Recipe Background
The bold flavors of the Mediterranean come alive in this Chicken Tzatziki Salad! When you start with a homemade tahini dressing, with its creaminess and subtle nuttiness, how can you go wrong? Certainly, the roasted sweet, savory, and slightly spicy chicken only adds to the Grecian goodness, as do the juicy cucumbers, the creamy avocado, and the tangy feta cheese. Chicken Tzatziki Salad is a vacation for the senses... and yes, it comes with tzatziki! Yum!
The bold flavors of the Mediterranean come alive in this Chicken Tzatziki Salad! When you start with a homemade tahini dressing, with its creaminess and subtle nuttiness, how can you go wrong? Certainly, the roasted sweet, savory, and slightly spicy chicken only adds to the Grecian goodness, as do the juicy cucumbers, the creamy avocado, and the tangy feta cheese. Chicken Tzatziki Salad is a vacation for the senses... and yes, it comes with tzatziki! Yum!
Ingredients
For the tahini dressing:
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 cup water optional
- salt to taste
- red chili flakes to taste
For the salad:
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs boneless and skinless, cubed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons honey
- red chili flakes optional, to taste
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 5 cups kale shredded, can substitute a mix of kale and romaine
- 2 Persian cucumbers chopped
- 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes drained and sliced
- 1 avocado diced or sliced
- 6 ounces feta cheese crumbled
- 1 cup mixed herbs such as basil, dill, and parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 cups prepared tzatziki sauce
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a bowl, add the tahini, the garlic, the toasted sesame oil, the lemon juice, the rice wine vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of the honey and whisk until smooth.
- Add the water, as needed and a little at a time, to thin the dressing out. You may not need all of the water.
- Taste the dressing and add the salt and the red chili flakes, as needed.
- On a baking sheet, add the chicken pieces, the olive oil, the chili powder, the garlic powder, the paprika, the onion powder, the remaining honey, the red chili flakes, the salt, and the black pepper and toss to coat.
- Roast until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and is lightly charred, about 15-20 minutes.
- In a large salad bowl, add the kale, the cucumbers, and the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add about 1/2 of the dressing to the salad and toss to combine.
- Add the roasted chicken pieces, the avocado, the feta, the herbs, and the sesame seeds to the salad.
- Top the salad with the remaining dressing and lightly toss to coat.
- Top with the tzatziki sauce and serve.
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