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This Summer Chicken Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is the perfect quick and easy dinner salad for any night of the week. Grilled chicken tossed with a tangy bacon-herb dressing, greens, grilled chicken, peppers, corn, tomatoes, creamy avocado, and crumbled cheese! It’s colorful and so delicious. Enjoy this for dinner and save the leftovers for lunch – it’s always good. Or serve this up at your next backyard dinner with friends.
With the start of summer 2022 just days away I’m in full-on summer cooking mode and really loving the recipes I’m working on! And this salad is a real highlight. So many yummy flavors, textures, and colors in this quick-to-make dinner salad.
My motto this summer is super flavorful dinners that have a lot happening, but don’t require too much time in the kitchen or too much cooking. It’s kind of a tricky recipe formula to figure out. But for the recipes where I’m able to get it right, it’s perfection!
I’m excited to share that I hit my mark.
Growing up, summertime dinner salads were on a weekly rotation at our house. My dad would do big pasta salads or salads filled with the leftovers in the fridge.
This salad is loosely inspired by dad’s summer salads – just taken up a notch!
Here are the details
To start, this recipe requires pre-cooked chicken, peppers, and corn. The idea is that you already have the leftovers in the fridge. If you’re like my family, we always have some grilled or roasted chicken on hand. And I have roasted peppers in the pantry!
Of course, if you need to grill up chicken the day of, I’m giving you my recipe for herb grilled chicken in the notes. It’s my go-to grilled chicken. Simple, but great tossed up in salads. Just a mix of olive oil, grainy dijon, balsamic vinegar, herbs, and garlic.
When you have all the salad ingredients together, make the dressing. The dressing really is the heart of this salad. Crisp up some bacon, then toss it with olive oil, vinegar, shallots, garlic, thyme, and the secret – a small number of fig preserves. The preserves add a touch of sweetness that compliments the salty bacon.
Next, the croutons. A last-minute addition on my end, but one that’s so delicious! The torn ciabatta bread gets crisped up in the bacon grease, then tossed with garlic and sea salt. They add a crunch to every bite and are totally addicting.
Now, assemble everything. The salad base is mixed greens and or romaine. Whatever you prefer. I use mixed greens – spinach, arugula, spring mix, and romaine are all good for a balance of flavor and crunch. Then, grilled chicken, peppers, corn, sweet cherry tomatoes, and creamy avocado.
The final layer is the cheese. I LOVE to use crumbled blue cheese, but I know this isn’t for everyone. You can certainly use feta, goat cheese, or cubes of cheddar, all would be delicious.
Everything together is SO GOOD! Grilled chicken, crunchy garlic croutons, salty bacon, creamy avocado, and a savory, tangy dressing that really completes the salad and makes every bite special.
Looking for other summer salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata
Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad
Marinated Tomato Feta Orzo Salad Jars
Pesto Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad Wraps
Lastly, if you make this Summer Chicken Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Summer Chicken Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 550 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Dressing
- 6 thick-cut slices of bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fig preserves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- chili flakes
- kosher salt and pepper
Salad
- 1 cup torn ciabatta bread
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- 6 cups mixed salad greens
- 2 cups grilled chicken, cubed or shredded
- 1-2 roasted/grilled bell peppers, sliced
- 3 ears grilled corn, kernels removed from the cob
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or feta cheese
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients except the bacon in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. 2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain onto a paper towel. Stir the bacon into the dressing. 3. To make the croutons. Heat the same skillet used to cook the bacon over medium heat. Add the bread and toss in the bacon grease. If needed add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook until toasted, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, then remove from the heat and season with salt. 4. To assemble the salad. In a large salad bowl, combine the greens, chicken, peppers, corn, tomatoes, avocado, cheese, and croutons. Toss well with the dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
Herb Grilled Chicken: In a large bowl, toss 1 pound of chicken tenders with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs, kosher salt and black pepper. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes.
This is perfection! It’s so hot in KS I didn’t want to go outside to use the grill so I cooked the bacon in my cast iron skillet and kept going… charred the peppers and corn in the bacon grease with a splash of olive oil and then blackened the chicken. That marinade is awesome! I had some fresh dill which really paired well with the mustard. And what an awesome use for my chili Fig preserves! Your recipes inspire me to experiment and make me a better cook. Thank you!!!!!
