A fantastic blend of fruit and feta cheese tops off this tossed salad, making it perfect for summer barbeques!
So many times I read other reviews for recipies on this site and they always tell you everything that they did different or tell you about the items that they changed. While those tips are usualy helpful, I looked at this recipie and decided to make it as it is stated. Wow - I am glad that I stuck to the recipie.
Read MoreI should have served the balsamic vinaigrette on the side,it was to strong and over-took the flavor's of everything else.
Read MoreSo many times I read other reviews for recipies on this site and they always tell you everything that they did different or tell you about the items that they changed. While those tips are usualy helpful, I looked at this recipie and decided to make it as it is stated. Wow - I am glad that I stuck to the recipie.
When I submitted this recipe it was intended that the dressing be served on the side and put on the salad to one's liking. If the balsamic is too strong, I have also served it with an olive oil vinaigrette or a raspberry vinaigrette.
This salad was very quick to put together and the tastes went together very nicely. My very healthy-eating sis was impressed and my meat-loving hubby put dibs on the leftovers!! Thanks!
Have you ever been craving something but you weren't sure what? This salad will probably satisfy it. It is sweet, creamy, and salty all at the same time. I couldn't find strawberries at the store (during strawberry season no less!), so I subbed blackberries. I also used a spring mix (it was on sale) for the lettuce and added some sunflower seeds for some crunch (personal preference, not necessary). The chicken came out perfectly, charred and juicy, and complimented the other flavors of the salad well. What a lovely combination! Thanks Amy!
I have made this twice now-once without chicken as a side salad and once with chicken for dinner. It is great both ways and got rave reviews, this is my favorite salad this summer!
Very nice combination of flavors. I followed the recipe exactly but next time I'll cut back on the vinaigrette. It was a bit much.
loved this...great summer dinner. only thing i changed was the dried cherries instead of cranberries, no avacado & used raspberry vinagarette...family said they loved it, thanks amy
This salad was amazing! My husband is not usually a fan of vinaigrette dressings, but he even raved about this salad! We live in an area where fresh berries of all kinds are plentiful from spring to early fall, so we will be making this a lot! Thanks so much for the idea! The flavors of all the ingredients combined perfectly!
AMAZING salad!! I didn't have italian dressing so I just grilled the chicken with garlic powder. I loved it and so did everyone else in our family... and they're "ranch dressing" people. Thanks so much!
Just one big flavorful party with every bite! I give this 5 stars because it's quick, tasty, healthy, and all 5 members of my family loved it! (3 of them kids, 1 a VERY picky chicken nugget/pizza lover) I made it exactly as written minus the dried cranberries, although that would be awesome to add. Just didn't have any. This will become a regular meal in our home.
Wonderful. I like the idea of using blackberries like in the photo by member LMF443, who reviewed this back in 2009 and submitted a photo for this recipe.
This was a huge hit with my dinner guests! Strawberries were too pricey so I too used blueberries; I also used the "spring mix" greens instead of romaine. My guests eagerly accepted leftovers. I ate my last serving for lunch today. Very, very good.
Delicious salad! I added some blackberries, raspberries, and cucumbers because I had them on hand.
Really good. Didn't change a thing, except fresh ground pepper added at the table was just what it needed.
The only thing that I would change is instead of dicing up the fruits, I would make them slightly larger as the apple and avocado get a little lost.
Perfect as is, and easy to add or subtract or substitute with other fruits and cheeses.
What a delicious summer salad. Perfect for a luncheon. Loved all the delicious bites from the varied ingredients. Definately a keeper! Thanks for sharing.
This is a perfect summer salad. Quick, easy and delicious. I love using market fresh strawberries in summer salads. Thanks for the recipe!
It was delicious, but the presentation was kind of disappointing. I think it would look prettier if all the ingredients were layered over the lettuce and then drizzled with dressing. Very tasty though!
Loved this and so easy! I didn't mix it with the dressing but decided to allow my family a choice of the Balsalmic or Raspberry vinigrette. Also added chopped walnuts. YUM!
I made this salad for my book club and everybody raved about it(and took seconds)! The only change was that I didn't add the cranberries and just added more strawberries. Thanks, Amy, for a great summer recipe.
Made the exact recipe...husband said it was the best salad he has ever eaten. I'll definitely be making this again!
Made a few changes to fit what I already had in my kitchen and it was so very very good. Very filling and satisfying for me even when it is my main dish.
Yummy! I made 6 servings worth for my family of 5. Oldest teenage boy opted out, and ate something else. Little girl took a small serving, and when she went back for more, it was all gone. So I would make more next time, but not a complaint - it went over so well because it was so tasty!
This is the perfect summer salad (well, it's great any time of year) to have on the side with your main meal. It was so flavorful that I didn't need any dressing at all. Delicious.
This was delicious, although to be honest, I'm not sure I enjoyed the texture of the chicken. I think I would leave it out next time. But otherwise it was great, and easy to share with my toddler!
Loved everything....but the balsamic vingerette. i felt it took away all the other wonderful ingredients in the salad and all you end up tasting is it. So i'm giving it four stars because of that. next time I make it, it will be without it and be way yummier!
This recipe was amazing, it tasted so fresh and summery. The kids loved it and all the different textures made it awesome. The kids preferred ranch dressing but the adults enjoyed the balsamic. I will be making this over and over again!
