This easy Chicken and Zucchini Salad is ready in less than 30 minutes and hearty enough for dinner. It's topped with tasty seasoned polenta, sautéed zucchini, shredded chicken, and blue cheese crumbles. Finish with a zesty homemade vinaigrette!
On those busy summer nights when a one-dish meal is a necessity, zucchini chicken salad is the perfect dinner to enjoy.
I love all kinds of salad recipes. This Panzanella Salad with Artichokes is a fantastic option when I need something cool and refreshing.
I also love, love, love warm salads for dinner, like my Warm Kale Butternut Squash Salad, because they feel more "dinnery" to me.
Tossing hot, sizzling ingredients into crisp, cool salad greens makes a delicious mix of textures and temperatures that is so satisfying.
In this article you'll learn:
- How to make a hearty 30-minute dinner: A fresh, satisfying main-course salad that combines warm, sautéed ingredients with cool greens.
- The secret to polenta croutons: Learn how to turn store-bought polenta into crispy, gluten-free croutons that add the perfect texture to any salad.
- Expert tips for chicken and zucchini: Professional advice on achieving the perfect juicy chicken and avoiding common mistakes for tender, cooked zucchini.
- Versatile meal-prep strategies: How to prep components in advance or use leftover rotisserie chicken to streamline your weeknight cooking.
Generated with AI and experts from the Tara Teaspoon team.
Jump to:
- In this article you'll learn:
- This chicken salad with zucchini is perfect for busy weeknights
- Ingredients
- Step-by-step instructions
- Top tip: Make polenta croutons
- Tips for Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Recipes
- Equipment
- Storage and make-ahead information
- What to serve with this salad
- FAQ
- More salad recipes
- 📖 Full Recipe
- 💬 Comments & Reviews
This chicken salad with zucchini is perfect for busy weeknights
Zucchini Chicken Salad with Polenta Croutons is another warm salad you absolutely need to add to your dinner rotation.
And excellent 30 minute meal for a weeknight packed with zucchini, chicken, blue cheese, a tangy vinaigrette, and warm polenta -- yes, polenta in your bowl!
Get ready for some dinner heaven! There's so much more to love about this salad:
- Quick and easy: My favorite thing about this salad is that it can be ready in less than 30 minutes. In just a few simple steps you have a filling meal at your fingertips.
- Polenta croutons: Using polenta in place of croutons not only adds a tasty bite and visual interest to the salad but ensures the salad is gluten-free. It's a delightful swap for regular dry croutons.
- Great for meal prepping: If you like to meal prep for busy nights or get ahead of your dinner menu when entertaining, this salad will be your new best friend. The polenta croutons can be made in advance, and you can save time by using leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken instead of cooking it from scratch.
- Homemade dressing: The dressing is a quick, vinegar, herb, and oil situation that brightens the creamy, warm polenta and veggies. This vinaigrette pairs perfectly with blue cheese. It's honestly one of my favorites!
YUM! I made this recipe over the weekend, and it was fantastic! I've never fried polenta like that and loved the flavor and texture it added to the salad. Will DEFINITELY be making this again!
- Jill
Ingredients
I can't wait for you to taste this warm chicken salad with zucchini! Here's what you should know about the ingredients.
- Salad greens: Use your favorite salad greens for the base of the dish. I like to use baby mixed greens or baby arugula.
- Cooked, shredded chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded, but you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken to save time.
- Blue cheese crumbles: I love the sharp flavor of blue cheese in this salad. If preferred you could swap the blue cheese with feta or leave it out altogether.
- Red wine vinegar: The base of the vinaigrette. Adds zest and tang!
- Chopped oregano: I used fresh oregano, but you can substitute dried oregano if desired.
- Sugar and salt: For flavor enhancement.
- Olive oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil for the best flavor. Most of the oil will be used for the dressing, but you'll also need a little to fry the zucchini and polenta.
- Zucchini: Zucchini is plentiful all summer, and I love it quickly sautéed for this salad. I prefer to use small or medium zucchini. Large zucchini can sometimes taste bitter.
- Polenta: Prepared polenta is the unique ingredient that makes this salad special. Pick up a 16 ounce tube of polenta from the grocery store. You'll only need 8 ounces for the salad. Save the remaining polenta for another meal or make extra croutons for another day.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-step instructions
This salad takes less than 30 minutes to put together. Follow this photo tutorial to make preparation easy as can be.
- Get ingredients ready: Gather and prep lettuce, chicken, and cheese. Set aside
- Make vinaigrette: Place dressing ingredients in a blender bottle.
- Blend dressing: Shake well to blend vinaigrette. (Alternately, whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.)
- Slice and season zucchini: Cut zucchini in half and then slice into ¼-inch slices. Sprinkle cut zucchini with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil and add zucchini: In a skillet, heat ½ tbsp olive oil over high heat, and then add zucchini slices.
- Cook zucchini: Cook and stir until golden, about 2 minutes.
- Prepare to heat polenta: Remove the zucchini from the skillet. Place the skillet back on the heat and reduce the temperature to medium.
- Stir until heated through: Add the cubed polenta to the hot skillet, and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes.
Top tip: Make polenta croutons
Polenta can be served soft and creamy or cooled and solid—and polenta croutons are made with solid polenta!
Use cooled, solid homemade polenta, or store-bought polenta like me, to create bite-sized salad croutons.
Cut solid polenta into cubes and bake or saute with oil until warmed through and crisped on the outside.
Tips for Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Recipes
There are common mistakes to avoid when making grilled chicken and zucchini recipes so here is my expert advice:
- Don't overcook chicken: It can dry out quickly so make pound chicken breasts to uniform thickness before grilling and cook until almost all the way done (internal temp of 165ºF) and let carryover cooking do the rest.
- Use rotisserie chicken: Save a step and use shredded rotisserie chicken for a similar flavor to grilled chicken.
- Quick-cook zucchini: Don't overcook zucchini into a soggy bite. Quickly cook it over high heat in a skillet or in a grill basket on the grill.
- Add bold flavor: Since chicken and zucchini have a mild flavor they are the perfect canvas for my lemony dressing! Add an acidic finish or zesty herbs to add flavor.
Equipment
Here are a few kitchen tools you might like to have on hand for this recipe:
Storage and make-ahead information
Storage: Since the salad is tossed in vinaigrette before serving, it's best to enjoy it the same day it's dressed.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for an additional 24 hours, but the lettuce will become wilty, and you'll lose the magic taste of contrasting hot ingredients with cool greens.
If you want to extend the life of the salad, store individual salad elements separately, and make smaller salad servings as needed.
Meal prep ideas: There are lots of ways to prep this recipe in advance. For example, you can make the polenta croutons and zucchini up to 2 days in advance and then reheat just before serving the salad.
You can also use a store-bought red wine vinaigrette or pre-crumbled blue cheese. And, this is an ideal recipe to use leftover chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken.
What to serve with this salad
This Chicken and Zucchini Salad is plenty filling (especially with polenta croutons!), but check out these savory sandwiches if you want to add a little extra to your meal.
FAQ
Polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal, as well as, water, salt, and butter. You can make it from scratch, but I like to use premade polenta. It's a really fun, prepared ingredient that isn't overly processed. You can eat it immediately or cook it as desired.
It's a porridge-like dish made from cornmeal that originated in Northern Italy. It's got a creamy texture and slightly buttery taste. Although it can be made like a hot cereal, it also comes in a firm, shelf-stable variety that can bet cut or sliced. This prepared polenta usually comes in tube packaging and will stay shelf-stable until opened.
Both polenta and semolina are made from grains and can be part of healthy diet. Polenta happens to be gluten-free since it is made from cornmeal and would definitely be a healthier option for those following a gluten-free diet. Semolina is a flour made from durum wheat and is not gluten-free.
The sharp flavor of blue cheese is perfect with this salad. Any blue cheese would work. Roquefort, a French bleu cheese, is a great choice. Gorgonzola or Stilton are also amazing blue cheeses and work perfectly. Each kind has a distinct flavor, but they will all offer the sharp, creamy, and aged flavor that enhance the salad.
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📖 Full Recipe
30-Minute Chicken and Zucchini Salad with Polenta Croutons
Ingredients
- 5 cups (3 ½ oz) baby mixed greens or baby arugula
- 1 ¾ cups cooked chicken breast, shredded (from 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken)
- ⅓ cup (3 oz) crumbled bleu cheese (if desired)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (can substitute ½ teaspoon dried oregano)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (DIVIDED)
- 2 medium zucchini
- 8 ounces prepared polenta (cut into ¾-inch cubes, Note: use half of a 16-ounce package)
Instructions
- Prepare the lettuce, cooked shredded chicken, and blue cheese crumbles. Set aside for salad assembly.
- Make the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, oregano, sugar, salt, and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Set aside.
- Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then on the bias into ¼-inch slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Heat remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add zucchini. Cook, stirring, until just golden, about 2 minutes. Remove zucchini.
- Reduce heat to medium and add polenta to skillet. Cook, stirring, until just heated through, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place the greens, shredded chicken, and sauteed zucchini and polenta in a large bowl. Toss with half the vinaigrette.
- Arrange the salad on a platter and sprinkle with blue cheese. Serve with remaining vinaigrette.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Karletta says
This salad is a one dish wonder. Perfect for summer lunch outdoors. The polenta is a different touch too
Clarice says
This looks delicious! We're trying to eat healthier and would love to give this a try. I have gluten intolerance and never thought about using polenta as an alternative. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Jennifer Passmore says
Green salads are so tasty! But, I do often find myself lacking protein and, well, any other kind of something that jazzes it up at all. The chicken and polenta sound delish!
Marie Gizelle says
I love chicken salads but has never tried with zucchini and polenta. Looks easy to make and yum!!
Julie says
I have been eating a lot of salads lately, but I don't have a lot of variety for types of salads in my repetoire. This is just what I've been looking for, and with the chicken added, I'm thrilled that it's great to make for dinner!
Tara Teaspoon says
It's good in the mix! Glad you like it!
Ben says
Aww, yeah. This is my new favorite salad. This was so good, and I usually don't even like salads!
Tara Teaspoon says
Oh that's so great to hear!
Beth says
This was so, so good! I made this last night for dinner, and we all loved it. It was also so easy, which I love.
Julie says
I never would have thought to use polenta like this! And these croutons are softer than normal croutons, which I love! Warm salads always feel a bit "more" to me as well! The dressing was simple and delicious, homemade is the way to go.
Michelle says
Oh my, this looks so tasty! I've never thought to put a combo of zucchini and polenta in my salad; I have to try it. What an awesome flavour combination this will be!
Emily says
I never thought to add polenta into my salads! I have to try that, it's such a great idea and would be really filling, too.
Jill McGill says
YUM! I made this recipe over the weekend, and it was fantastic! I've never fried polenta like that and loved the flavor and texture it added to the salad. Will DEFINITELY be making this again!
Tara Teaspoon says
So glad you liked it! It is one of my faves.
Mary says
Polenta is such an interesting addition! I'm sure the dressing is absorbed by it and is yummy!