but before the first grandbaby was born). I am certain that Dozer did not get injured the same way my son did – unless Dozer is part of a local basketball team! My son LIKES to think of himself as a star athlete – and in a lot of ways he is, but he is also a KLUTZ! Well, glad Dozer is not going to present you with an “extended family” and I hope he heals quickly and safely!
Oh JOAN! I am so sorry to hear about Katie 🙁 And your son! But I am glad your son is now ok! It cost $5000. I was shocked. However, I am VERY lucky I have had pet insurance for Dozer since I got him and I got back every cent I have paid in premiums – and more. My excess was only $150. He was able to walk out of the vet after staying overnight but had a harness so I could help him get up and go to the toilet etc. He was sore and very quiet for 48 hours, then for another 2 weeks he was still very cautious and quiet. After that, he was back to his usual self and my biggest problem is trying to keep him confined!! Every time I take him out to the toilet on a leash, he tries to bolt down the yard. When I take him for short walks, he prances like a wild stallion! My vet says 3 – 4 months for rehab before he can go back to normal. Fingers crossed! Please give Katie a big hug from me. If she is a smaller dog than the ortho device may be enough? Dozer was too large for it, too much weight. N x
I’m making this tonight! I’ve loved every recipe on this site that I’ve tried and can tell that this will be a winner. So happy to see the photos of your Golden Dozer, having been owned by 6 Goldies over the years. ACL is a tough recovery, especially with the exercise limitations but he sure looks content.
“having been owned by 6 Goldies over the years” <---- SO TRUE, you got that the right way 😂
Love the Double Duty recipes! Love the pic of Dozer, too – makes me want to take a nap!
Me too Lorraine, me too… 😴
Yes! More double duty recipes! So clever! And this recipe looks mouth watering–his coming from a person who is not a salad eater! This here could convert me perhaps! Or I may switch out the lettuce for spinach!
I’m on it Tara! 🙂 N xx
I dont eat avocados can tou suggest a substitute..
Love your recipes. It took me from an average cook to an extraordinary one
Hi Kern! There really isn’t another vegetable with a similar texture so what I would do is leave it out and maybe add some sliced cucumbers instead to fill it out! 🙂 N x
Nagi this looks really delicious. Definitely going to try it. Pardon the ‘Dad joke’ but my daft husband says “at least she has a staple diet”. Sorry….!
BA HA HA!!! He just COULDN’T resist, could he?? 😂