A fresh mixed green salad, this Grilled Balsamic Peach Salad with Chicken is both sweet and tangy.  Juicy peaches grilled or pan-fried sit on a bed of balsamic tossed mixed greens and is topped with savory chicken and pecans.

Jazz up your lunch with a grilled peach salad

This salad is not your ordinary salad.  With grilled or skillet cooked fresh peaches, juicy chicken, and a tangy balsamic dressing, this salad is just what your tastebuds need.  An easy homemade dressing that’s made in under 3 minutes is the ‘secret sauce’ to this salad.  A little balsamic, honey and fresh peach juice make for a sweet and tangy dressing that takes this salad to the next level.

In season, this salad will cost about $15.40 to make. Using fresh peaches and 4 chicken breasts, $15 for a meal that will feed a family of 6 or be 6 packed lunches (3 for her and 3 for him!), that comes to only $2.56 a serving!

Ingredients:

Fresh peaches – juicy in-season peaches make for the best salad, but you can always use canned peaches if you want to make this out-of-season.

Chicken breasts – for a lean protein source, choose chicken breasts.  You can also use thighs.

Kale – broken into small bite-size pieces and gently massaged

Spring mix/leaf lettuce – any mix of lettuce will work for this salad

Pecans – adds a nutty flavor, but omit for a nut-free salad. This pecan works great!

Avocado oil – just a small amount for cooking the chicken on the skillet, omit if grilling the chicken. I like this one for all my cooking and baking needs.

Balsamic vinegar – the perfect tangy dressing addition.  This one is great, but you can use what you have in your pantry.

Honey – just a little sweet added to the dressing. My preferred honey is this one.

Sea salt – just a pinch for the dressing. My favorite sea salt is this one.

Black pepper – just a dash to add to the dressing and the honey notes come out.

How to make this salad

Skillet instructions:

In a small bowl add the balsamic vinegar, honey, fresh peach juice, and a pinch of sea salt.  Whisk together.   

In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm the avocado oil then add the chicken breasts.  Drizzle with two tablespoons of the balsamic-honey dressing.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Uncover, turn the chicken over, and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from the skillet (will use the same skillet for the peaches) and slice into ½” thick slices or dice into bite-size pieces.

Slice the peaches in half and remove the pits.  Place the skillet used to cook the chicken (with the balsamic juices still in the skillet) over medium heat and place the peaches, cut side down in the skillet.  Cook for 5 minutes then remove from the skillet.

In a large serving bowl add the mixed greens and kale.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of balsamic-honey dressing and toss to evenly coat. Pour out onto a serving platter and add the cut chicken and pecans and peach halves.  Serve.

Grilling instructions:

In a small bowl add the balsamic vinegar, honey, fresh peach juice, and a pinch of sea salt.  Whisk together. 

Preheat the grill to 350-400 degrees.  Lightly coat the grate with avocado oil then place the chicken on the grill.  Grill for 10 minutes, turn the chicken over and grill for an additional 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees.  Remove from the grill, slice into ½” thick slices or dice into bite-size pieces and drizzle two tablespoons of the balsamic-honey dressing over the cut slices.

Slice the peaches in half and remove the pits.  During the last 5 minutes of cooking the chicken, place the peaches, cut side down, on the grill.  Cook for 5 minutes then remove from the grill.

In a large serving bowl add the mixed greens and kale.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of balsamic-honey dressing and toss to evenly coat. Pour out onto a serving platter and add the cut chicken and pecans and peach halves.  Serve.

A great salad to meal prep for your lunch

This chicken and peach salad makes for a great lunch!  If you do your meal prep on the weekend or during a weeknight, whip this salad up in under 30 minutes and have your lunches packed for the next 3-4 days!  

My favorite meal prep containers

It may surprise you, but my favorite meal prep containers are very inexpensive and made of plastic (plastic haters, keep moving on).  Found on Amazon, these containers are the perfect size to stack in the cupboard, all the lids are the same, they stack in the fridge (Pinterest worthy fridge coming right up!), and they won’t break your budget.  If one breaks or I find the kids have brought one to the sandbox, I don’t sweat it.  They weren’t $10 each so I can remain calm! With only being $18.99 for all 50 containers (that’s only $0.38 each!!) they’re a budget-friendly steal!

They’re freezer-friendly (hello energy bites recipe for the freezer), microwavable, and dishwasher-safe. I am not being paid to say this! I just want to share one great find with you all that’s budget-friendly and a great kitchen item to help you in YOUR kitchen! This is the exact container I bought.

Peach Coffee Cake (gluten-free + dairy-free)

Easy Peach Bread with Glaze (gluten-free + dairy-free)

Easy One-Pan Creamy Peach and Cilantro Chicken (Whole30 + Paleo)

Summer Peach Spinach Salad (Whole30 + Paleo)