Viral Chopped Salad with Herby Dressing and Chicken Breast (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)

Tips on how to make this gluten-free dairy-free chopped salad recipe:

• Firstly, consider this recipe a guide. Please feel free to swap ingredients according to your preferences. This is supposed to be easy and delicious!
• If you don’t have the same vegetables, romaine works great in place of cabbage (I’d reccomend using 2-3 heads of lettuce). And if you don’t have spinach, swap it for any dark leafy green. If you don’t have cucumber, feel free to swap with chopped romaine or with any neutral crunchy vegetable.
• Use any meat or tofu. steak, chicken, and tofu all work well.
• If cilantro isn’t your favorite, use your favorite herbs. I personally didn’t love this with parsley but that may just be my taste.
• If you don’t have lemons on hand, use a 2-3 limes more or less depending on their level of juiciness. Basically we want about a tablespoon of juice and 1 tsp of zest.
• Any neutral oil works in the dressing. I used olive oil but vegetable oil works too–just avoid sesame oil.
• If you don’t have fresh garlic, or can’t be bothered to peel it–LOL, simply swap with 1 heaping tbsp of preminced from the jar. If you don’t have garlic, you can also use half a shallot.
• If you don’t like capers consider using pepperoncinis or anchovy, we really just want the brininess. However, if you don’t use any pickled ingredient and don’t have brine, simply start with 1 tsp vinegar (apple cider, rice wine, or red wine vinegar) and 1 tbsp water to replace the brine. I am not sure how this would pair with balsamic, so I cannot recommend it but you do you and let me know in the comments how it turns out!
• Cook your protein any way you’d like, you can even buy precooked chicken breast from the grocery store. I recommend using simple seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic, cajun, lemon, etc so that it doesn’t overpower the salad with the dressing.
• I suggest using a meat thermometer since it’ll help you cook chicken perfectly every time! I use a cheap one from Amazon.
• Use your favorite gluten-free tortilla chips! I am obsessed over Chica’s Tortilla Chips from Whole Foods (this isn’t sponsored, I’m actually obsessed with them!).
• You can also add chopped roasted and salted nuts, candied nuts, salty sunflower seeds if you feel inclined. However, these are not listed in the recipe to keep things simple.

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What you need to make this Gluten-Free Chopped Salad Recipe with Herby Dressing and Chicken Breast:

Equipment:

• Oven
• Meat Thermometer
• Small Blender or Food Processor
• Large Salad Bowl

Ingredients:

• For the Chicken:
• 1 large chicken breast (about 1 lb, US Wellness Meats recommended)
• Drizzle of olive oil
• ½ tsp Old Bay seasoning (or salt and pepper, or another Cajun seasoning)
• For the Dressing (Customizable):
• 1 bunch cilantro (stems removed, about 2 cups packed)
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon (more to taste, limes work fine too just use 2-3)
• 1 tbsp capers + 1 tbsp caper juice (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled (or 1 heaping tbsp pre-minced garlic)
• 1 jalapeño (with seeds, or remove seeds for less spice)
• 1 tsp sweetener (granulated sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup all work)
• ½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
• ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
• 3 tbsp neutral oil (add more for a smoother consistency)
• Optional Add-Ins: Honey for a touch of sweetness, avocado for creaminess, or Greek yogurt for a tangy twist.
• For the Salad:
• 1 head cabbage, washed and finely chopped
• 6 oz greens (spinach or your preferred greens), finely chopped
• 1 large English cucumber, finely diced
• 1 avocado, finely cubed
• Tortilla chips for serving (2 bags of your favorite brand)

How to make this easy gluten-free dairy-free chopped salad with herby dressing:

I really appreciate you taking the time to check out my gluten-free and dairy-free recipes! Thank you for stopping by<3