100 Days of Real Food

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
    • Welcome
    • Original 100 Day Pledge
    • 100 Day Budget Pledge
    • FAQs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Resources
    • Our Shop
    • Meal Ideas & Resources
    • Mini-Pledge Progam
    • School Lunch Packing Chart
    • Favorite Amazon Buys
  • Blog
    • What Is Real Food?
    • How to Start
      • Real Food Tips
      • Eating Out and Travel
      • Food Shopping
      • How to Cook
      • Kitchen and Home
    • School Lunches
    • Snacks
    • Kids
      • Picky Eaters
      • Fun Stuff
  • Meal Plans
    • Real Food Meal Plans
    • School Lunch Plans
    • Free Weekly Dinner Plans
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • Welcome
    • Original 100 Day Pledge
    • 100 Day Budget Pledge
    • FAQs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Resources
    • Our Shop
    • Meal Ideas & Resources
    • Mini-Pledge Progam
    • School Lunch Packing Chart
    • Favorite Amazon Buys
  • Blog
    • What Is Real Food?
    • How to Start
      • Real Food Tips
      • Eating Out and Travel
      • Food Shopping
      • How to Cook
      • Kitchen and Home
    • School Lunches
    • Snacks
    • Kids
      • Picky Eaters
      • Fun Stuff
  • Meal Plans
    • Real Food Meal Plans
    • School Lunch Plans
    • Free Weekly Dinner Plans
×
Home » Recipes

Green Goddess Chicken Salad

The following is a guest post by Pamela Salzman, a natural foods cooking instructor, holistic health counselor, and writer behind the food blog of her own name, PamelaSalzman.com. She is the author of Kitchen Matters: More than 100 Recipes and Tips that Will Transform the Way You Cook and Eat and is the Culinary Nutritionist for Clean Eating Magazine. She lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband and three children.


This Green Goddess Chicken Salad recipe is from my new cookbook, Kitchen Matters, and is a delicious, more nutritious twist on a classic chicken salad. I start with poached chicken, which is super easy to make and a very healthful way to cook chicken. It also really absorbs so much flavor from whatever it's paired with. Instead of combining the chicken with traditional mayonnaise, which can be a little bland and difficult to find with all real food ingredients, I love using this beautiful and flavorful homemade green goddess dressing.

Green Goddess Salad by Pamela Salzman on 100 Days of Real Food

Want to Save this Recipe?

Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get great new recipes from us every week!

Save Recipe

This is my own version of green goddess dressing with all the creaminess and herbaceous flavor you would expect. (On a side note, I also love using the dressing on a crudites platter because it's so vibrant and goes with every vegetable.) As for the salad, I kept the classic celery and onion but added some capers for a delicious briny, salty flavor. And since I can't help myself from adding greens into anything, I turned this into a green salad!

Green Goddess Salad by Pamela Salzman on 100 Days of Real Food

A few years ago, my family might have rejected the idea of a big salad for dinner (as opposed to a big salad with dinner). But they've definitely come around to the idea, especially in the warmer months when we prefer eating something light but substantial. The key with a big salad is to keep things interesting with a variety of textures and flavors. It's also super important to make sure the ingredients are really fresh and delicious. It can make the difference between a "wow!" salad and a "blah" salad.

Green Goddess Salad by Pamela Salzman on 100 Days of Real Food

Substitutions

One of the most common questions I hear in my cooking classes is about substitutions, especially for dairy, gluten, nuts, and animal protein. My answer is that there's almost always a great substitute! I have addressed common allergens/intolerances for every recipe in my book. With respect to this chicken salad, whether you choose almond milk yogurt or silken tofu to make this dairy-free, or omit the chicken in place of cooked white beans and avocado for the vegetarian folks, it is a flexible recipe. Thank you, Lisa, for having me back on your blog. It's always great to be in the company of other real foodies!

Green Goddess Salad by Pamela Salzman on 100 Days of Real Food

You May Also Enjoy

Homemade Chicken Salad

  • Sour Cream and Onion Chicken Salad
  • Chicken Waldorf Salad
  • Curry Chicken Salad
  • Chicken Taco Salad

If you enjoyed this Chicken Waldorf salad recipe, please leave a rating and comment! For more inspiration, check out my Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. For 5 free weekly meal plans and more free resources, sign up to receive my free newsletter! Check out these Dinner Recipes for more healthy and easy family dinner ideas.

100 Days of Real Food - Green Goddess Salad by Pamela Salzman

Green Goddess Chicken Salad

This Green Goddess Chicken Salad recipe is from my new cookbook, Kitchen Matters, and is a delicious, more nutritious twist on a classic chicken salad.
5 Average
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 25 minutes mins
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
Method: Freezer Friendly
Diet: Egg Free, Gluten Free, Peanut/Tree Nut-Free
Print Recipe
Servings: 6 people
Save Recipe Saved!

