This salad screams summer. From the bright fruits, tangy vinaigrette and fresh herbs to the juicy chicken, creamy mozzarella and loads of greens. It's both sweet and savory, refreshing and healthy, and light yet filling. Perfect for a warm summer afternoon. No heating involved the chicken is best served cold in the salad, I promise!
I love the fresh herbs here!
I used basil and cilantro but grab whatever is on sale or fresh from the garden. Basil to me is a must but flavors like mint or parsley would also be great here! As for the greens base I used a blend of spinach and arugula. I chopped both up pretty finely so there's no big pieces of lettuce and it's just one big chopped salad.
Mangos? Raspberries?! Blueberries?!! Oh my!
With all of the colors of the rainbow involved it has to be good for you right? Of course! The more colors the better- especially in the summer- it ensures fresh delicious ingredients with TONS of flavor.
For this recipe I used the mini pearl mozzarellas and quartered them. Feel free to leave them whole but I liked that by quartering them I ensured there was cheese in every bite!
Raspberry Mango Caprese Salad with Lemon Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
8 Servings | Cook time: 25 minutes | Prep time: 5 minutes
Notes: The fruits are really up to you! Feel free to sub the raspberries and blueberries for peaches, blackberries, strawberries, etc.
Ingredients:
24oz chicken breast
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
2 mangos, diced (~240g)
1 cup raspberries (~150g)
1/3 cup blueberries (~50g)
2 cups grape tomatoes (~340g)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cups fresh basil, chopped
8oz mozzarella cheese pearls, quartered
4 cups spinach, chopped
4 cups arugula, chopped
Dressing:
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey (~14g)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Spray with nonstick olive oil spray.
Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried basil. Sear on the cast iron skillet until nice and brown 3-4 minutes. Flip and sear another 2 minutes. Transfer the skillet to oven to bake about 20-25 minutes or until an internal temperature of 165F.
While the chicken is cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients. To completely emulsify you can pulse in a food processor or blender until well combined.
In a large bowl add the remaining ingredients: spinach, arugula, cilantro, basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, mangos, raspberries and blueberries. Toss together to mix.
Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside to rest at least 5 minutes. When the chicken has rested and cooled slightly, use a sharp knife to dice it into cubes.
Top the salad with the chicken and toss everything with the dressing until well coated. I prefer the chicken room temperature or even cold in this salad so you can prep this plenty of time in advance and toss with the dressing right before serving.
Screenshot/Printer Friendly Version:
Nutrition Facts are provided as a guideline only. Exact nutrition will depend on quantity, brand and ingredients used. Nutrition facts provided for salad as written, salad with no dressing and for just salad dressing for easy nutrition tracking.