Green Goddess Salad with Chicken and Bacon
This Green Goddess salad is fresh, flavorful, and extremely customizable. Plus, it starts with precooked chicken to help you get food on the table faster!
Why You’ll Love This Green Goddess Salad
It’s a complete meal on its own—protein keeps you full, while the fresh veggies add crunch and nutrition, all robed in an herby creamy dressing.
Barbara and I tried this salad at a local restaurant, and I immediately wanted to recreate it. We were a little limited by what we could find in our local grocery stores (for instance, I swapped sprouts for the micro greens), but I was thrilled with how it turned out.
I really hope you enjoy it too!
Choosing a Dressing
This salad gets most of its flavor from the green goddess dressing you use, so make sure it is a good one! My family unanimously prefers Gotham Greens Green Goddess Salad Dressing—it tastes really fresh and even my pickiest child will eat it.
You can also make the dressing from scratch, if you prefer. (You’ll need a high powered blender or food processor to get the dressing ingredients finely mixed.)
Flavoring the Chicken
This recipe includes two ways to cook the chicken: either warm it up in a little bit of the bacon fat or drain the fat and stir in some salad dressing.
Cooking the chicken in the bacon fat adds a subtle, smoky layer of flavor. (Make sure the fat doesn’t overcook and scorch!). However, do what your family will like most.
Finish with Toppings
One of the best things about this recipe is how flexible it is! You can easily customize it with your favorite ingredients.
Here are some other ideas:
- Use a variety of greens including arugula, chopped green cabbage, or kale.
- Add your favorite fresh herbs (like basil, chives, parsley, dill, mint, or even cilantro.)
- Top with cheeses like feta or parmesan shavings.
- Wrap it up! I love to eat it as a salad one day and as a wrap the next day!
This recipe is super flexible and easy to make it your own. I like to set out all of the ingredients and let my kids choose vegetables and toppings salad bar style. That way, everyone is happy!
In my family, the hard-boiled eggs are a must-have—they add a creamy, rich bite that complements the salad perfectly. I like to cook them a day or two in advance of the salad, to ensure they’ve had enough time to chill.
Perfect for Meal Prep and On-the-Go
For a quick lunch or an easy meal prep option, this salad is fantastic! Keep the components separate in containers and shake them together right before eating to keep everything fresh and crisp.
Keeping things separate makes the salad simple to assemble and enjoy throughout the week without losing any flavor or texture.
MORE IN OUR INSTANT POT SHREDDED CHICKEN SERIES:
This is the latest our Shredded Chicken series where you make a Big Batch of Shredded Chicken and then use that cooked chicken to make meals throughout the week. Other recipes include:
- Chicken Pasta Bake
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Chicken Taquitos
- Chicken Philly Cheesesteak
- Pulled Buffalo Chicken Melts (coming soon!)
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Green Goddess Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups shredded lettuce we use a mix of romaine and spinach
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
- Microgreens/sprouts as desired
- 1/2 cups green goddess dressing plus more as desired
- 4 strips bacon diced
- 2 cups shredded chicken we use batch-cooked chicken, can also use rotisserie or canned
- 3 sliced radishes
- 5 hard-boiled eggs peeled and cut in thin slices
- 1 avocado cubed
- Roasted salted pepitas, to taste, for serving
- Roasted salted sunflower seeds, to taste, for serving
- Optional: additional salad toppings cheese (feta or parmesan), sandwich wraps, croutons, etc.
Instructions
- Prepare the salad ingredients before preparing the chicken. In a large bowl with lid, combine the shredded lettuce, green onions, carrots, cucumber, and microgreens. Add the green goddess dressing and secure the lid on the bowl. Shake the salad well until the dressing is evenly distributed. Set aside.
- Select Sauté and add the diced bacon to the pressure cooking pot. Fry for about 5 minutes until crisp, stirring frequently. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate and set aside. If you want a strong smoky bacon taste, leave the bacon fat in the pot. Otherwise, drain the fat.
- Add the shredded chicken to the cooking pot and cook until the chicken is hot, about 2-3 minutes. Turn off the pressure cooker and remove the chicken to a paper towel–lined plate.
- If desired, add dressing to the chicken, a little at a time, until the chicken is moistened.
- Assemble the salad. In individual bowls, add the lettuce mixture, then top with chicken, radish slices, hard-boiled egg slices, and avocado. Garnish with crumbled bacon, pepitas and sunflower seeds, and any other desired salad toppings.
- Serve immediately, with additional dressing, as desired.
Nutrition
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