Nicknamed my POWER SALAD, this Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese is pretty much the best salad ever! Watch the video showing you how to make it this recipe, then scroll to the bottom of this post to print out the recipe so you can make it at home.
Oh, if I were a single girl, I’d eat salad every night for dinner. That’s how much I love the stuff. I’d eat mixed greens with berries and chicken. I’d eat arugula topped with salmon and drizzled with fresh lemon juice and olive oil. I’d eat crunchy romaine with roasted tomatoes, bacon and a generous dose of blue cheese dressing. And I’d eat a ton of spinach salads like this Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese.
I gave up my single life (and eating salads for dinner) 17 years ago. It’s pretty rare that I can actually get away with serving salad for dinner these days. Instead, my family wants their version of dinner, which means a plateful of three things: a meat, a starch and a vegetable (or a big bowl of pasta).
Having somewhat of a rebellious nature, I decided to go for it with this salad. I fed my family SALAD for dinner. I started with spinach… sliced it into slivers.
…and then I added tomatoes and corn…
…and plenty of avocado and chopped, cooked chicken…
….and goat cheese and toasted pine nuts.
I drizzled a simple and tangy Dijon vinaigrette on top…
…and then I plated this Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese as dinner for my family. No meat/vegetable/starch meal for them on this night- just SALAD for dinner.
And guess what? They loved it 🙂
Here are a few more spinach salad recipes you might enjoy:
Spinach Salad with Chicken, Avocado and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 8 cups chopped fresh spinach
- 1½ cups chopped cooked chicken
- 1 cup halved cherry or pear tomatoes
- ½ cup corn (canned, frozen or fresh off the cob)
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- ⅓ cup crumbled goat or feta cheese
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
DRESSING:
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss (a little at a time… as much dressing as you desire).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My husband and I loved this salad! We’ve eaten it twice this week. For the dressing, we used a honey serrano balsamic vinegar with olive oil. I highly recommend the honey serrano balsamic if you can find it somewhere.
Of course they loved it — it’s fabulous! My hubster is to the point where he’ll email at some point during the day and say, “It needs to be a salad dinner night.” I’ve gotten good at including that starch along with the protein in our salads and we look forward to them. I’ll have to try the pinenuts in this combo which is a fave. YUM!
I’d skip the corn, but otherwise I am there!
I love salad..and this one looks delicious! I don’t know why i dislike making them so much! This one could possibly inspire me to just go ahead and make it already!
What a gorgeous salad, Lori. If only we could get by eating this every day. When Jason is up north at school, I’m a vegetarian but when he comes back into town, I’m devouring baby back ribs, fried chicken, and plenty of other artery-clogging foods!
Everything but the Corn – The rest sounds delish!
Looks incredible! I too had to give up salads for dinner unless they are a side of course no the main dish! BUT I will try again, summer is coming and who wants to heat up the house with the oven, salad is the perfect idea and your looks lovely!
Looks so wonderfully springy!
What beautiful pictures! I just made a spinach salad yesterday for my daughter’s school/staff appreciation. It had avocado, oranges and an Asian vinaigrette. coming to my blog soon.
This looks like one amazing salad! The dressing sounds perfect with the chicken and avocado (my favorite salad topping)!