If you’re looking for classic mayo-based chicken salad (the kind you spread on a sandwich or spoon into a lettuce cup), this isn’t quite that. Instead, these salads with chicken pair juicy roasted, grilled, or store-bought rotisserie chicken with crisp greens, noodles, grains, and bright dressings, turning what might be a side dish into a satisfying meal. Panko-crusted cutlets? Sure, those are here too.
Some of our favorite chicken dinner salads are classic American fare, like a chicken Caesar or a Cobb salad. Others are comfort food disguised as salad, like a cold noodle salad and a warm piccata-inspired one. And many invite you to embrace the leftovers from last night’s roast chicken, cutting down on prep—and that makes dinner closer than you think.
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Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Emily Eisen
Chicken Cobb Salad
This chicken salad recipe is not your typical Cobb. It skips the iceberg, hard-boiled eggs, and cold bacon bits in favor of lacy frisée, jammy eggs, and—pièce de résistance—a warm bacon vinaigrette. Reviewers report adding croutons and blue cheese with good results.
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Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Susie Theodorou
Caesar Salad Roast Chicken
Caesar salad topped with shrimp, salmon, or chicken may be everywhere these days, but a really good one is hard to come by. Here, we brush the chicken with anchovy mayo for umami punch, then double down on schmaltz by tossing the croutons in the leftover fat.
