Balsamic Chicken Salad with Grilled Corn and Feta

Balsamic-marinated grilled chicken piled onto crisp butter lettuce and romaine with charred corn cut fresh off the cob, creamy avocado, feta, and ripe cherry tomatoes.

One dressing works as the marinade and the finishing drizzle. Plus a balsamic glaze finishes to finish it off. This is a salad that feels like a whole meal (because it is).

If you love a good dinner salad, you’ll also want to try grilled chicken salad with corn, avocado, and feta, and this insanely good BBQ chicken salad.

What Goes In A Balsamic Chicken Salad

• Chicken breast: Boneless, skinless, pounded to an even thickness so it cooks evenly and doesn’t dry out on one end before the other is done.
• Homemade balsamic dressing: Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, garlic, honey, and Italian seasoning. The Dijon adds sharpness and helps the oil and vinegar come together so don’t skip it.
• Butter lettuce and romaine: I love both because they give you two textures: the soft, almost buttery leaves of butter lettuce and the crunch of romaine. Use what you have on hand though.
• Cherry tomatoes: halved across the middle to get the prettiest cross-section for serving.
• Avocado: adds creaminess, healthy fats, and fiber to keep you full for dinner.
• Feta: the salty punch that brings it together. Cubed or crumbled work.
• Red onion: adds just a little bite. If your onion is sharp, slice it thin and let it soak in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes to take the edge off.
• Corn: grilled right alongside the chicken. This is my favorite trick that sets this salad apart.
• Balsamic glaze (optional finish): It’s thicker and sweeter than the vinaigrette, and it makes the whole thing feel/look restaurant-worthy.

The Dressing Does Two Things (And Why That Matter)

You make one batch of dressing. Then you split it before anything touches raw chicken. Three-quarters of it goes into a jar for serving and the remaining quarter marinates the chicken before grilling.

Marinate it for at least 30 minutes, up to six hours. I usually whisk the dressing, set aside the serving portion, pour the rest over the chicken, and let it sit while I prep everything else and heat the grill. Or you can throw the chicken in the marinade before you leave for work in the morning.

Don’t want to make the homemade dressing? You can use a store-bought balsamic vinaigrette, just use about 1¼ cups. The homemade version has more depth, but both work. How to marinate chicken is a great reference if you want to understand what each ingredient does in a marinade.

How to Grill the Chicken So It Stays Juicy

Two things make the difference here!

First, pound the chicken to an even thickness — just over an inch. Chicken breasts are thicker at one end and taper at the other. When you put an uneven piece on the grill, the thin end overcooks before the thick end is done. Flatten it out and the whole thing cooks at the same rate.

Second, pull it off the heat just before it hits 165°F. It keeps cooking after it comes off the grill. I pull mine at around 160°F, tent it loosely, and let it rest for ten minutes. By the time you slice it, it’s at 165°F and still juicy.

Clean and oil your grill grates, then heat to medium-high, about 400 to 450°F. Shake off the excess marinade before the chicken goes on. Grill four to five minutes undisturbed on the first side, flip, and four to five minutes more. Some flare-ups when you first lay it down are fine — the balsamic has sugar in it and will catch a little. That’s what gives you the caramelized edges.

How to Make Balsamic Chicken Salad

Don’t Skip the Corn

Two ears of corn go on the grill alongside the chicken. Just turn them every couple of minutes until they’re deeply charred in places, not just warmed through, like actually charred. The sugars caramelize and the kernels get a little smoky.

Rest the corn for a minute, then stand each ear upright on the cutting board and slice the kernels straight down. You’ll get about a cup per ear. This is one of those ingredients that makes the whole salad taste like summer in a way that canned or frozen corn just doesn’t.

Make-Ahead and Storage Tips

The dressing: it can be made up to five days ahead and kept in a jar in the fridge. Shake it well before using.

The chicken: grill ahead and stored in the fridge for up to four days. It’s genuinely good cold, sliced on top of the salad straight from the fridge. This makes it one of my favorite meal prep salads.

Tip: Don’t dress the assembled salad if you’re storing it. Keep everything separate and dress just before serving.

More High-Protein Dinner Salads

• Thai steak salad
• Crispy chicken salad
• Salmon Caesar salad
• Mandarin orange chicken salad
• Buffalo chicken salad