Hey Julie,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that it was a hit!☀️
Would it be possible to use dried herbs, if so what amount would you recommend? It’s just 2 of us and we usually end up wasting fresh herbs when we buy them.
Your recipes that I’ve tried are always absolutely amazing, my husband raves when I make them! Out of all of the blogs I look at for recipes yours is the one I use the most recipes from, great job and keep coming up with tasty dinners for all of us who are by no means chefs we really appreciate it.
Hey Leanne,
Thanks so much for your kind message and trying so many recipes!! If you can do fresh herbs I would highly recommend using those for this recipe:) If you chose to use the dried herbs I would cut the amount in half. Let me know if you give the salad a try! xTieghan
Would white vinegar work in the dressing instead of apple cider vinegar? This looks incredible!!!
Hey Rachel,
Sure, that would definitely work for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe!! xx
Do you ever make fig preserves? I have a fig tree and need some fig recipes!
This Chicken Salad looks awesome – on my list to try! Love your videos – they are a great overview of the recipes. Do you have a you Tube channel – I could watch the videos all day!?
Hey Janet,
I’ve never made my own fig preserves, but how awesome to have a fig tree, I bet it’s amazing! I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! I post most of my videos to Tik Tok and Instagram! xTieghan
I can’t find fig preserves anyway. Any suggestions for a substitute?
Hey Brenda,
Honey would also work well for you!! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xTieghan
Hi, what herbs did you use for the chicken? It says herbs, but not what kind. Can’t wait to try, thank you
Hey Lisa,
The herbs are totally up to you, so whatever you like will work here! Some herbs I enjoy: cilantro, basil, parleys, dill. chives. I hope you love the recipe!! xx
What combination of herbs do you recommend to make up the “1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs” for the chicken? None are specified. Would really like to try this.
Hey there,
You can really use any herbs that you enjoy:) I like cilantro, parsley, basil, dill, chives:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
OMG! This is the salad of my dreams! I used your recipe for the chicken and I wasn’t really sure at first how it would work with the dressing, but the combination of flavors was like a taste explosion. And toasting the croutons in the bacon grease, genius! I can’t wait to make it again!
Hey Leslie,
Lol thank you so much for your kind message:) I am so glad you enjoyed this salad, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
Made this tonight – was worried there wouldn’t be enough dressing but it was perfect! I used about 1/4 cup herbs for the chicken – dill and parsley b/c had them on hand. Will definitely make this again
Hi Kelly,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit and appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
Could you clarify some of the instructions, please? Mainly what herbs to use. I would love to make this for Sunday dinner this week! 🙂 All of your recipes are so fabulous.
Hey Kathryn,
You can really use any herbs that you enjoy cilantro, basil, parsley, dill are a few of my faves! Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
Tieghan, thanks for the inspiration! One of your recipes and a cup of coffee and I’m looking forward to the day (as opposed to…what on earth can I feed them tonight…). Mouth watering photo, and love your prose. Have a great day yourself 🙂
Hey Pauline,
Thanks so much for your kind message:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! Have a great Thursday! xTieghan
I don’t think you want the bread in the dressing, right? And the herb grilled chicken in the Notes doesn’t mention in herbs?
Hi Anne,
So sorry about that!! Yes, don’t put the croutons in the dressing and I fixed the chicken instructions. I hope this helps!! Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
In the dressing section – you have 1-2 garlic cloves, grated; then in the directions for the croutons, it says “add the garlic” – is this more garlic or should the 1-2 grated cloved be added to the croutons and not to the dressing?
I too am confused why bread is put in the jar with the dressing. Please clarify as this sounds really good Thanks
Hi Sheri,
I fixed that:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi Maria,
Sorry for any confusion, I fixed this!! You are going to use 1-2 cloves in the dressing and then 1 clove in step 3. I hope this clears things up for you:) xx
I am looking for forward to trying this. In description of grilled chicken it said it had herbs, Dijon and balsamic? Only olive oil listed . Please advise on
I noticed that, too.
It’s been fixed Debbie:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try!! xTieghan
Hey Carol,
Yes you’re right, I fixed that part, so sorry for the confusion!! I hope you love the recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Did you mean to have olive oil and chicken for your her grilled chicken recipe? I feel like part of it might be missing ☺️
Hi Whitney,
So sorry about that, I fixed the portion for the chicken recipe, it’s all there now:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try!! xTieghan