Oven baked Crispy Chicken BLT Salad that is a meal in one, yes please! Sometimes you want a super healthy salad recipe, like our Watermelon Cucumber Salad and sometimes you want a Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad, I've got you in all cases!
Salads bring good vibes and pops of colour to our table. Our Roast Chicken Salad is both easy and fuss free!
Readers favorite is the Watermelon Cucumber Salad (also vegetarian). Popular festive salads are the Thanksgiving Salad and the Christmas Salad.
If you want to cook the bacon in your instant pot, this recipe will show you how, Instant Pot Bacon.
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad is so easy!
Hey, hey guys! It is nice to see you on a Monday. I know these days I don't usually post a recipe on a Monday but it is a Public Holiday here (Queen's Birthday) in Sunny Queensland. That means I have a little bit more time up my sleeve than usual. Whilst there are weeds in the garden to be pulled and a downpipe that needs some attention....I really wanted to share my recipe with you instead!
If you remember recently, I shared my Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad which is actually the 2nd most popular recipe on SCS. Anyhoo, it is a recipe that you can make time and time again as it is simple, tasty and delicious. Not to mention also being a filling and satisfying meal.
You know that I have been making quinoa salads a lot recently (and if you don't, you can find the 2 latest here and here) as they are easy to food prep for meals ahead of time and stay fresh for a few days. Well...summer is coming to Queensland it that means it will be hot, hot, hot. I will be still wanting to make salads, but I will need to change it up a little and make ones that are served entirely or partially cold.
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad quick information:
About the recipe...
- Chicken is high in protein
- We oven bake our chicken to make it crispy
- You can serve the chicken pieces in the salad warm
- This recipe is a meal in one
Oven Baked Crispy Chicken
The chicken is crispy but oven baked...not fried. It gives a bit if texture and crunch but not in an oily greasy way.
For this salad, you only need 1 chicken breast as you cut that in half and it somehow just doubles and makes loads of chicken. You will also use a full head of lettuce, punnet of cherry tomatoes and some streaky crispy bacon.
One of my sister's put me onto the crispy back way back now as she said her husband liked it. I hadn't tried it at that point, but now that I have, I admit I don't think I have used any other type since! It is much thinner and crisps up really well in the oven.
So, those ingredients plus our Basil Pesto Drizzle which is a simple but delicious combination of low fat greek yoghurt and basil pesto. If you follow my salads, you will know that most of them have a similar style dressing, it has a creamy texture but it thins out after being blended for a little bit.
How to Make Crispy Chicken for Salad?
To make the crispy batter for your chicken, you use a 3 step process. Well, 4 if you count the cutting it in half bit. It is straightforward and just involves using flour, then egg, then the breadcrumbs. You can also spray a little olive oil onto the chicken breasts before putting them in the oven if you like as that too will help the breadcrumbs crispy up nicely.
This is the type of salad, that is a meal! Trust me, you won't need or want anything else to go with it....other than a refreshing beverage. But a side salad it ain't. The high protein content will leave you full and not wanting anything else after eating perhaps other than an after noon siesta or nanna nap.
Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.
📖 Recipe
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad
Ingredients
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad
- 1 free range chicken breast
- ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup plain flour
- 2 free range eggs, whisked
- 1 head lettuce
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes
- 200 g streaky crispy bacon
Basil Pesto Drizzle
- 1 cup low fat greek yoghurt
- 2 tablespoon basil pesto
Instructions
Crispy Chicken BLT Salad
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees (approx 360 degrees F) Line one baking tray with greaseproof paper and one with alfoil and a wire rack
- Cut chicken breast in half, long ways ie landscape if you think about it like a piece of paper
- Place 2 small plates and 1 small bowl on the bench. Add the flour to one, breadcrumbs to another and crack the eggs into the bowl. Use a fork to whisk the eggs
- Take 1 piece of the chicken breast and coat in flour, then the egg mix, then the panko breadcrumbs. Then lay this coated chicken breast on your baking tray. Repeat for the 2nd piece
- Cook the chicken breast pieces in the oven for 30 minutes, turning half way. Or until lightly toasted
- Place bacon on a wire rack above 2nd lined baking tray and cook for 20 minutes
- Pull off any dull lettuce leaves, turn it on its side and cut the stem base off. Cut the rest of the lettuce into thin strips
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves
- When the bacon is cool, use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut into small pieces
- When the chicken is cooked, cut into thin strips
- Add all ingredients to salad bowl. Dress and toss salad
Basil Pesto Drizzle
- Add greek yoghurt and basil pesto to blender jug and blitz to combine
Notes
- I use the Basil Pesto from the fridge section at Aldi (it is actually a dip and a good one at that!)
- You can shallow or deep fry these bad boys, but I have a desk job so can't if I still want my jeans to fit after a long weekend! (Not too sad about this, would prefer the jeans to fit)
- You can add croutons and parmesan....but then it becomes like a Caesar Salad and I have a different recipe for that as I also have boiled eggs in it, check that recipe here.
- Use kitchen tongs to turn the chicken breast half way through cooking so both sides are nicely toasted
Anna says
this salad looks fantastic! So fresh and tasty! Love the idea of using greek yogurt with pesto for the dressing!
Adrianne says
Thanks Anna, I don’t love mayo so greek yoghurt is always a good go to. Cheers!
kim says
Love a good hearty salad recipe! This one looks just perfect. Will be adding it to my lunch rotation this week!
Adrianne says
Thanks Kim, yes perfect for work lunches. Enjoy x
Luci’s Morsels says
This salad looks perfect for a sunny day anywhere! I think I do like back bacon better as well - not nearly as common here in the States sadly!
Adrianne says
That is great to hear Luci, cheers for that. Sunny days and awesome salads!