Ingredients
  

Chicken:

  • 3 chicken breasts (bone-in, skin on, about 12 ounces each)
  • ½ small onion (peeled (red is nice))
  • 4 large garlic cloves (peeled and smashed)
  • 1 tablespoon salt (kosher)

Dressing:

  • ½ cup Greek yogurt (unsweetened, plain, whole milk )
  • 1 cup parsley ((I like flat-leaf))
  • 3 tablespoons chives (fresh and chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons basil (fresh)
  • 2 tablespoons dill (fresh)
  • 1 green onions (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste ((or 2 anchovy fillets))
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • pepper

Salad:

  • 1 head romaine lettuce (leaves washed, dried, and left whole (or about 3 cups of chopped standard Romaine))
  • 1 cucumber (chopped)
  • 2 stalks celery (sliced)
  • ¼ cup red onion (diced)
  • ¼ cup capers (drained)

Instructions
 

  • Place the chicken in a saucepan with the onion, garlic, and salt and add water to cover.
  • Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 25 minutes.
  • Allow chicken to cool in the poaching liquid, about 15 minutes.
  • Remove the skin and bones and shred the meat into large, bite-size pieces. Set aside in a large bowl.
  • Place all dressing ingredients except oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor. With the motor running, slowly pour in olive oil. Taste for salt and pepper and add accordingly.
  • Toss lettuce with enough dressing to coat lightly. Add remaining salad components and the chicken on top of lettuce and serve with extra dressing on the side.

Notes

  1. You can use a rotisserie chicken and remove skin and bones and shred the meat into large bite-size pieces. You should have about 4 - 5 cups shredded meat.
  2. The original Green Goddess dressing contains lots of tarragon. Feel free to experiment with other different fresh green herbs such as tarragon, cilantro, chervil, or mint.
  3. For a diary-free version, use ½ cup of silken tofu in place of the yogurt and increase the lemon juice to 3 tablespoons.
  4. You can sub half of the chives for green onions.
  5. We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Green Goddess Chicken Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 341 Calories from Fat 198
% Daily Value*
Fat 22g34%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 74mg25%
Sodium 1856mg81%
Potassium 884mg25%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 29g58%
Vitamin A 10200IU204%
Vitamin C 25.9mg31%
Calcium 93mg9%
Iron 2.5mg14%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Want weekly REAL FOOD meal plans made for you?→ Check It Out

More Recipes

  • Air fryer zucchini.
    Air Fryer Zucchini
  • Garlic butter steak bites.
    Garlic Butter Steak Bites
  • Chicken sausage sheet pan.
    Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan
  • Sausage stir fry.
    Sausage Stir Fry
473 shares

About Pamela Salzman

Pamela Salzman is a Los Angeles based natural foods cooking instructor and holistic health counselor. Her blog is PamelaSalzman.com. She is the author of Kitchen Matters: More than 100 Recipes and Tips that Will Transform the Way You Cook and Eat and is the Culinary Nutritionist for Clean Eating Magazine. She lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband and three children.

Comments

  1. Kristina says

    August 17, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    5 stars
    Love this and now make poaching chicken all the time. My baby would also happily eat the dressing w a spoon! Would the dressing even stay of frozen after making? I’m trying to prep ahead for the school year!

    Reply
    • 100 Days Admin says

      August 19, 2019 at 12:17 pm

      Hi Kristina,
      Glad to hear you guys are loving it! I would not recommend freezing the dressing as dairy products don't tend to thaw very well. You can definitely make it the night before and it should be good for the week. - Nicole

      Reply
      • Pamela Salzman says

        August 23, 2019 at 2:30 pm

        So happy to hear your family enjoys the dressing. :) I agree with Nicole about freezing a dairy dressing though.

  2. Sabrina says

    June 26, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    thank you for this, I don't need the mayo anyway! Like that you call for unsweetened Greek yogurt, I think by default there's too much sugar in Greek yogurt that most people don't notice! Like have the protein too, thank you for this!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome!


Meet Lisa! Lisa is a best-selling cookbook author, wife, mother, and passionate home cook. Lisa began blogging in 2010 and has created a community of millions of people who share her love of healthy living, real food ingredients, and family recipes.

Learn More

Popular

  • Sausage broccoli pasta.
    Sausage Broccoli Pasta
  • Chicken sausage pasta.
    Chicken Sausage Pasta
  • Steak with veggies.
    Steak with Veggies
  • Sausage and potatoes.
    Sausage and Potatoes

Seasonal

  • Spaghetti squash with meat sauce.
    Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce
  • Spaghetti squash boats.
    Spaghetti Squash Boats
  • How to cook spaghetti squash.
    How to Cook Spaghetti Squash
  • Air fryer popcorn chicken.
    Air Fryer Popcorn Chicken

Footer

↑ back to top

Browse

  • Cookbooks
  • Meal Plans
  • Recipes
  • Favorite Products
  • Free Downloads

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Blog

  • About
  • Comment Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Partner With Us
  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 100 Days of Real Food