The salad has it all! Its the perfect summer dish- bbq chicken, fruit, cheese... I couldn't ask for anything better. Next time I might use a different apple, since my husband wasn't as wild about the sour apple (although he still really liked the salad). Overall, I think this is one of my new favorite recipes!
I should have served the balsamic vinaigrette on the side,it was to strong and over-took the flavor's of everything else.
This was a delicious alternative to the usual veggie salad, and with the lemon juice and balsamic vinaigrette, was greatly enjoyed by all.
This was wonderful. I used raspberries and raspberry vinegar, my family ate it all!
Gotta admit, I wasn't sure about the Italian dressing marinade for the chicken with the fruits, but it was great! I did do some changes, as I was making this for my family. I had to skip the avocado (2 people will NOT eat it) and the dried cranberries. Also I substituted a mix of diced mozzarella and Havarti cheeses for the feta. I let everyone dress their own salad. I used a raspberry vinaigrette. The kids used ranch and loved it. Oh, and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds were a wonderful accent. Definitely added to the "warm months" meal rotation. Thank you for the great addition.
Yummm! This salad was awesome - so many different tastes that blend together perfectly. We included bacon bits and croutons for a little crunch, but it isn't necessary to add anything to this. I even had it for lunch the next day - I will definitely make this again!
We just had this wonderful quick salad. YUM! The flavors were perfect for summer. We used the chicken in slices . Thought it would look nicer. In reality cubes would make more sense. We love pecans with cheese and strawberries so I added crunched pcans.
We enjoy robust flavours and this recipe measures up in every way. We have this recipe at least once a month, following Ontario's fruit and berry growing season to keep the dish fresh and interesting. We eat it as our main evening dish (with or without chicken) and sometimes have leftovers for lunch the next day. Who needs dessert when those fresh berries are dropping flavour bombs in your mouth.
Wow!! This is an amazing salad! I made it mostly as directed - adding only a handful of slivered almonds and cutting the dressing WAAAAY down. I was very scant with the dressing as my son doesn't always like dressing. I left the bottle on the table to add more if people chose. Only one did. I also used vegetarian chicken strips, so did not need Italian dressing. This was such an amazing salad - it made a huge bowl. We ate the entire thing and can't wait to have it again. Thanks for sharing! (I can't wait to go to a potluck or barbecue so I can bring this salad!)
Skipped the avocado bc I didn't have any. Considered adding guacamole but didn't feel like it was necessary. Also skipped the lemon juice since I just made individual salads and we ate them right away. Used some blueberry balsamic vinegar. It was really good and easy.
SOOO good!!! The only thing I did different is substitute spinach for the Romaine lettuce (cause that's what I had on hand), and we used a raspberry vinaigrette. Such a wonderful combination of taste. & texture.
Easy and delicious, added nuts, tomatoes, peppers and red onions. Very versatile recipe!
I Made my own rendition of this salad. Left out feta cheese, didn’t add the meat as we salmon planned. Used the Poppy seed dressing with this salad and it was excellent!!!
I made this without the chicken as a side salad. It was the perfect summer salad. Also bought and used a raspberry vinaigrette that was great.
In the end, I ended up really liking this salad, as did my family. I bought bagged romaine instead of a head of romaine and so wasn't sure much lettuce I had actually used vs. the amount of each ingredient. It would've been better using the CHOPPED romaine (the lettuce in its "lettucy" form detracted from the other ingredients a bit). I kept adding more of the other ingredients to make up for the abundance of lettuce..in the end, it was very tasty and the whole gang loved it. I want to do it again, making sure the lettuce is CHOPPED. I think that really makes a difference, FWIW.
Delicious! I used pepper jack cheese instead to make a little kick and added more vegetables. Cucumber, tomato, mushroom. Left the fruits and veggies separate from the actual lettuce of the salad and it lasted days for me to bring to work for lunch. So yummy!
This salad is excellent... I have also made a similar one just using Romaine lettuce,Walnuts, Strawberries and an onion!! You can also add chicken to it....
I made a salad dressing using 1/2 c olive oil, 1/8 c sugar, 1/8 c balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 t salt. It is now my favorite salad! CMF
My teenage son was skeptical when he saw the salad. He didn't think the ingredients would taste good together. I left the grilled chicken and feta cheese separate because I thought he might prefer the chicken on the side, and I knew he didn't like feta. He ended up being brave and adding them both to his salad and said, "I really like this" and took seconds. I forgot to get balsamic vinaigrette, so we used orange poppy seed dressing. I also put a can of cashews on the table, and we added those. This was the perfect dinner for a summer night.
I didn't have apples but will try next time.....this recipe was great - super easy and very tasty. There is lots of room for flexibility....I had left over grilled chicken so I used that; added some walnuts and celery. It was delicious. Will definitely make again.
This was good. I didn’t love the avocado in it (I just didn’t like the texture in this particular salad). Aside from that it was delicious. I did make a few changes: I used honeycrisp apple and shredded chicken that was already in my frig. I also used a regular vinaigrette but balsamic would have been lovely with the strawberries. Serve the dressing on the side, or use about 1/2 to 2/3 the suggested amount. Next time I might try adding some toasted sunflower seeds.
Didn't use bottled salad dressing, just good olive oil and balsamic and this was delicious!
I made this as a side salad to go with grilled pork chops! Obviously I left out the chicken! I used a packet of dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds from a prepackaged salad and instead of adding any dressing I had lemon and regular balsamic and lemon olive oil on hand for the guests to drizzle their own. A huge hit! I can't wait to try this with chicken.
