• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipes by Diet Type
    • Plant-Based Recipes
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
    • Whole 30 Recipes
  • Recipes by Meal
    • Breakfast + Brunch
    • Appetizers/Snacks
    • Soups + Salads
    • Dressings + Dips
    • Side Dishes
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Beverages
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
The Virtual Caterer
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Appetizers
  • Main Dishes
  • Side Dishes
  • Uncategorized
  • Soups & Salads
  • Breakfast and Brunch
  • Vegetarian Recipes
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Plant-Based
  • Whole 30 Recipes
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Stacked Chicken Salad

    February 13, 2020 by Suzie J. Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Jump to Recipe

    This Stacked Chicken Salad is a wonderful first course for any dinner party. BUT I'm posting this recipe now because it's the perfect start to a very special, romantic Valentine's Day dinner. Restaurants have limited menus and are overcrowded on Valentine's Day. So it's the perfect night to stay in an make an exceptionally delicious meal for two!

    There are a few things that are done differently for this stacked chicken salad. The most exciting part of this salad is the crispy chicken skin topper. It's jaw dropping and delicious!!

    You can also make this salad on a budget! Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are affordable and add great flavor.

    This salad may look fancy but it's incredibly easy to make. I promise, YOU can do it! I have created step-by-step instructions that are easy for you to follow.

    This recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken thighs, so it's a great way to utilize leftover chicken thighs. If you need to cook chicken thighs for this recipe please add an hour to the cooking time.

    Stacked Chicken Salad

    Stacked Chicken Salad

    An easy and impressive start to a wonderful meal!
    No ratings yet
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizer, Salad, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: chicken salad, date night meal, dinner party salad, impressive appetizer, stacked salad
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 2 people
    Cost: $3 per person

    Equipment

    • Ring molds or round cookie cutters

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup roasted chicken thigh meat. Bone-in, skin-on. shredded, with skin removed and set to the side
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • ½ avocado
    • ¼ cup goat cheese I like silver goat
    • fresh dill to garnish

    Cucumber Salsa:

    • ½ cup diced cucumber finely diced
    • 2 tsp pickled red onion chopped
    • ¼ cup green olives (I like the garlic stuffed olives)
    • 2 tsp fresh dill chopped
    • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice plus some for the arugula salad
    • 2 tsp olive oil
    • black pepper to taste

    For the Arugula Salad:

    • 1 cup arugula
    • 1 tbsp lemon olive oil
    • salt to taste
    • pepper to taste

    Instructions

    Cooking the Crispy Chicken Skin:

    • Gently remove the skin from the chicken thigh. (You may need to warm the chicken slightly to remove the skin cleanly, if you are using leftover chicken.)
    • Add the skin to a nonstick skillet or well seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat.
    • Allow the skin to slowly crisp up, flip after 5 minutes or once the skin begins to crisp and turn golden brown. (If medium heat is too high, reduce to medium-low)
    • While the skin is crisping shred the chicken meat and in a small bowl toss with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside for later.
      smoked paprika and shredded chicken
    • Continue to check the chicken skin and keep flipping every couple minutes until the skin is nice and crispy. Set to the side on a cutting board or small plate.
      Crisping Chicken Skin

    For the Cucumber Salsa:

    • Finely dice the cucumber, olives, red onion and dill.
    • Add diced veggies to a small bowl, season with lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. Mix well and set to the side.
      Cucumber Salsa

    For the Arugula Salad:

    • In a medium bowl add arugula, lemon juice, lemon olive oil (or lemon zest and regular olive oil if you don't have lemon olive oil on hand) salt and pepper.
    • Toss well and set to the side.
      Arugula prep

    P L A T I N G (You can also just stack without the mold if you like)

    • On a salad plate or low pasta bowl place a round ring mold or cookie cutter about 2.5 inches in diameter.
    • First Layer: Diced avocado and place ½ the avocado on the bottom of the ring mold
      Avocado
    • Second Layer: Using a spoon, add ½ the cucumber salsa evenly on the top of the avocado and gently press down with a spoon. Careful not to press too hard.
      Cucumber Salsa
    • Third Layer: Add ½ the goat cheese evenly on top of the tapenade.
      Goat Cheese
    • Fourth Layer: Add ½ the chicken meat gently pressing down trying to fit all the chicken meat into the mold.
      Shredded Chicken
    • Slowly remove the mold while holding the chicken stack down to ensure the salad ingredients stay stacked.
      Removing the ring mold
    • After the mold has been removed, top with ½ the arugula salad, crispy chicken skin and garnish with fresh dill.
      Adding the arugula
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thevirtualcaterer or tag #thevirtualcaterer. Leave a comment with a rating below to let other readers know how this recipe worked for you!

    Time to eat and enjoy!

    Stacked Chicken Salad - View from the top!
    Stacked Chicken Salad
    Stacked Chicken Salad

    I really hope you enjoy this recipe!! I am new to this whole food blogging thing, so if you make one of my recipes and it needs some tweaking, please let me know!

    Please comment, like and follow me to see more recipes!

    ALL my Best,

    Suzie

    « Fall-off-the-bone, Crispy, Baked Chicken Wings
    Curried Carrot & Ginger Soup »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Nice to meet you!

    I'm Suzie, a former restaurant owner and caterer. A few of my favorite things include: traveling, hiking, enjoying quality time with friends and family, and of course FOOD.

    Learn more →

    Poppyseed dressing in jar with spoon

    Homemade Honey Poppyseed Dressing

    Lemon Spaghetti with Broccolini in saute pan

    Lemon Spaghetti with Broccolini, Smoky Chickpeas and Aged Gouda

    Arugula Chimichurri Sauce in jar with spoon

    Arugula Chimichurri Sauce (Whole30-Paleo-Vegan)

    Whole30 Mayo

    Homemade Whole30 Mayo

    Pan Fried Polenta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce in a white bowl

    Fried Polenta with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

    Polenta Fries

    Oven Baked Polenta Fries

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact Me

    [email protected]

    2022 The Virtual Caterer

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme