Goat Cheese Salad

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If you’re tired of plain salad recipes, this summer goat cheese salad recipe is the perfect remedy. With its hearty combination of crunchy greens, tangy goat cheese, and roasted red pepper balsamic dressing, it packs plenty of flavor for a no-fuss healthy lunch or dinner — and the whole family will love it.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for salad with goat cheese, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Despite having slightly more than 10 ingredients, this dish is still simple enough to be included on my “10 ingredients or less” site. It was too good not to share — and still so easy! The dressing and the salad each include less than 10 ingredients, and it’s all ready in less than 30 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper Dressing:

• Roasted Red Peppers – Make my sweet roasted red peppers at home using red bell peppers and olive oil, or use store-bought for convenience.
• Olive Oil – You could also use extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or a neutral oil of choice.
• Balsamic Vinegar – The quality of your vinegar will impact the flavor in your dressing. This one from Modena, Italy is my favorite. You can also substitute other acidic ingredients, like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
• Honey – I prefer to use sugar-free honey, but any kind works. Maple syrup makes a good substitute if you don’t have honey.
• Garlic – Use fresh minced garlic for the best flavor or 1 teaspoon jarred minced garlic to save time. You can also substitute 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder.
• Italian Seasoning – Use a store-bought mix or make my quick homemade Italian seasoning in just 5 minutes.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Goat Cheese Salad:

• Chicken – I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs or tenderloins instead. Or, use leftover baked chicken breasts or Instant Pot shredded chicken.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Greens – I used a spring mix as the base, but any greens will work in this recipe, such as romaine lettuce, arugula, spinach (including baby spinach), or butter lettuce.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes – You can make your own homemade sun-dried tomatoes, or buy them. Julienned (thinly sliced) tomatoes are best for this recipe. If they’re packed in oil, drain them before using. Chop up any store-bought tomatoes that are not already julienned.
• Goat Cheese – Feta cheese would be a nice replacement if you don’t like goat cheese crumbles.
• Walnuts – You can also used sliced almonds, pine nuts, almonds, or pecans, but I prefer a goat cheese walnut salad. If you have a nut allergy, you can omit altogether, or use sunflower seeds or roasted chickpeas for crunch.
• Avocado – To pick the perfect avocado, remove the tip of the stem. The outside should be soft and the inside bright green — not brown.

VARIATION: Add other mix-ins.

Hard-boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs, cooked couscous, crumbled oven baked bacon, and thinly sliced red onions would all be delicious.

How To Make Goat Cheese Salad

This section shows how to make a salad with goat cheese and walnuts, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Make the dressing. Combine all the dressing ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
2. Season the chicken. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Cook the chicken. Heat the olive oil in a large grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook, flipping once, until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate to rest.

TIP: Use a meat thermometer.

I recommend using a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is cooked through. The internal temperature should reach 165 degrees F.

4. Assemble the goat cheese salad. Place the spring mix in a large salad bowl (or divide among 4 individual bowls). Top with cooked chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, walnuts, and avocado slices.
5. Drizzle with dressing. Pour the dressing over salad. Toss to combine.

Storage Instructions

Store the salad components in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. If the salad is already mixed with dressing, it will only last 1 day.

The dressing will keep in a Mason jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. It’s also fantastic on fish, shrimp, steak, and roasted vegetables. I like to make a double batch during meal prep to use throughout the week!

More Goat Cheese Salad Recipes

If you like goat cheese, try it in these other fresh and fast salads!

Spring Mix Salad

Butternut Squash Salad

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Grilled Peach Salad

5 from 5 votes

Goat Cheese Salad (Easy 25-Min Meal!)

Make this easy goat cheese salad recipe with chicken, greens, walnuts, avocado & red pepper dressing. It's the perfect light and fresh meal!

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Total: 25 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

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Roasted Red Pepper Balsamic Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Roasted red peppers ▢
• 1/2 cup Olive oil ▢
• 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar ▢
• 1 tbsp Honey (I used sugar-free honey, but any kind works) ▢
• 2 cloves Garlic ▢
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning ▢
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt (to taste) ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper (to taste) ▢

Goat Cheese Salad:

• 2 8-oz Boneless skinless chicken breasts ▢
• 1 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢
• 1 tbsp Olive oil ▢
• 6 oz Spring mix ▢
• 1/3 cup Sun-dried tomatoes (chopped) ▢
• 3/4 cup Goat cheese (crumbled) ▢
• 1/4 cup Walnuts (chopped; or sunflower seeds for nut-free) ▢
• 1 medium Avocado (pitted and sliced) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Combine the dressing ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.

2. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook for 4-8 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through. The internal temperature measured with a meat thermometer should reach 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

4. Place the spring mix in a large bowl (or divide among 4 individual bowls). Top with cooked chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, walnuts, and avocado slices.

5. Pour dressing over the salad.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 2 cups

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 659

Fat 54.8g

Protein 37.6g

Total Carbs 19.7g

Net Carbs 14.2g

Fiber 5.5g

Sugar 10.4g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keywords: goat cheese salad, goat cheese salad recipe, salad with goat cheese

Calories: 659 kcal

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